Nova Gorica and Gorizia together as the 2025 European Capital of Culture provide a platform to showcase the nation’s creative industry. Their output exceeds 2 billion euros, not counting the revenues of top Slovenian creatives working abroad in global centres like London, Paris, Milan, or Los Angeles.
The European Capital of Culture in 2025 is the small Slovenian town of Nova Gorica together with its Italian neighbour Gorizia. It is the first time that the role of European cultural capital is shared by two nations – not long ago separated by the iron curtain and divided by the wars of the 20th century. This important event also brings an opportunity to showcase Slovenia's vibrant cultural and creative industries which are home to many prolific designers, artists, photographers, musicians, architects, writers and video game designers. The total output of the industry is estimated to exceed 2 billion euros.
This figure does not include the revenues of Slovenian creative artists working abroad. Peter Movrin is Slovenian fashion designer who has worked with celebrities like Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and Nicole Kidman as well as collaborating with luxury brands like French AZ Factory. Rok Predin is a visual artist working in London. He has created animated music videos for the likes of The Rolling Stones, U2, and Elton John. In 2022 he was selected by Paul McCartney to produce a music video for the famous Beatles song Here, There, and Everywhere.
Jernej Barbič is a Slovenian computer scientist. This year, he received the Technical Achievement Academy Award (“technical Oscar”) for Ziva, a solution for the creation of digital humans and character simulations. Ziva has been used in many Hollywood blockbusters, including the Hobbit and Garfield. Lara Bohinc is a London-based jewellery and furniture designer. Nika Zupanc is a top interior and product designer. Both Zupanc and Bohinc regularly receive awards at design events and are lauded by global media.
The success of Slovenian creative industries isn't limited to design and visual arts: many internationally acclaimed figures in other areas - such as philosopher Slavoj Žižek - highlight the depth and diversity of Slovenian creative talent.
