With boundless museums, galleries and concert venues, Vienna is a thriving hub for anyone who wants a little culture in their lives. From temporary exhibits inspired by modern life from up-and-coming artists to displays of famous artwork that date back centuries, here are all the best cultural and art events happening in Vienna, Austria in 2019.
May 29th - October 6th at various locations throughout Vienna
The first event of its kind to blend design, art and architecture to boost creativity and support artistic projects, Vienna Biennale for Change 2019 is designed to make people think about today’s major issues and open up new perspectives. This year’s theme for the four-month festival is “BRAVE NEW VIRTUES. Shaping Our Digital World”, which focuses on the handling of artificial intelligence and new technologies, developing innovative ways to work, new ways of living together and achieving responsible consumption of the world’s resources.
Highlights include live music concerts held inside museums, themed art displays, lectures discussing important topics and evening parties with like-minded culture-seekers.
May 25th - October 26th at Mumok
A unique art exhibition unlike anything else you’ll find in the city, Vertigo really plays with your senses and makes you question what’s real and what’s not. The interactive exhibit showcases the under-appreciated op art of the 1950s and 1960s through a vast spectrum of reliefs, panel paintings, installations, objects, films, computer-generated art and experiential spaces proving that grasping reality can sometimes be impossible.
Vertigo doesn’t just just play with your sight. The powerful effects created by the optical illusions affect all your senses, creating a fun yet deceptive game you’ll find oddly intriguing. The experience will leave you wondering if it’s you that’s spinning or your environment.
Last Friday of every month 5:30pm - 8pm at the Albertina Museum
Larger than life local drag queen, Tiefe Kümmernis, invites you on a tour of one of the latest temporary exhibitions at the Albertina Museum, Rubens bis Makart. This out of the ordinary experience is best if you’re into art history books, being inspired by artwork, philosophical chats over coffee and plenty of silliness designed to get everyone feeling involved and relaxed.
There are no reservations — places on the tour are on a first come, first served basis. So make sure you turn up early to avoid disappointment.
Credit: Hubertl via Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 4.0]
April 6th - July 8th at the Leopold Museum
A remarkably comprehensive exhibit displaying the works of Oskar Kokoschka, OSKAR KOKOSCHKA EXPRESSIONIST, MIGRANT, EUROPÄER features 250 pieces on loan from private collections and museums from all over the world. You’ll have the chance to admire the artist’s versatile paintings, watercolours, drawings and prints, as well as his works for art magazines such as “Der Sturm” and the theatre.
Oskar Kokoschka (1886 - 1980) dedicated his life to pacifism and humanism and is considered to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century. From 1908 onward, he was seen as a painter, graphic artist, playwright and poet, provoking the art world as a radical innovator. He greatly inspired other artists of his time and continues to inspire and affect people today through exhibitions such as this.
March 23rd - August 25th at the Kunst Haus Wien
This year, Kunst Haus Wien is hosting two photography exhibitions — one about rural living (Über Leben am Land) and another about climate change and what may or may not happen in the future (Future Scenarios). The rural living exhibit spotlights what life is like in the countryside in Europe and the US, looking at the romantic side of farming life, as well as the remote, cut-off-from-society dreariness of life in the provinces. The climate change exhibit was designed following discussions with scientists and researchers, examining questions regarding our responsibility to the planet, as well as our vulnerability
Both exhibits are a combination of photographic viewpoints, video works, documentary-style approaches and research material.
February 23rd - September 8th at Mumok
The world is filled with patterns, from those found within the seeds in the centre of a sunflower to those used to create a structurally-sound city skyscraper. The curators of the Pattern and Decoration exhibit, Irene and Peter Ludwig, have rounded up samples of patterns used in decorations throughout history, to create the largest presentation of Pattern and Decoration since the 1980s in German-speaking Europe.
Through oriental-style mosaics, paintings, installations, monumental textile collages and performances, this collection of works is a bright and colourful contrast to the purism art of the 1960s.
March 15th to November 3rd at the Austrian National Library
Commemorating the 500th anniversary of Emperor Maximilian I’s death, Emperor Maximilian I. A great Habsburg is a special exhibition within the library’s Grand Hall that takes a look at the famous ruler against the background of his own work, as well as new discoveries and achievements from the Middle Ages up to the modern era.
Pieces on display include textbooks from the emperor’s childhood which provide an insight into his early education, as well as new astronomical findings and studies of ancient cultures. There are more than 90 valuable objects on display in total, honouring the great Habsburg and his life.
April 3rd - October 20th at the Jewish Museum Vienna
Celebrating 90 years of Arik Brauer, All of My Arts highlights the work of the talented artist, architect, singer and jack of all trades creative. The all-encompassing exhibition isn’t limited to Arik Brauer’s paintings. Displays feature everything from ceramics and music to dance, architecture and stage design, showing just how diverse and strong his talents really are.
As a young Jewish painter, Arik Brauer studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he dedicated himself to a unique form of painting that was worlds apart from the abstract art world. Inspired by surrealism, he went on to develop fantasy characters and worlds which, although initially went unappreciated by art critics, were eventually celebrated and loved by the public.