Tolmin peasant uprising of 1713, exhibition of the comic by Remigio Gabellini

In 2013, the 300th anniversary of the great Tolmin Peasant Uprising will be commemorated. As a prelude to the festive year, the Tolmin Museum has prepared a series of lectures in spring under the heading Uprising Approaches. In mid-September, within the project Discover strip, it has opened an exhibition of the strip Tolmin Peasant Uprising of 1713 by Remigio Gabellini and an exhibition Slovenian Classical Authors in Strip, made possible in association with Forum Ljubljana, the institute for artistic and cultural production.

The exhibition, which will be open until the end of October, will include Stripburger mini workshops and also a competition for the selection of the best strip on two topics: The Tolmin Peasant Uprising and Fairy Tales and Fables from the Soča Valley. The competition is aimed at young people under the age of 18.

The strip La rivolta dei Tolminotti 1713 (Tolmin Peasant Uprising of 1713) was published in two instalments, the first publication was in the newspaper Isonzo/Soča in 1989 and 1990, followed by a full publication in the thematic issue in 1992. The author of the strip, originally written in Italian and printed in a black and white technique, is Remigio Gabellini from Gorizia. Twenty years after the publication in the newspaper Isonzo/Soča, his original drawings are presented for the first time in the Tolmin Museum. Ten drawings are displayed, which formed the basis for the first printed publication, and ten printed sheets in the colour version of the strip with the translation of the original text into Slovenian.

In connection with the exhibition, the Tolmin Museum also issued a book in colour, printed in Slovene and Italian, and a programme with the publication of the events which will take place within the project Discover strip.

The strip by Remigio Gabellini is of utmost importance, especially due to its topic and the drawings, with the remarkable narrative power of the visual elements; ultimately, also the time of the creation is important, which was during the preparation and later at the installation of the memorial for the leaders of the Tolmin Peasant Uprising at Travnik square in Gorizia (today’s Piazza della Vittoria) in 1992.

The Great Tolmin Peasant Uprising of 1713 was an important historic event which influenced the identity of the people of Tolmin, thus it is also given much attention in the Tolmin Museum. The peasants of Tolmin, who strived to become exempt from harsh taxes, struggled for justice, and above all wanted a better future, were the first to rebel against the national authority and national taxes in 1713. The tragic story of the peasants of Tolmin has now been revived in a strip by Remigio Gabellini.

Since strips have not yet been exhibited at the Tolmin Museum, we have also dedicated our attention to strip as a special category of artistic and literary expression. Beside the exhibition of the strip Tolmin Peasant Uprising of 1713 also the exhibition Slovenian Classical Authors in Strip was opened within the organization of Forum Ljubljana, the institute for artistic and cultural production. The exhibition of strips from the collection Slovenian Classical Authors in Strip shows short strips dedicated by Slovenian cartoonists to important Slovenian artists and some unique phenomena of the Slovenian culture. The project Slovenian Classical Authors in Strip has been active since 1992 and includes 200 strips by 66 Slovenian authors, who decided to satirically portray the following works: Skodelica kave (Cup of Coffee) by Ivan Cankar, Zdravljica (A toast) by France Prešeren, poems by Oton Župančič, Dogodek v mestu Gogi (An event in the town of Goga) by Slavko Grum, Butalci by Fran Miličinski, popular songs such as Zemlja pleše as well as successful Slovenian films, such as Sreča na vrvici (Happiness on a Leash) and Babica gre na jug (Grandma goes south).

The head of the exhibition Tolmin Peasant Uprising of 1713: Damjana Fortunat Černilogar, MA
Curator of the exhibition Tolmin Peasant Uprising of 1713: Marko Grego
Curators of the exhibition Slovenian classical authors in strip: Katerina Mirović, Andrej Štular
Organization and coordination of the project Discover strip: Karla Kofol