About us
The city of Žilina is bidding for the title of European Capital of Culture 2026 in partnership with the cities of Bielsko-Biała and Frýdek-Místek and with the support of the Žilina Self-Governing Region and The University of Žilina. The project team operates temporarily under the OOCR Malá Fatra organisation.
Žilina Beskids 2026 team
Christian feels like a Frenchman from Žilina. 19 years ago, he moved to Žilina from Paris, to help build the Stanica cultural centre. Since then, he was director of the Foundation Center for Contemporary Art in Bratislava and Art studio Bubec in Prague but also took part in several ECoCs in the region. He brings experience and expertise in ECoCs to the team and acts as the main coordinator of the bid. He studied city development and social work in Paris, and cultural management and policy in Belgrade.
Lucia works in the team as a project manager and brings a combination of her various experiences. She gained her experience during several years in various managerial positions at LITE College in London. Later she lived alternately in Europe and India. During her Indian stays, she devoted herself to yoga, and after returning to her native Žilina, it led to the opening and operation of a community yoga centre. In addition, she has volunteered for various local environmental, cultural and community initiatives.
Silvia is a design researcher and strategist who explores the intersection of art, technology and politics. She also consults in service and inclusive design, healthtech, real estate development and human-computer interaction. In our team, she runs the Future’s Factory programme line and cultural strategy. She studied at the Royal College of Art in London, the Design Academy in Eindhoven and the Interfaculty ArtScience in The Hague. A native of the Kysuce region, she returned to Žilina after 10 years abroad, mainly in the Netherlands.
Zuzana is our team lead on art and civic issues. She returned to Žilina after her Public Policy studies at Oxford, and years living across Latin America and Europe. Formerly a champion for anti-corruption and integrity in public service at Transparency International, she also helped prepare the cultural programme for the Slovak EU Council Presidency. Born and bred in Žilina, she sees her contribution in nurturing a public space built on dialogue and mutual respect.
A true Central European in her heart and soul, closely connected with the Czech-Polish-Slovak border. Ela studied cultural anthropology and collaborated on art and educational projects connecting the Visegrad countries. She spent several years on the Meat Design Ostrava project, collaborated with the art and feminist publishing house wo-men and volunteered to save the historically valuable building of the Havířov train station. Ela is the main coordinator for cooperation with the city of Frýdek-Místek and other partners in the Czech Republic.
Soňa works as a coordinator of international partnerships and production of public events. She graduated from the Department of Theory and History of Dramatic Arts with a focus on theatre and film criticism in Olomouc and Munich. As a native of Žilina, she feels like a loyal consumer of local culture, to which she returns after years spent studying and travelling, coming back to the ‘crime scene’.
Rafał comes from Bielsko-Biała in Poland. He is an independent film producer, an active member of the Association Contrast Art Center. Thrives when working on tight deadlines in a challenging environment. He loves to be a part of a project that will change how people perceive the world (even on the smallest scale). In our team, Rafał is responsible for the cross-border cooperation with Polish partners.
Roman is a theatre enthusiast, dramaturg and director of the cultural space Moving Station in Pilsen. He lectures at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. He co-founded the Center for Cultural and Social Projects JOHAN, from the very beginning he also actively participated in the project of the European Capital of Culture – Pilsen 2015. In our team, Roman is dedicated to developing projects and partnerships within the program line Flow of Nature.
Currently on maternity leave.
Martina is the “keeper of the keys”, the person who makes sure things get done, not just said. She runs finance, communication, the office, in short, the system and the organisation. She studied International Relations and Nationalism at the Central European University in Budapest. Afterwards, she was part of the team that founded LEAF Academy, an innovative international high school in Bratislava. Over the years, she has volunteered for Amnesty International Slovakia, in a low-threshold community centre for youth or the first zero-waste conference in Slovakia.
Filip is in charge of our social network presence and PR. He has several years’ worth of experience working for music labels, cultural centres, and recording artists as content creator, copywriter, and event manager. He acquired his production skills mainly by organizing his own Odyssea series of events which have been taking a combination of music and visual art to unusual locations in Žilina, Slovakia.
Žilina Beskids 2026 Art board
Independent cultural centres
Stanica, Nová synagóga
Music
Slovak Sinfonietta Žilina
“In the future, I wish for the locals to perceive quality culture as a normal part of life and society, so that we can all truly feel at the heart of Europe, surrounded by beautiful nature and rich cultural life. ”
Design
Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Bratislava
“The current identity of Žilina (geographical location, traffic junction) needs to be expanded by new topics – culture, the cultivation of culture and education. To take into account social development in the digital era and rapid climatic changes.”
History
Museum of the Považie Region in Žilina
“What’s next for culture in Žilina? I wish for it the following: that to a simple question ‘Where to go?’ there is a simple answer: ‘To Žilina, of course! It’s nice there, it’s pretty and there’s always something going on!”
Dance
Studio ALTA
“Culture in Žilina should be accessible and attractive to a wide group of diverse communities and residents, who should have the opportunity to be directly involved in individual activities and thus shape cultural life in their city.”
Fine Arts
Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Bratislava
“I would like to contribute to an even greater internationalization of the city towards contemporary visual art.”
Architecture
Ateliér 2021
“I would like to contribute to raising the level of quality of architecture produced by the public sector.”
Theatre
Bábkové Divadlo Žilina
“Žilina is my choice. I was not born here, I chose it. Precisely because of its cultural possibilities and potential. I would like to help everyone see it that way. ”
Literature and history
Artforum bookshop
“I am a bookseller who does not personally wish to change culture in any way (it will change without me). It’s enough for me to wish that more and more people discover the joys of living with culture. ”
Art in the public space
Biela Noc
“I see Žilina’s future that is cultural, open, creative, socially responsible, active and interactive. I perceive culture as a natural catalyst for urban development and the activation of public space.”
Creative industry
University of Žilina
“Culture and education are closely interlinked, so I believe that a broader connection between the city and the university, also within culture, will bring even greater development of knowledge for our city and region.”
CITY OF ŽILINA
Peter Fiabáne, Vladimír Randa, Barbora Birnerová, Michal Berger, Ingrid Dolníková, Katarína Gazdíková, Štefan Vančík, Ivana Stillerová, Veronika Tabačková, Janka Pačeková, Veronika Harvánková, Rudolf Chodelka, Lucia Streďanská
CITY OF BIELSKO-BIAŁA
Jarosław Klimaszewski, Adam Ruśniak, Przemysław Smyczek, Jolanta Gilman–Gałuszka, Anna Zgierska
CITY OF FRÝDEK-MÍSTEK
Petr Korč, Jakub Míček, Jakub Tichý, Ondřej Zdvomka, Gabriela Kocichová, Michaela Kocourková, Jitka Brňovjáková, Karin Šrubařová
ŽILINA SELF-GOVERNING REGION
Erika Jurinová, Martin Hromada, Zuzana Mičíková, Ján Pavlík, Peter Šimčák
EUROREGION BESKIDS
Marcin Filip, Lenka Kubíková, Dagmar Valášková
UNIVERSITY OF ŽILINA
Jozef Jandačka, Josef Vičan, Jozef Ristvej, Robert Hudec, Slavka Pitoňáková, Andrea Čorejova, Veronika Šrámová, Mária Rostašová, Pavlína Čierna, Čorejová Tatiana
SPECIAL THANKS
Soňa Holúbková, Michaela Jakubíková, Andrea Kovaľová, Libor Štípala and all the people who participated and contributed in workshops, discussions, open calls and meetings during the preparation of this bid.
LIST OF MUNICIPALITIES THAT SUPPORTED OUR BID Bitarová, Bobrov, Breza, Bytča, Bziny, Čierne, Divinka, Dolný Kubín, Dolná Tižina, Dunajov, Ďurčiná, Gbeľany, Hôrky, Horný Hričov, Horný Vadičov, Kotešová, Krásno nad Kysucou, Kunerad, Kysucké Nové Mesto, Lysica, Maršová-Rašov, Námestovo, Nová Bystrica, Oščadnica, Predmier, Rajec, Rajecké Teplice, Rudina, Rudinka, Strečno, Teplička nad Váhom, Terchová, Turzovka, Vysoká nad Kysucou, Zázrivá, Zborov nad Bystricou, Zubrohlava
