The visual arts landscape of Slovenia has in many ways been determined by its geographical position at a crossroads: a series of historical artistic monuments - including the Basilica Eufrasiana in Poreč, the Tempietto Longobardo in Cividale-Čedad, the Basilica of Aquileia-Oglej and the Cathedral of Gurk-Krka - are situated close to the Slovene border, while the progressive cultural centres of Venice, Vienna and Budapest lie only a few hours away. Consequently, early artistic works of the eastern region were influenced by South German, Austrian, Czech and Hungarian culture, while the west was under Friulian or, in the coastal area, Venetian influences. However, the subtle original language of artists living and creating on this territory who succeeded to overcome various dictates presents a challenge for art historians. Art historical pearls are numerous, eg the church as Gesammtkunstwerk at Ptujska gora, the monastery church at Kostanjevica, the late-gothic frescos in St Primoz above Kamnik, the baroque sculpture of Francesco Robba in Ljubljana, the paintings by Gabriel Stupica or Marij Pregelj, the so-called "new Slovene sculpture" or works of contemporary conceptual artists, eg Alen Ožbolt, Nika Špan, etc, etc.

When after several centuries of Germanic domination, Slovenia became part of the South Slavic state formation, new currents of cultural exchange between Ljubljana, Zagreb, Sarajevo, Belgrade and Skopje thrived. At the same time Western European artistic movements continued to exert influence, challenging socialist aesthetics in Yugoslavia. For example, during the 1970s the Student Cultural Centre in Belgrade hosted Joseph Beuys and Joseph Kossuth as well as the OHO artistic group from Ljubljana, while the ŠKUC Gallery in Ljubljana presented radical conceptual art from Belgrade or Zagreb.

Today one of the significant aspects of the Slovene art scene is its interest in the contemporary art and culture of Eastern Europe and the perception of the 'other' in and beyond the new Europe, for example the Arteast 2000+ collection, the the East Art Map project (http://www.eastartmap.org), the Manifesta 3 (subtitled 'Borderline Syndrome - Energies of Defence') festival of 2000 and the 'Continental Breakfast' project at Ljubljana Castle and at Maribor Art Gallery in 2005. Slovenia's geographical, historical and cultural 'in-between' position offers a unique view of the complex relationship between East and West - and has proven to be a valuable asset in the context of new European and global networking.