MKUD Strelišče
Of all the alternative music venues in the Primorska region, the youth club Strelišče in Dobrovo—located in the premises of a former shooting association beneath Dobrovo Castle—has the longest uninterrupted period of operation. Since its founding on 25 May 1982, it has functioned almost continuously (except for an interim period following a fire in 2005) as an alternative oasis in the rural environment of Goriška Brda. The club was established on the initiative of local youth who sought to fill the cultural void in Brda. In addition to locals—such as the late sculptor Zmago Šviligoj, who designed the club’s visual identity—members also came from across Slovenia and from border areas in Italy. Alongside music, the club for a time also hosted a graphic section with its own screen-printing facilities and a photography section with a fully equipped darkroom.
The club, with a capacity of around 80 people, has over the decades hosted numerous concerts, film evenings, travel lectures, performances, workshops, and other events. In terms of genre, it has consistently operated at the intersection of punk, metal, jazz, and experimental music. At the club, as well as at the school playground in Dobrovo, the cooperative hall in Hum, and other locations, members of Strelišče—particularly Artur Pintar, Franjo Polanc, and Ernest Žnidarčič—organized many notable concerts featuring international acts such as NOFX, Paradise Lost, D.O.A., Obsessed, Rich Kids on LSD, Rostock Vampires, Hladno pivo, and KUD Idijoti. Local legends also performed, including Iztok Mlakar and Laibach, who gave their first performance in Slovenia after 1983 at Hum in 1986, having been active primarily abroad in the interim due to a ban. Another legend associated with the club involves the band Nirvana, who were scheduled to perform at Hum during their European tour at the club’s invitation, but the release of the album Nevermind changed the course of history. In the 1990s, an important figure in the club was the internationally recognized Brda-born drummer and percussionist Zlatko Kaučič, who, after returning to Slovenia, rehearsed at the club and organized his first jazz concerts there (Paul Bley, Enrico Rava, Gianni Basso, and others). According to his testimony, “the ‘Strelišče crew’, who in a rural micro-club hosted numerous improvised events alongside punk and other concerts, were responsible for the discovery of the free jazz scene in Ljubljana as well.”
After the transformation of Vipolže Castle into Villa Vipolže began in 2013 and the loss of youth spaces there, the association KUD Hrast Vipolže merged with MKUD Strelišče, which thus became the main association for youth and alternative culture in Brda. Today, Strelišče operates under the leadership of a new generation that ensures the continuation of its alternative spirit. In addition to providing rehearsal spaces for local bands, Strelišče is also a social hub and concert venue where members regularly enjoy performances by both domestic and international musicians. In 2012, a short documentary film Strelišče Dobrovo, directed by Dani Kristančič, was produced.
Avtor: Jaša Bužinel
Kraj: Dobrovo
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