Sports and culturat association Gor, Ljubljana

The purpose of the association is to bring together the people that are interested in hip hop culture and wish to contribute to the development of the culture itself as well as its individual elements. The association also promulgates the importance of culture in general. The broader goals of the GOR Association are: › to develop and strengthen friendship among its members, to promote individual creativity, to raise awareness of the importance of love, unity, peace, and understanding; › to encourage diversity in dance, painting, singing, and instrumental activities and by doing so help to maintain physical and mental health and well-being, and to accustom its members, in particular the young, to spend their free time in a meaningful and useful way; › to stimulate and develop creative multicultural cooperation; › to organise competitions, workshops, practice sessions, exhibitions, concerts, and other events for all generations of the culture known as hip hop. The GOR Association organises regular breakdance and DJ practice sessions. The GOR Association also organises voluntary events that are not aimed only at people interested in hip hop culture, but at a broader audience as well. Two such events are Prid'te Gor and Cypher to the People. ›Prid'te Gor is a promotional event where members of the association introduce visitors to the activities of the association through practical participation. The event features a “movie night” and visitors can take free breakdance, DJ, and graffiti lessons as well as participate in a form of collective expression of various art forms, i.e. a “jam session” or a “cypher”. › Cypher to the People is organised in such a way so as to promote socialising and a collective expression of all local hip hop artist, i.e. a “jam session” or “a cypher”, which is why local Slovenian hip hop artists also take part in the organisation. Furthermore, the event features a round table on hip hop culture. Recognised artists that have been active for several years participate in the discussion, each of them telling their own story and representing their respective branch of the culture of hip hop (breakdance, graffiti, DJing, and MCing) in order to shed light on current problems facing the culture itself. In order to carry out its activities, the GOR Association also cooperates with other European hip hop artists and organisations. To this end, the GOR Association organises two international dance competitions for both boys and girls. › Bgirls Do It Better was held on International Women's Day (8 March). The event was aimed specifically at all the girls and women of the culture known as hip hop. We wanted to help female dancers from all over the world to get to know each other, give them an opportunity to show what they're made of, and raise the level of female participation in hip hop in Slovenia and in general. › King of the Concrete is first and foremost an anniversary of the establishment of Flow From Below breakdance crew, which bases its activity in the abandoned Rog factory. Since 2008, members of Flow From Below have been organising the event exclusively from their own financial resources, which they earn by performing streets shows or receive from friends and other urban artists. Many people come to see the event each year, mainly because urban artists from Ljubljana's hip hop scene get a chance to make new acquaintances and form cultural connections. The event also features a breakdance competition that has a different underlying concept each year, a graffiti exhibition, and a live concert. The purpose of the event is to promote expression through hip hop and connect hip hop artists on a local as well as international level in the spirit of positive energy, created against the backdrop of a “birthday party”. As a youth organisation, the GOR Association also participates in different youth projects. › Back to School is a two-day urban culture project that features free dance, music, and art workshops both in public spaces, which means that they are accessible to all and everyone, and in the facilities of the club Jedro, where more advanced workshops take place. The event also features a dance competition for individuals and groups of younger and older generations. The whole event ends with a live performance in Jedro. › Pass the Jam is an event organised by those who participate in practice sessions of the association with the help of their mentors. The goal is to promote project work with the youth, introduce informal learning, pass on the knowledge of urban culture of hip hop and spend some time together while having a good time. The event features, among other things, a lecture on music and dance, a performance by the members of the GOR Association, and a “jam session”, i.e. a form of collective expression through which we bring together different generations (of children, youth, mentors, and parents).