At the end of May, an art residency was held at the Giser House, where Congolese artist Hugo Kanyingu Kabeya created his work. Two parts have been created, which will be exhibited by the end of August at the Hg Smelting House in Idrija, and they connect the mining heritage of the artist’s homeland, Congo, and Idrija.
Hugo Kanyingu Kabeya is a young Congolese artist who lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa. He stayed at the artistic residence as part of the Peripheral Visions project, which focuses on the relationship between industrial and military history in the Italian-Slovenian border area.
The artist-in-residence program allowed the artist to get to know the Idrija identity and connect it with his own work. Hugo Kabeya has spent his childhood in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he moved with his family to South Africa due to constant fighting. His work is marked by themes of post-colonialism, mining and mineral exploitation, and relates to the displacement experienced by African nations due to various conflicts.
As he himself said in an interview that was part of the preparation for the exhibition, "as an artist, I explore many themes in my work, such as historical memory, socio-political and socio-economic issues, and I also think about everyday life."
Connection of Idrija and Congo heritage
He stayed in Idrija from May 23 to 30, during which time he thoroughly explored Idrija's mining heritage. He visited the Idrija Mercury Mine, drove through the Zgornja Idrijca Landscape Park, and went to the Vojskarsko Plateau.
»I can say that Idrija fascinated me because I found that there is a very strong community, in the sense that everyone knows each other, locals talk to each other, and you get the feeling that they are connected to each other.«
At a special community event held on Monday, May 26, at Hiša Giser, he also met with locals from different generations, including a former miner, who shared their stories and helped him understand the stories of Idrija. Students from Jurij Vega Idrija High School also visited the Giser House.
The exhibition will be open until the end of August
The artist residency concluded with an exhibition opening on Thursday, May 29. The artist presented a new cycle of artworks created during his time at the Giser House. At the opening of the exhibition, which will be on display until the end of August at Topilnica Hg, he presented his life story and introduced both artworks that carry the stories of Idrija. The new cycle of works is becoming a living and tangible testimony of the rich cultural and natural heritage of the heritage contexts of both Idrija and Congo, which the artist illuminates by exploring the layers of memories, thus offering an opportunity for intercultural encounter and dialogue through the power of contemporary art. As a symbol of the connection to mining heritage, the artist Kabeya also used cinnabar ore, which is combined with cobalt blue in the creation, which connects the artist to the mining heritage of the Congo.
The residency was part of the European Capital of Culture GO! 2025 and a collaboration between ID20 Institute, the IoDeposito organization from Italy, the University of Nova Gorica, and the Idrija Mercury Heritage Management Centre. The exhibition will be on display until the end of August 2025 as part of the paid Hg Smelting House tour.
The PV project is funded by the European Union from the GO! 2025 Small Projects Fund of the Interreg VI-A Italy-Slovenia 2021-2027 Program, which is managed by the GO EZTS/ www.ita-slo.eu / www.euro-go.eu/spf
Il progetto PV è finanziato dall’Unione europea nell’ambito del Fondo per piccoli progetti GO! 2025 del Programma Interreg VI-A Italia-Slovenia 2021-2027, gestito dal GECT GO/www.euro-go.eu/en/spf & www.ita-slo.eu
