Vlasto Kopač Project Wins the 2026 Team of the Year Award

The nationwide project Vlasto Kopač – Creator of Spaces, Guardian of Heritage and Memory has received the Slovenian Museum Association’s Presidency Award for Team of the Year 2026. The award recognises the importance of bringing together museums, experts and researchers to preserve, study and present Slovenia’s cultural heritage.

To mark its 55th anniversary, the Slovenian Museum Association (SMS) presented awards for outstanding achievements in various fields of museum work for the first time. The award ceremony took place on Monday, 19 October 2026, at the Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia, which also served as the Slovenian Museum Association’s first headquarters in 1972.

On this occasion, Uršula Menih Dokl, State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, emphasised the particular value of the awards, which also shed light on the dedicated, often unseen work behind these achievements. After all, heritage lives on thanks to the people who create, research and preserve it.

Bringing Knowledge and Research Together

At the heart of the award-winning project is a collaboration between seven institutions, which pooled their expertise, collections and research efforts to highlight the remarkable creative legacy of Vlasto Kopač. The project took shape through exhibitions, a publication, a film, a symposium, guided tours and other events that introduce Kopač’s work to a wider audience and encourage further research into his legacy.

The participating institutions were the Intermunicipal Museum Kamnik; the Museum and Galleries of the City of Ljubljana – Plečnik House (the lead partners); the Museum of Architecture and Design; the Upper Sava Valley Museum Jesenice – Slovenian Alpine Museum; the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia (Ljubljana and Kranj regional offices); the Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia; and the Anton Melik Geographical Institute at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU).

The project was coordinated and led, both organisationally and professionally, by Janja Železnikar, Museum Counsellor at the Intermunicipal Museum Kamnik.

Bringing Vlasto Kopač’s Work into a Contemporary Context

The award citation highlighted Kopač’s multifaceted creativity and his significant contribution to shaping the built environment and preserving cultural and natural heritage. A student and collaborator of architect Jože Plečnik, Kopač contributed to the construction of Žale Cemetery in Ljubljana and the weir on the Ljubljanica River, helped develop the Path of Remembrance and Comradeship, contributed to the renovation of Plečnik’s Market and Žale Cemetery in Ljubljana, and left a lasting mark on the development of Velika Planina.

The project was recognised for bringing greater visibility and coherence to Kopač’s work, encouraging further research, and connecting museum collections, documentation and fieldwork. It places his creative legacy in a contemporary context and highlights its continued relevance to understanding nature and heritage.

Recognition of Collaborative Work

The Team of the Year Award recognises everyone involved and demonstrates the value of collaboration between institutions, experts and individuals united by a shared commitment to heritage.

We would like to thank all our partners and colleagues for their dedication, expertise and excellent cooperation, and the Slovenian Museum Association for this recognition.