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What is Autonomous Factory Rog

Rog factory is an industrial complex on the east edge of Ljubljana centre, which produced the famous Rog bicycles and was shut down in 1 991. Since then it has laid abandoned, empty, and in deterioration for 15 years. In 2006 the area was occupied by engaged students, artists and activists as a critical response to the post-socialist transition process (privatisation and de-industrialisation), and erosion of public and social spaces (individualisation and atomisation of society). The occupation pulled legitimacy from the need for places for non-formal artistic, cultural and political activity (autonomy, alternative culture, horizontal political organising).

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Latest public relations statements

Rogoversery Rogolution: They took our Rog, we will take the citly!

Public statements

This week we would be celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Rog Autonomous Factory. But since we have nowhere to go, we will celebrate all over the city.

In the last year the pandemic has shown us exactly how damaging and antisocial the politics of neoliberalism implemented both at the state and local level are, as they contribute to the ever increasing distress of the majority of the people. To a handful of decision-makers and their networks however, the crisis proved to be a great opportunity to promote their private interests. After a full year of the corona pandemic it has thus become clear that despite the economic crisis the political and financial establishment have prospered, gained even more power and support of the repressive apparatus in order to stifle protests and popular rebellion.

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Laži in zavajanja MOL v zvezi z uničenjem AT Rog

Public statements

O zapuščenosti prostorov, ekološki bombi, dialogu, nezakonitosti in še čem

Že trije tedni so minili od nasilne evikcije uporabnikov in uporabnic Avtonomne tovarne Rog. V tem času smo prejeli nešteto klicev in sporočil podpore, nešteto zgroženih poizvedovanj in izrazov solidarnosti, ki pričajo o trdni in dolgotrajni ukoreninjenosti ljudi in programov AT Rog v življenjsko tkivo mesta Ljubljana. Še več, pričajo o globoki povezanosti s številnimi lokalnimi, regionalnimi in transnacionalnimi mrežami iz najrazličnejših področij družbeno-političnega življenja. Mar kdo lahko resno misli, da bi smetišče, zapuščen prostor in obrat male kriminalne dejavnosti sprožil tak val izrazov pristne solidarnosti in iskrenega šoka?

15 let smo v mestu in družbi gradili osebna in politična zavezništva s tistimi, ki jih je oblast razglasila za odvečne, jim jemala pravno podlago za bivanje, jim ukinjala vize, omogočala krajo njihovih krvavo prisluženih plač, jih ilegalno preganjala čez meje. Skozi srečanja in boje smo se naučili marsikaj. Tudi tega, da so laž, ilegalno delovanje in nasilje dobrodošli gostje na banketu neoliberalne oblasti. Sedaj smo tudi sami deležni zvrhane bere istega in to od javne oblasti v obliki Mestne občine Ljubljana. Nobenih iluzij nimamo, da lahko kontriramo ogromni propagandni mašineriji oblasti, toda utihnili ne bomo. Nobenih iluzij nimamo niti glede tega, koga v tej državi ščiti pravni sistem, toda za zaščito poslanstva AT Rog bomo uporabili vsa pravna sredstva.

Mestna občina Ljubljana se ne pusti motiti in svoj originalen zločin samovoljnega vdora, nasilne in protipravne izpraznitve ter uničenja AT Rog vse od tistega usodnega torkovega jutra 19. 1. 2021 nadgrajuje z intenzivno propagandno operacijo. Ta propaganda kombinira vulgarna zavajanja ('Rog kot smetišče'), očitne laži ('Rog je bil prazen'), plehke predsodke ('Rog je bil leglo narkomanov, brezdelnežev in kriminala'), hudo nekorektne prikaze dinamike dogovorov med MOL in AT Rog ('Rogovci so zavračali dialog'), s piarovskimi prikazi bodočega Centra Rog ter skrbno izbranimi podatki o mestni kulturni politiki. Delno zaradi pritiskov MOL in delno zaradi nekritičnosti, številni mediji to propagandno ofenzivo podpirajo, jo opremljajo s fotografijami, video-posnetki in copy-paste reproduciranjem retorike MOL. Poleg medijskega bombardiranja pa se župan Zoran Janković in njegovi sodelavci poslužujejo direktnih groženj institucijam in posameznikom, ki so izrazili podporo AT Rog, tako preko telefona kot preko socialnih omrežij.

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Save Factory Rog - Criticism of municipality's plans

One year after the occupation - in 2007 - the municipality began planning the renovation of the area into a “Creative centre Rog”, putting the emphasis on redeveloping the surroundings in order to build an attractive area for international artists and tourists. With the help of an EU-led project devoted to revitalization of ex-industrial zones, they propose a public-private partnership to renovate the main factory building, the construction of a design hotel, up-standard apartments and commercial programs. The public-private ration is 20-80%. One of the proposals also suggests a relocation of 3 art academies to Rog, but their deans deny it, because of non-defined relations between academic and commercial programs and because they don’t want their students - who are active in the factory - to lose their studios/ateliers. The municipality could never find an investor because of global recession, so they down-scaled the project into an all- publicly financed “centre for architecture, design and visual arts” stressed on developing the creative industries economic sector and helping young designers into entering the labor market.

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Save Factory Rog - Latest expert opinions and critiques

Save Factory Rog - Latest petition

Open call of The Autonomous Factory Rog: Against violence of the City Municipality of Ljubljana - for Open Dialogue

Petitions

With the renewed escalation of pressure from the City Municipality of Ljubljana, we turn to you with a public appeal to the city administration to agree to an open dialogue with the users of AT Rog, which we’ve been trying to establish in vain for three years. Instead of violent confrontations or closed negotiations we are striving for an open discussion about the future of the Rog Factory in cooperation with the interested professional public. We ask you to contribute to our petition and help find a common, transparent and non-violent solution to the conflict.

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History

Chronology of the factory spaces on Trubarjeva street.

  • 1871 - The land is bought by Ivan Janesh who builds a smaller groundfloor building for tanning hides.
  • 1879 - Janesh upgrades it into a one storey building that holds a tanning workshop.
  • 1884 - His sons build the second floor.
  • 1900 - The tannery is bought by Karel Pollak, who renovates and modernizes the workshop.
  • 1904 - Pollak surrounds the area with a wall and builds a residential villa.

Preberi več

Latest letters of support

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