Kunsthalle Wien

Kunsthalle Wien is the City of Vienna’s institution for international contemporary art and discourse. At its venues in Museumsquartier and on Karlsplatz, it presents exhibitions of contemporary art and contextualizes them in their social and political contexts. Special emphasis is placed on research into artistic practices and supporting local and international artists. Given the key role that art plays in processes of social change, Kunsthalle Wien advocates the productive contributions that arts-based ways of thinking can make in all domains of the public sphere.

A diverse program of events, including public conversations, performances, symposia, and interdisciplinary formats as well as extensive art education and publishing programs amplify Kunsthalle Wien’s profile as a site of lively and fruitful exchanges of ideas and opinions.

What, How & for Whom / WHW (Ivet Ćurlin, Nataša Ilić and Sabina Sabolović), Kunsthalle Wien’s artistic directors, have based their program on twenty years of collective work in Zagreb and internationally. That work has been particularly interested in artistic practices located outside the centers of power, as well as the links to various activist endeavors. WHW therefore puts Vienna in all its diversity at the center of the program, setting up exchanges with geographies, histories and knowledges that have less visibility and recognition than activities in the main western capitals.

In the beginning, Kunsthalle Wien was a makeshift structure. Conceptualized as a temporary edifice in the shape of a container by Adolf Krischanitz, Kunsthalle Wien opened its doors at Karlsplatz in 1992. The initially rather controversial yellow container structure not only shaped the Viennese cityscape, but also changed the local art and exhibition scene.

In May 2001, Kunsthalle Wien eventually moved into its new headquarters, designed by the architect duo Ortner & Ortner, at the Museumsquartier. For this headquarters the Winterreithalle (winter riding arena) of the Hofstallungen (Imperial Mews) was extended by a functional annex which combines the historic building with contemporary architecture. Two halls with different interior profiles provide space for exhibitions of contemporary art.

In 2001, the yellow container at Karlsplatz was reduced to a glass pavilion. This glass cube, which was also designed by Adolf Krischanitz, is now the second location of Kunsthalle Wien and presents a wide-ranging program of exhibitions and events.