17/11/2013
Vienna Art week 2013
Different venues, Wien
Projecting Worlds. The motto of this ninth edition draws on topics and positions related to the role of artistic expression in reinforcing identity. With exhibitions, interventions, studio visits, gallery tours, curator-led excursions, artist talks, and performances.
VIENNA ART WEEK, now in its ninth edition, has become an annual
fixture in Vienna’s cultural life. Once again, this year’s art festival – initiated by the Dorotheum and
hosted by Art Cluster Vienna – has managed to encourage and foster cooperation between global
and Austrian art-world players.
“Projecting Worlds”, the motto of this year’s festival from 18 to 24 November, draws on topics and
positions related to the role of artistic expression in reinforcing identity. Within a framework of
exhibitions, interventions, studio visits, gallery tours, curator-led excursions, artist talks, lectures,
performances and podium discussions, VIENNA ART WEEK 2013 spotlights the artist as the creator
of artworks and narrator of his or her own cosmos, focusing on the dialogue between the artist and
the viewer.
The charm of deceleration: art takes time
Viewing art is a kind of catalysis, a gentle introduction to a world that leaves room and time for both
creativity and interpretation. In a world of ubiquitous information technology, with a population
suffering from permanent sensory overload, deceleration becomes the nostalgic epitome of a
contemporary lifestyle. Art satisfies our longings and creates new desire, but it takes time to immerse
oneself into the cosmos of an artist and embrace his or her narrative. This cosmos unveils the artists’
inner worlds, yet it is also a projection of other, interdependent and mutually-reinforcing conditions.
Vibrant art scene
Vienna has long been globally renowned for its high density of great museums and lively gallery
scene. In recent years, it has also developed a wide network of alternative project spaces, with
artists opening their own showrooms and numerous exhibition spaces run by highly-committed,
smaller associations. VIENNA ART WEEK has responded to this development, making the vibrant
scene a fixture in its program since 2009.
OPEN STUDIO DAY: art at first hand
One of VIENNA ART WEEK’s aims is to give artists living and working in Vienna a platform. Last
year, the OPEN STUDIO DAY emerged from the VIENNA ART WEEK’s former Studio Visits,
i.e. extremely popular curator-led visits to artists’ studios. Art lovers can now choose unlimited from a
great number of studios and enjoy a glimpse over the artists’ shoulders. On Saturday, 23 November
2013, the art festival once again affords the unique opportunity to visit artists in their studios: around
100 renowned Viennese artists nominated by Janina Falkner (curator, MAK Contemporary Art
Collection), Severin Dünser (curator, Belvedere Contemporary Art Collection), Alexandra Grausam
(Head of das weisse haus) and Bettina Spörr (curator, Secession) will open their studios to the public
to show how they work, give an insight into their own art worlds (true to this year’s motto “Projecting
Worlds”), get in touch with the art-loving public and present their recent works or works in progress.
Curator-led Open Talks – i.e. conversations between artists and curators – will be held in the studios
of twelve participating artists to provide the discursive framework and top off the program.
PARTICIPATING ART INSTITUTIONS / MEMBERS OF ART CLUSTER VIENNA
21er Haus + Academy of Fine Arts Vienna + Albertina + Architekturzentrum Wien + BAWAG P.S.K.
Contemporary + Belvedere + departure – The Creative Agency of the City of Vienna + DOROTHEUM
+ Essl Museum + Austrian Film Museum + Generali Foundation + Jewish Museum Vienna + KÖR
Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Wien + Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier & Kunsthalle Wien Karlsplatz +
KUNST HAUS WIEN + Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien + Künstlerhaus + Leopold Museum + MAK –
Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art + mumok Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung
Ludwig Wien + MUSA Museum Startgalerie Artothek + quartier 21/MuseumsQuartier Wien +
Secession + Sigmund Freud Museum + Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary + University of
Applied Arts Vienna + THE GALLERIES Association of Austrian Galleries of Modern Art + Wien Museum
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Anzenberger Gallery + bäckerstrasse 4 – plattform für junge kunst + Bernhard Cella + Kunstraum
Bernsteiner + EIGENSINNIG - Schauraum für Mode und Fotografie + EIKON – International Magazine
for Photography and Media Art + Marcello Farabegoli + Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private
Foundation + FOTO-RAUM + Galerie Krinzinger + Kro Art Contemporary Vienna + Friedrichshof
Collection City Space + Lenikus Collection + SAMMLUNG VERBUND + Lust Gallery + Kunstraum
Niederoesterreich + Galerie Michaela Stock & next door + Nitsch Foundation + stable gallery + Gerald
Straub + Tanzquartier Wien + Cornelis van Almsick + das weisse haus + Yoshi’s Contemporary Art +
ZOOM Children ́s Museum
OFFSPACES
Ausarten + Basement Wien + Bildetage Galerie/Batolit + flat1 + Fluc + Glockengasse No9 + Hallway
Gallery + HHDM Hinter Haus des Meeres + Hinterland + Im Ersten + k48 – offensive for contemporary
perception + Mauve Vienna + Mo:e + Neuer Kunstverein Wien + Open Systems – Zentrum für
Kunstprojekte + school + UBIK Space + Ve.Sch + Zimmer.Küche.Kabinett and dasVERONIKA.
Artistic Director Robert Punkenhofer
Press contact:
Mag. Christina Werner
Laura Maggale, BA
w.hoch.2wei. Kulturelles Projektmanagement
Breite Gasse 17/4, 1070 Wien / Vienna T: +43-1-5249646 F: +43-1-5249632 E: werner@kunstnet.at
Press Conference Monday, 18 November 2013, 10:00 a.m.
Dorotheum, Dorotheergasse 17, 1010 Vienna