VLADIMIR MIKEK – MAGIC WLADIMIR, the most recognized and renowned Slovenian magician in Slovenia and abroad, has achieved remarkable success in his rich and long career, far more than any other Slovenian in this art form.

Vladimir Mikek, born on September 26, 1956, in Maribor, spent his childhood in Tabor, Maribor. He attended high school in Ruše. Professionally, he is a chemical technician, but he never worked as a chemist. Immediately after completing his military service in Skopje, he began working as a waiter at the Orel Hotel in Maribor, where he stayed for five years. In 1985, he decided to embark on an independent artistic path.

He began practicing magic at the age of sixteen while in high school when he met Franc Zupan. Zupan was leading the magic artists’ section called the “Magic Circle” at the cultural and artistic society Jože Hermanko in Maribor. This is where Vladimir learned the basics. His true breakthrough into magical arts came through his encounter with Miran Čanak, a well-known magician from TV screens, also famous for his role in the show “Radovedni Taček.”

In 1981, he participated in his first international magician’s congress in Vienna and continued to attend at least two to three similar events every year around the world. In 1982, 1983, and 1984, he won the highest possible awards in the former Yugoslavia: three consecutive Grand Prix awards.The first in 1982 in Sombor, then in 1983 in Lipica, and the following year in Ljubljana. He then went on to win over twenty international awards and recognitions across Europe.

His greatest competitive achievement was third place at the World Congress of Magicians in Lausanne in 1991, where he was sincerely congratulated by David Kotkin, known as David Copperfield, for his innovative presentation (exceptional synchronization with music). The award at the World Congress means a lot to him. Firstly, because the world congress is held only every three years, so the award carries much greater weight, and secondly, because this is the highest placement of any magician from the Balkans.

After 1991, he focused on working with young people, organizing courses for magicians, and opening the Magic Studio and the Magic Studio Maribor Magician’s Club, which currently has forty members. He also published the magazine “Magical World” for the club. In 1993, he began organizing the international magician’s congress in Maribor, called MaGibor, and successfully organized it for a quarter of a century. The importance and effect of this congress (as well as his work in the club) is clearly visible in the approach of today’s Slovenian magicians, who are achieving impressive success on the international stage.

Throughout all these years of activity at the Magic Studio Maribor, he greatly expanded and deepened cross-border cooperation, especially with top artists from Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Serbia. Through this, he also contributed to the recognition of Maribor and Slovenia across Europe.

From 1992 to 2002, he worked closely with the SNG Maribor and other theaters, mainly with special effects (Pandur – Carmen, Kraljevič – Liliom, Magelli – Oresteia, etc.). In the 1992/93 season, he worked as a creator of special effects and as an actor in the youth play “Aladin,” with which, together with the rest of the team, he won the highest award at the Pikin Festival in Velenje.

After an extraordinarily rich career, he settled down somewhat. Nonetheless, he remains active, especially in the field of education. He shares his knowledge with other magicians worldwide through seminars that are highly regarded in this art form and well-attended, as he presents his own creations that are perfectly suited for entertaining audiences.

Without him, Maribor would not be on the map of world magic art. Without him, many lovers of magic, including professionals, would not have visited Maribor, as MaGibor, due to its excellent organization, top seminar leaders, and performances at the Gala shows, was a highly valued and well-attended congress. Without him, many would not have discovered the beauty of this city nor would they have heard of Maribor. MaGibor was for Maribor important for all twenty-five years, also from the perspective of non-congress consumption, related to numerous overnight stays of participants and performers, visits to attractions, and more…

Mayor of city Bled
TONI MEŽAN