AGRFT 80
This year, the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (AGRFT) celebrates its 80th anniversary. The jubilee is not only an opportunity to look back on the Academy’s past, but also to reflect on its present position and future directions. The online exhibition AGRFT 80 (https://razstava80.agrft.uni-lj.si/) complements this perspective with a selection of archival materials that reveal how the Academy has evolved over time. The Academy’s history has been shaped by numerous social transformations and, in particular, by the persistent issue of finding suitable premises. The documentary and audiovisual materials are organised around a map conceived as a playing field with multiple points of entry: the Academy’s four successive homes, where visitors encounter individuals – students, teaching staff, and other employees – as well as events associated with them. Confronting its own history, including its less comfortable aspects, allows the Academy to foreground questions about the institution’s very essence: How free is it in its thinking and creative practice? What is the dynamic of change along the fine line separating education from the marketplace?
As the designer of the AGRFT 80 exhibition website, Matej Tomažin conceived a digital space that presents its content in a clear, accessible, and visually coherent manner. As part of the exhibition’s overarching concept – a playful game that guides visitors through different spaces and periods in AGRFT’s history – he brought together curatorial logic, user experience, and technical implementation, paying particular attention to accessibility, responsiveness, and readability across different devices.
The website was designed as an exhibition medium in its own right, enabling visitors to intuitively explore the works, authors, and archival materials on display. Particular emphasis was placed on developing dynamic elements that help visitors navigate and discover the site’s wide-ranging content. These include “Obrekovalnica”, a distinctive online chat room; the “Črna skrinjica” (Black Box) archive; and various algorithms designed to identify the interests of visitors to the online exhibition.
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Miha Grum has been employed at the University of Ljubljana’s Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (UL AGRFT) since 2006, where he heads the Film Archive and Documentation Unit within the Centre for Theatre and Film Studies. He graduated from the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, with a degree in German Studies. His professional work encompasses the organisation, preservation, documentation, and study of archival film materials and other documentation, primarily relating to the history of the Academy. His work focuses on preserving, processing, and ensuring access to film heritage, as well as integrating it into research and teaching.
E-mail: miha.grum@agrft.uni-lj.si
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Ana Jerman Obreza is a dramaturg whose professional practice spans a variety of media. Alongside her work in theatre, she writes for the stage, radio, film, and television, and is also a theatre and film critic. She has collaborated with the Centre for Theatre and Film Studies on several projects involving the digitisation of archival materials and, as a co-author of the AGRFT 80 online exhibition, contributed to the development of its concept.
E-mail: ana.obreza@gmail.com
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Simona Ješelnik has been employed at the University of Ljubljana’s Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (UL AGRFT) since 2003, where she heads the Theatre Archive and Documentation Unit within the Centre for Theatre and Film Studies. She graduated from AGRFT with a degree in dramaturgy. Her work encompasses the collection, documentation, study, and interpretation of archival and documentary materials relating to theatre, with a particular focus on the history of the Academy. She is dedicated to preserving theatrical heritage and ensuring its accessibility for teaching and research, while also making these materials available to the wider professional community. Since 2004, she has contributed to the development of the eKumba database (http://kumba.agrft.uni-lj.si) at the Centre for Theatre and Film Studies. She has also been involved in creating both physical exhibitions, including 70 Years of AGRFT at Trubarjeva 3, and online exhibitions (https://partizanskogledalisce.agrft.uni-lj.si/, https://razstava80.agrft.uni-lj.si/).
E-mail: simona.jeselnik@agrft.uni-lj.si
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Matej Tomažin is committed to fostering an equitable, accessible, and interconnected visual arts landscape in Slovenia. As Director of the Artopolis Institute, he develops projects that bring together art and digital tools, helping emerging Slovenian artists gain greater visibility and access to the art market. His work spans curating, public relations, visual and web design, production, and the organisation of cultural events. Through his collaboration with the Cona Institute and his independent projects, he also supports the development of intermedia art, educational programmes, and digital platforms. His work contributes to building a more open and inclusive arts community that is accessible to a wider public.
E-mail: matej@artopolis.si
