Trenčín 2026 Comes to EPIC for a Night of Culture, Light and Intermedia Interpretations of Heritage
On 20 June 2026, EPIC will become a meeting point of two European Capitals of Culture — GO! 2025 and Trenčín 2026 — during a special evening celebrating Slovenia’s Summer Museum Night and the official opening of the European Cultural Summer in Trenčín Slovakia.
As museums across Slovenia open their doors late into the night, Trenčín will simultaneously launch an entire season of art, music and urban transformation. At 18:30, visitors at EPIC will be invited into the world of Trenčín 2026 through a presentation and conversation centered around its inspiring main theme: “Awakening Curiosity.” with programme managers Martin Mazan and Katarina Rusinova.
Just a short journey from Slovenia, Trenčín is preparing more than 300 cultural events in 2026, turning the city into one of Europe’s most exciting creative destinations. The European Cultural Summer begins exactly on 20 June, bringing around 100 events into streets, parks, courtyards and unexpected public spaces across the city.
One of the highlights of the European Cultural Summer is Splanekor — a playful artistic river parade where unconventional floating sculptures, sound objects and musical vessels drift down the Váh River in a celebration of imagination and community spirit.
The EPIC evening will also offer a glimpse into autumn events, including Fiesta Festival & The Bridge, a unique programme transforming Trenčín’s historic railway bridge into a stage for performances, storytelling and artistic encounters connecting both riverbanks and communities.
A special focus of the evening will explore how Trenčín 2026 reimagines cultural heritage through contemporary art. Together with Martin Mazan and Katarina, visitors will discover ambitious projects that transformed medieval castles, churches and historic buildings into immersive artistic environments.
Among the featured projects from the acclaimed Light Up the City festival are interactive light and sound installations that filled sacred spaces with contemporary digital art. Visitors could activate the audiovisual installation “Touches – Temple of Light and Sound” simply by holding hands, play music through laser beams inside a church transformed into a giant “Laser Harp,” or experience meditative projection mapping, stained-glass light interventions and monumental chandelier installations in historic religious spaces and the city synagogue.
Trenčín 2026 Day at EPIC offers an inspiring preview of a cultural programme where heritage, technology and contemporary creativity meet — and an invitation to discover one of Europe’s most exciting cultural destinations in the year ahead.
We will conclude the evening with borderless networking and socialising accompanied by the sounds and flavours of Slovakia and Slovenia.
