About Gallery

Lokar Gallery is the central exhibition venue for contemporary visual art in Ajdovščina and an important cultural meeting point of the Vipava Valley. The gallery is dedicated to presenting contemporary visual creativity, fostering dialogue between diverse artistic practices, and connecting the local and international art scenes.

Throughout the year, Lokar Gallery hosts exhibitions by renowned Slovenian and international artists, while also placing special emphasis on supporting local creators and emerging authors. The exhibition program is complemented by expert guided tours, artist talks, workshops, and other cultural events that enable visitors to engage more deeply with art.

The gallery is not merely an exhibition space, but a place where ideas, aesthetics, and stories meet. Through its programmatic focus, it encourages reflection on contemporary society, space, and identity, and reinforces Ajdovščina’s role as a vibrant cultural center.

Lokar Memorial Room

A special place within the gallery is held by the Lokar Memorial Room, dedicated to Dr. Danilo Lokar (1892–1989), a physician, writer, and playwright.

The memorial room preserves the memory of his rich intellectual and creative legacy. It presents Lokar as a reflective humanist, a sensitive observer of society and space, and an important chronicler of the time in which he lived and worked. The exhibited objects, manuscripts, books, and documents offer visitors an intimate insight into his life, work, and world of thought.

The Lokar Memorial Room is not merely a museum space, but a living site of cultural memory that complements the gallery’s contemporary exhibition program and creates a bridge between the literary, historical, and visual heritage of Ajdovščina.

Lokar Literary Experiences on the Move

The Lokar Literary Experiences on the Move project builds on the rich legacy of Danilo Lokar, a writer and doctor from Ajdovščina, while promoting green mobility and supporting the inclusion of vulnerable groups.

The project includes the renovation of the Lokar Gallery in Ajdovščina. A modern multi-purpose space for events, literary evenings and other activities will be created in the attic. The Lokar Memorial Room in the gallery will be transformed into a contemporary interactive experience accessible to a wider range of visitors.

Outdoors, the Lokar Trail will be upgraded and extended to Vipavski Križ, linking Lokar’s legacy with that of Janez Svetokriški. The route will be designed as a new cultural walking and cycling experience, featuring audio interpretations of literary excerpts that visitors will be able to listen to at benches along the way.

The offer will be further enhanced by an electric book bike – a bicycle used for delivering books – which will support sustainable mobility and empower visitors to the area, including members of vulnerable groups.

The Municipality of Ajdovščina is implementing the project in cooperation with local stakeholders: the Association of Artists of Northern Primorska, the Lavrič Library Ajdovščina, the Nova Gorica and Vipava Valley Tourism Board, and Burjatik d.o.o.

The project is co-financed under a call for proposals issued by the Slovenian Regional Development Fund, from which the municipality received 314,560.50 €. The project is being implemented from 10 September 2024 to 31 August 2026.

Links:

Društvo likovnih umetnikov Severne Primorske (DLUSP)

Zveza društev slovenskih likovnih umetnikov