70 years of the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre
The exhibition entitled ‘From Sketch to Puppet’ presents the authors of sketches for puppet, scene and costume designs they made for the performances at the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre from the end of the 20th century to 2012. These are: Boštjan Franc Avguštin, Vanda Besednjak, Jerneja Jambrek, Jaka Judnič, Dušan Milavec, Gorazd Vahen, and Barbara Stupica.

The aim of the annual ‘From Sketch to Puppet’ exhibitions is to demonstrate the puppet-making process, from sketches of puppets, scenes and scene elements to their actual appearances. The demonstrations are also accompanied with video recordings of puppet performances. These puppet designs are usually sketches using individual or combined techniques, often in a form of collage or small-scale puppets, beautifully detailed and almost sculpture-like. The puppets show their character and facial expressions already on sketches. The drawings further provide the instructions and technology for making a puppet along with colour combinations and material samples serving as a basis for their costumes, and also the puppets’ names. Nonetheless, the authors often design and make puppets and scene elements themselves. Animals are the main characters of this year’s exhibition.

Exhibition ‘From Sketch to Puppet’ has taken place at the Bežigrad Gallery ever since 1981 and marks the continuing evolution of the exhibitions celebrating the anniversaries of the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre.
— Miloš Bašin

Ljubljana Puppet Theatre
The performances on display at the exhibition From a Sketch To a Puppet were created at Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, which is currently celebrating its 70th anniversary. The Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, which was established in 1948 as the City Puppet Theatre, is the first professional puppet theatre in Slovenia with the longest tradition. At the beginning its activities were influenced by the Sokol movement and the Partisan Puppet Theatre. It didn’t have any premises of its own, which is why the performances were held on a portable stage in various halls in Ljubljana. The first performance, called Udarna Brigada (Shock Brigade), was staged in the former Mestni Dom in 1948. For the next few years the theatre performed at two locations: the marionette stage was opened in 1950 with the performance Martin Krpan, while the hand puppet stage became home to Pavliha's Pranks just one year later. After Jože Pengov, a gifted artist himself, took over the theatre, it started to develop its unique expression with modern aesthetics and a number of new puppetry techniques. The poetics of its performances soon caught the attention of foreign audiences and the theatre gained enviable reputation with numerous performances across Europe throughout the 1950s and 1960s. But the one production that truly stood out and opened the door to the world was the famous Little Sleepy Star (1955) by Fran Milčinski. This was followed by decades of amazing performances with renowned Slovenian artists – painters, writers, directors and musicians. After years of searching and making arrangements the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre in 1984 finally obtained larger and more adequate premises in Mestni Dom at Krekov Trg, where it has stayed to this day. Today the theatre consists of 6 permanent locations and 22 actors, holds 12 premiers and welcomes 250,000 visitors per year.
— Tjaša Tomšič