The warmest season officially begins on the summer solstice, which, in the Northern Hemisphere, typically falls on June 20th or 21st. In 2025, it officially begins on Friday, June 20th, 2025, marking the astronomical start of summer. In Slovakia, this day also signals the start of several vibrant seasonal festivals. Many of these events are perfect for English-speaking visitors, featuring music, art, culture, and local flavor in welcoming and accessible settings.
Zdeněk Ziegler in Czechoslovak film poster series
At Kino Lumière, the year-long exhibition The Golden Era of the Czechoslovak Film Poster 1960–1989 continues.
The second featured artist is graphic designer Zdeněk Ziegler, one of the most prolific creators of Czechoslovak film posters. For nearly thirty years, he designed posters for the Central Film Rental, a state institution in former Czechoslovakia responsible for film distribution. A trained architect, Ziegler brought a unique visual style to poster art, distinguished by his creative typography and innovative use of lettering.
Over the next three months, a selection of thirty of his works will be on display at the Slovak Film Institute cinema in Bratislava.
Orava Gallery turns 60 with dual shows
Two curated shows highlight the gallery’s legacy and the region’s cultural evolution.
To mark its 60th anniversary, the Orava Gallery opened two special exhibitions on Thursday, June 19, at the County House in Dolný Kubín.
In the Small Exhibition Hall, the project S)(vitanie, curated by the gallery’s director Michal Čajka, was unveiled. According to Čajka, the exhibition reflects the state of institutional vacuum in the Orava region prior to the establishment of the Orava Gallery.
In the Large Exhibition Hall, a second exhibition titled Close? Encounters was prepared by renowned Slovak curator Katarína Bajcurová. This exhibition showcases the most significant developments under the banner of the Orava Gallery, highlighting valuable collections, historical contexts, key events, and the individuals closely connected to the gallery’s history.
Today, the institution ranks among the most visited galleries in Slovakia, drawing over 70,000 visitors annually.
IFF Art Film starts in Košice
IFF Art Film Košice is Slovakia's leading international film festival, offering a platform for contemporary cinema. Running from June 20th through 27th, it will feature a curated selection of films from around the world, including significant titles from film history and a comprehensive overview of Slovak cinema. The festival is expected to continue its tradition of showcasing innovative and thought-provoking films as its PR Andrea Čurná confirms:
“In the international feature film competition this year we will showcase distinct voices of a new generation of directors. From many films that you will be able to see I will mention “Toxic” which is a feature film of a Lithuanian director Saulė Bliuvaitė. She’s telling a story of a 13-year old Marie which is growing up in an industrial town in toxic beauty standards. And we will have a discussion which is not in the feature film competition but we have a Pretty girls discussion with a Slovak singer Celeste Buckingham. It is also talking about the beauty standards and how it reflects on the young people.”
Iron deer in meadow under Topoľčany castle
From June 20 to 22, the Kvantum Festival transforms the meadow beneath Topoľčany Castle into a vibrant hub of contemporary culture. Now in its latest edition, the festival—organized by Nástupište 1-12—offers a dynamic mix of visual art, music, theater, and public discussions, all under the theme "The Others," exploring identity and division in a globalized world.
Visitors can expect performances by artists like Fvck Kvlt, DRŤ, Binary Boy (DE), and Stroon & DevKid. Talks and screenings will tackle topics from local Jewish history to environmental issues and digital identity. With activities for all ages, camping options, and local food, Kvantum blends critical reflection with summer festival energy—right in the heart of Slovakia.
The festival Kvantum is organized by the cultural center Pažite, a former sheepfold transformed into an open-air gallery space, perfect for art, science, and meaningful dialogue away from the noise of the city.
Site-specific artworks at the festival are curated by Zuzana Novotová Godálová. One striking installation is based on a drawing by Mária Čorejová and brought to life using wood and metal. It takes the form of a hunting stand, beneath which a deer is hidden—its antlers engulfed in flames. According to the curator, the piece serves as a metaphor for what is revealed under the spotlight, what remains concealed, and how observation can shape perception.
Artist Nikola Balberčáková, recently named one of the 2025 Oskar Čepán Award laureates, reflects on the work: "It’s a site-specific artwork which is consisting of wood and metal. It’s not a real living deer, it’s a metal object, it’s 4,5 m high and big so it’s real life and really huge. The theme is about the problem of hunting in Slovakia and in the area of Topoľčany where the festival is happening."
Fest Anča explores body in animation
The 18th edition of Fest Anča International Animation Festival is set to begin on Tuesday, June 24th in Žilina. The festival is known for its diverse selection of animated films, including short films, student works, and music videos. Notably, Fest Anča is the only Academy Awards® Qualifying Festival in Slovakia, making it a significant event for animation enthusiasts also from abroad as all of the films will be provided with English subtitles. Its programme director, Jakub Spevak, introduces the main theme of this year’s festival - bodies:
“So Fest Anča 2025 will be about transformation, about body horror, about coming of age films. It will be also about our intimacy, our relationship towards our bodies, but also towards others. It will be also about technologies and how technologies influence our bodies and we’re going to speak also about films with mutations, transformations and also some anomalies on our body. So the programme and especially [the] film programme will be very rich in those topics.”
Slovak Phil farewell with chief conductor
This week, the Slovak Philharmonic announced its plans for the next concert season. The opening concerts will be held in mid-October, featuring Zoltán Kodály’s Galanta dances.
The new season will be different to the previous one as Daniel Raiskin is finishing up his term as its chief conductor. Daniel Raiskin will bid his farewell to the position of the chief conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic on July 12 in Český Krumlov, Czechia, in a concert featuring violin virtuoso Maxim Vengerov. As of the next season, he will be the chief conductor of the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra in Ostrava.
Meanwhile, the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, along with the Slovak Chamber Orchestra and the Slovak Philharmonic Choir, will hold their regular and special concerts in their seat in Bratislava. You can see their last concerts of the 2024/25 season on the 24th, 25th, and 26th of June.
Invitation to POHODA 2025
The 3-day multigenre Pohoda festival, taking place July 10-12 this year, will host over 120 music acts, theatres, film screenings, workshops, discussions, and debates. The “celebration of freedom”, which has been taking place for nearly 30 years, has earned the title of the best medium-sized European festival. The organisers spent a lot of time rethinking the security measures with Safety Q, a Slovak company that works for a lot of mid-sized to large festivals being experts on crowd security, festival and event security. Contractors on technological structures were picked very carefully following the events of the heavy storm in 2024, which caused premature closure of the event.
The Slovak line-up includes Richard Muller, Jana Kirschner, and Tolstoys, the only Slovak band that has performed at the famous Glastonbury festival. After their gig last year, Tolstoys will be playing at Glastonbury again on Friday, June 27th, and Saturday, June 28th.
