Today we talk with Anja Zag Golob, a fierce voice in a movement to protect cultural and democratic rights in Slovenia. Anja is often described as a rising star of European poetry, winning awards such as the Jenko Poetry Prize for best Slovene Poetry Collection and the 2020 Kritiško sito award for best Slovene book. Anja also participated in the Culture Action Europe project, “Amplify: Make the Future of Europe Yours,” collaborating with fellow artists and cultural workers to demand more for the cultural sector in Slovenia and across Europe. Ahead of the upcoming national elections in Slovenia this Sunday [24 April, 2022], Anja reflects on how the Slovenian arts and cultural sector has been impacted in the previous two years and the work that lies ahead for both artists and politicians.

"The changes will not magically happen. People will come to power. Whoever is elected...This is something we need to envision as we start to rebuild the country...It’s not just a problem of culture, but about how to reapproach change."

Another one of Anja’s key focuses is the publishing house, VigeVageKnjige. With Anja as the co-founder and editor-in-chief, the publishing house focuses on raising awareness about graphic novels in Slovenia. She says it’s important to deal with the prejudice that the graphic novel genre faces in the literary world.

Under the coordination of the organisation Motovila, Anja participated, alongside other cultural agents in Slovenia, in the Amplify project. You can read their contribution to the Conference on the Future of Europe here.

“Frequencies” is a podcast that explores arts and cultural initiatives that seek to impact and transform communities, near and far. Each episode features the work, voices, and experiences of artists and cultural workers across Europe and beyond. “Frequencies”, a production of Culture Action Europe, lives at the intersection of culture and politics by focusing on the power cultural practices and agents have in nurturing inclusive, open, diverse, fair and democratic societies.

Hosted by Maya Weisinger

Music: "納骨堂 (johnny_ripper remix)" by Tide Jewel, "Gently Does It" by Ketsa