1st Festival by Zavod Bob in Slovenia

In early December 2024, Ljubljana, Slovenia transformed into a dynamic creative laboratory through the Hip Hop Co-Creation Lab. Coordinated by Zavod Bob in close collaboration with the ULCA Youth Center, this international exchange program brought together twenty-seven emerging artists aged 18 to 30 from Slovenia, Croatia, Spain, and Georgia. The 10-day initiative explored how the foundational roots of hip-hop culture—including resilience, activism, and community empowerment—could be used as an artistic language to address urgent issues surrounding sustainability, inclusion, and climate justice. The collective group of young dancers, beatmakers, graffiti writers, and MCs focused heavily on cross-border dialogue and the inclusion of underrepresented cultural communities. Immersed in various disciplines of hip-hop, the artists worked collaboratively to transition individual creative practices into shared, sustainable expressions. For their visual and audio deliverables, the participants produced a 20-minute original music track sampling traditional and contemporary sounds, alongside a large-scale collective collage graffiti mural constructed entirely from recycled event posters to honor environmental practices. The intensive exchange culminated in a public celebration titled ULCAfest – Caravane Edition, hosted inside the newly relocated Linhart underpass cultural hub. This final event merged artistic process with live community dialogue through breakdance showcases, musical acts, interactive cyphers, and street art exhibitions. Ultimately, the festival stood as a unified statement by youth leaders demonstrating how public spaces can be reimagined to foster cultural transformation, civic engagement, and heightened awareness for global climate actions.