10 March 2017

6pm: Opening to celebrate the launch of the new artistic programme at the Grazer Kunstverein. Followed by CMRK exhibition openings at Künstlerhaus Halle für Kunst & Medien (7pm), Camera Austria (8pm) and < rotor > (9pm)

11 March 2017

11am – 6pm: Fink’s is open

11am – 6pm: kunsttext.WERKSTATT VI:
day two of a three day workshop presented by kunsttext.werk at Grazer Kunstverein.

kunsttext.WERKSTATT VI is a three-day workshop that provides theoretical and practical foundations for the writing of reviews and self-publishing. During joint exhibition visits and in discussions with workshop guests, participants will take a look behind the scenes of contemporary art institutions and use the newly opened research space of the Grazer Kunstverein for text and magazine production. kunsttext.werk is an association that promotes networking within the scientific discipline of arts based research. Since 2009, the association has been pursuing the aim of stimulating research and text production amongst (young) art historians and cultural creators, offering opportunities for public exchange and interdisciplinary networking.

For more information visit www.grazerkunstverein.org/kunsttextwerk/

12 March 2017

11am – 6pm: Fink’s is open

11am – 4pm: kunsttext.WERKSTATT VI:
final day of a three day workshop presented by kunsttext.werk at Grazer Kunstverein.

Information on kunsttext.werk as above.

13 March 2017

11am – 6pm: Fink’s is open

6pm: ‘Beyond Socialist Modernism: Conceptual art and New Artistic Practices in Yugoslavia’, a lecture by Branislav Dimitrijevic. Presented in collaboration with IZK Institute for Contemporary Art, TU Graz

Although highly contested and problematised, the term “socialist modernism” remains the operational historical term for the cultural policy of the socialist Yugoslavia from the early 1950s to the late 1960s. Along with the economic reforms and a social “liberalisation,” such a policy came under a critique aiming at its ritualised and passive role in the formation of the socialist society. What were the standpoints and practices and what were the consequences of this critique for the new generation of artists emerging with the student movements and new-left philosophies in the late 1960s and early 1970s?

Branislav Dimitrijevic is Professor of History and Theory of Art at the School for Art and Design in Belgrade, and was formerly active as a contemporary art curator. The lecture is organized as part of the IZK Institute for Contemporary Art, TU Graz Theory Lecture Series in collaboration with the Centre for South-East European Studies – University of Graz, and with the support of Grazer Kunstverein.

15 March 2017

11am – 6pm: Fink’s is open

6:30–8:30pm: Evening event focusing on insights into Irish Culture, in advance of our members trip to Ireland in April. The event will introduce Irish culture through art, food, and other insights. Irish Artist Fiona Hallinan will prepare some special bites and drinks from Fink’s library of tastes at the Grazer Kunstverein. Kneissl Touristik will present Ireland as a travel destination as well as give expert information on their range of specialist tours to the region. We will also have representatives from Aer Lingus giving an overview of the practical links between Austria and the island of Ireland, along with representatives from Tourism Ireland, the organisers of the evening. Refreshments will be served.

This event is open to anyone with a general interest in learning more about Ireland. Places are limited to 30, so please register your interest in attending by sending an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

18 March 2017

11am – 6pm: Fink’s is open

7pm: Presentation of #3 Körper, Körperdinge (issue 2), a zine by Tortuga

Tortuga is a collective formed in Graz in 2013. Since then Tortuga occupies and moves along the in-between of art and critique. Following the issues #1 Grenze (border) and #2 Lärm (noise), Tortuga now find themselves on a long journey discussing Körper.

Programme for this event:
Audio Cinema: Two Parts Water One Part Oxygen, by Tortuga
Performance: Küchenkörper. Eine Aneignung der Frankfurter Küche, by Adina F. Camhy
Reading: Materialiserung des Blicks, by Lale Rodgarkia-Dara
Film: Trading Stories – A Cargo Named Desire (2015, 45 Min Omeu), by Jennifer Mattes

For more information see: www.tortuga-zine.net

19 March 2017

2–4pm: Vinegar Workshop with Anita Konig Local food producer and maker

Anita Konig will host a workshop at Fink’s on how to make vinegar using seasonal ingredients. Out of this workshop we will be developing a special vinegar for the Spring Season at Grazer Kunstverein. The workshop includes information on local oil, pesto making and tastings with home made bread.

Places are limited so booking is required, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to register your interest.

5–7 May 2017

Gallery Days

For Gallery Days the Grazer Kunstverein is delighted to present readings of Ernst Fischer’s work throughout the space of the gallery, on Friday 5 May at 4pm. We will also be collecting recipes for Fink’s – our library of tastes. Taking place on a long weekend in May, Gallery Days is a tour of the Contemporary Visual Arts Scene. Galleries and art institutions participate in a three-day exhibition tour. On Saturday, 6 May, Dr. Sabine Flach will present a special tour of selected galleries, commencing at 3pm at the Grazer Kunstverein.

During Gallery Days opening hours are 4–11pm on Friday, 11am – 7pm on Saturday and 11am – 5pm on Sunday.

9 May 2017

The Members Library

Join us for an evening with Dubravka Sekulic when she will make a presentation on ‘The Grand Domestic Revolution, A History of Feminist Designs For American Homes, Neighborhoods, and Cities’ by Dolores Hayden. This book, together with Silvia Federici's 'Caliban and the Witch' continues to inspire her practice today. It is also the first book she digitized four years ago. The Grand Domestic Revolution is a book that continues to inspire her practice today. During the presentation, she will explain why the book, first published in the 1980s to discuss spatial practices of 19th century material feminists, is as important today as it was then. Dubravka Sekulic is an architect researching transformations of contemporary cities, at the nexus between production of space, laws and economy. She is based at IZK, TU Graz. This presentation will be in English. The event will take place at 7pm at the Grazer Kunstverein.

23 June 2017

Opening to celebrate the launch of our summer season at the Grazer Kunstverein, with new works by Ruth E Lyons, Fiston Mwanza Mujila, and Edward Clydesdale Thomson.

The opening reception will take place at 7pm at the Grazer Kunstverein with a reading by Fiston Mwanza Mujila at 7:30pm.

As part of the CMRK network, the opening will be followed by those at Camera Austria (8pm) and < rotor > (9pm) and is preceded by an opening at Künstlerhaus Halle für Kunst & Medien (6pm).

29 June 2017

Ernst Fischer at the Grazer Kunstverein

Half-day Conference dedicated to exploring the legacy and influence of Ernst Fischer, featuring talks by Marina Fischer-Kowalski and Eugen Gross among others, and a book presentation by CLIO: Association for History and Education. 

Schedule:

3pm: Brief introduction and welcome
(in English and German)?

3:30pm: Talk by Marina Fischer-Kowalski
(in English and German)?

4:30pm: Group presentation by Anousheh Kehar, Budour Khalil, Kassandra Kyriazis, Tamara Novkovic, Lung Peng, Amela Rendic, and Diana Raluca Vesa with Dubravka Sekulic, IZK/TU Graz (in English)

5pm: Break with snacks by Fink’s

5:30pm: Lecture by Eugen Gross: ‘Art in the focus of time’ (in German with English transcription)

7pm: Book presentation by CLIO: Association for History and Education, with Heimo Halbrainer, Ludwig Hartinger and Karl Wimmler (in German)

8:30pm: Reception with drinks by Fink’s

This conference will take place on Thursday 29 June 2017, 3–9pm. Refreshments will be served and snacks will be available to purchase from Fink’s on the day. Capacity is limited so please register should you wish to attend, in order to ensure a place: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

23 September 2017

Opening to celebrate the launch of The Seed Eaters by Emily Mast as part of our autumn season. This new work is a co-production with steirischer herbst.

The opening reception will take place at 6:30pm at the Grazer Kunstverein. All are welcome, admission is free.

Live performances of The Seed Eaters will take place on the following evenings at 7:30pm at the Grazer Kunstverein:

Saturday 23 September
Sunday 24 September
Monday 25 September
Tuesday 26 September
Wednesday 27 September

Places are extremely limited. To reserve your place for one or more of the live performances, please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Admission for exhibition/performances:
EUR 3,50 regular
EUR 2,00 reduced
Free admission for members

7 October 2017

2pm: Guided tour as part of steirischer herbst. Starting point at Kunsthalle Graz.

6pm-1am: Long Night of the Museums
Hourly improvised performances through the exhibition. The last performance starts at midnights.

10 October 2017

The Members Library

Join us for an evening with Anousheh Kehar. She will present a compilation of short stories by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie titled The Thing Around Your Neck. This book platforms storytelling as an act of presenting more than one story within a global discourse. In presenting this work, Kehar will offer insight into her own work and research, and what compels her to question, excavate, and communicate. Anousheh Kehar is a Master of Architecture candidate at the University of Houston and currently part of a joint-study program at the Institute of Contemporary Art (IZK) at TU Graz. Her research is situated in the juxtaposition of natural and built environments with complex constructs of socioeconomic, sociopolitical and legal frameworks. Her ongoing master’s project aims to activate the specific landscape and constructed knowledge of Omarska – location of a concentration camp in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, to reconsider notions of remembrance.

The event will take place at 7pm at the Grazer Kunstverein.

8 November 2017

Wednesday, 8 November 2017, 7 p.m.?
Reitschulgasse 17-19, 1. Stock, 8010 Graz

The next artist in our ‘Artists’ Homes’ series is Reni Hofmüller. In this series, artists born or working in the region of Styria present their work in a personal and often unusual context. This time, Reni meets us at her studio to tell us about her work exploring sound and acoustic resonance through sculptural antennas, with a particular focus on the hand made aspect of her practice. In articulating her own practice, the artist quotes Emma Goldman saying "I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody's right to beautiful, radiant things".

Reni Hofmüller (b. 1966, Innsbruck) is a Graz based artist, musician, composer, performer, organiser and activist in the fields of new media, technology, politics and contemporary art. She is the co-initiator/founder of 42, ESC I'm Labor, Radio Helsinki, mur.at, and various other art-related initiatives; part of Eclectic Tach Carnival, and member of IMA.

7 December 2017

Opening to celebrate the launch of our winter season at the Grazer Kunstverein, with new exhibitions by Isabel Nolan (Curling Up With Reality) and Ola Vasiljeva (The Decline of the Showpieces).

The opening reception will take place at 7pm at the Grazer Kunstverein. As part of the CMRK network, the opening will be followed by those at Camera Austria (8pm) and < rotor > (9pm) and is preceded by an opening at Künstlerhaus Halle für Kunst & Medien (6pm).

12 December 2017

7pm: The Members Library with Wolfgang Kienreich?

17 January 2018

11am-6pm: Seminar with Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Sabine Flach organized by Institute of Art History, Karl Franzens University Graz. This is a one-day student-led seminar featuring presentations by Jacqueline Emathinger, Julian Schnabl, Marie-Theres Steingassner and Victoria Schröder, investigating the practices of artists Ruth E Lyons, Thomas Hirschorn, Fiona Hallinan, and Christine Hill and their relevance to Flach's concept of Relational Aesthetics.

24 January 2018

7pm: The Members Library with Donny Mahoney. New Jersey born journalist Donny Mahoney will present the book ‘Joe Gould's Secret’ by Joseph Mitchell. This book is an account of the strange life of the shadowy Greenwich Village bohemian Joe Gould, who, during his life, claimed to be writing the longest book in the history of the world. Joe Gould's Secret is regarded as one of the greatest works of literary journalism in the 20th century.

31 January 2018

7pm: Artist’s Homes with Studio Magic, studio visit in Graz. Studio Magic is a collective of architecture makers. The team is scattered throughout Austria, with members in Graz and Innsbruck, Vienna and Bad Goisern. Studio Magic is interdisciplinary in the fields of architecture, urban research, exhibition and furniture design, and interventions in public space. Studio Magic will host an open studio visit during which members will describe the projects Neuberg College: A spatial strategy for a co-educational college, and Transegrity – the festival centre for the steirischer herbst 2017. This event will be in German and English. Studio Address: Klosterwiesgasse 14, courtyard, 1st floor, 8010 Graz

1 February 2018

7pm: Lecture by Vincent Normand, as part of IZK Theory Lecture Series, organised by IZK Institute for Contemporary Art, TU Graz. Vincent Normand is an art historian, writer, and occasional curator. He will present a lecture entitled The Open Secret of Exhibitions wherein the exhibition will be considered simultaneously as an apparatus of display and a form of art allowing for an understanding of the historical emergence of the “space of art” within the conceptual matrix of modernity: the anthropological, epistemic, aesthetic and political backdrops against which it emerged. The lecture will be in English.
http://izk.tugraz.at/events/the-open-secret-of-exhibitions/

16 February 2018

6.30pm: Speaking event with Isabel Nolan, marking the finissage of her exhibiton Curling Up With Reality, as part of the Winter Season at Grazer Kunstverein. Irish artist Isabel Nolan, in conversation with artistic director Kate Strain, will explore the making of meaning through contemporary art – encompassing a discussion of key cultural figures, from the disgraced Italian monk Giordano Bruno to the American artist Paul Thek, and politician/ journalist/ philosopher/ arts writer Ernst Fischer to Nobel-winning Austrian author Elfriede Jelinek. Such figures have inspired elements of Nolan’s artistic practice, and more broadly her work for the Winter Season at Grazer Kunstverein, in ways that cross time and space, and give form to esoteric philosophical ideas through sculpture, painting and photography. This event is made possible with the kind support of the Irish Embassy in Vienna.

8 March 2018

6:15pm: Lecture by visiting artist Niamh O’Malley at the Institute of Design & Communication at FH Joanneum, organised in the frame of Anke Strittmatter’s lecture series ‘Künstlerische Environments’, in collaboration with Prof. Karl Stocker, programme director of Exhibition Design. This lecture is open to the public. The language of the event will be English.

9 March 2018

8pm: Opening to celebrate the launch of the Spring Season at Grazer Kunstverein, with two new exhibitions; She Who Speaks by Carl Johan Högberg and Foiled Glass by Niamh O’Malley. An opening reception will take place at 8pm at the Grazer Kunstverein, with refreshments provided by Das Gramm. As part of the CMRK network, the opening will be preceded by those at < rotor > (6pm), Camera Austria (7pm) and followed by a talk at Künstlerhaus Halle für Kunst & Medien (9pm). A free shuttle bus will offer return transport from Vienna to Graz for the occasion. Details available at www.cmrk.org

13 March 2018

7pm: Talk by Ines Weizman, professor of architecture theory at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar where she also directs the Bauhaus-Institute for History and Theory of Architecture and Planning and the Centre for Documentary Architecture. Weizman will present a lecture at Grazer Kunstverein in the frame of Exhibiting / IZK Theory Lecture Series, organised by IZK Institute for Contemporary Art, TU Graz. The main language of this event will be English.

14 March 2018

7pm: Talk by Jelena Vesic, independent curator, writer, editor and lecturer, who is based in Belgrade. Vesic will present a lecture at Grazer Kunstverein in the frame of Exhibiting / IZK Theory Lecture Series, organised by IZK Institute for Contemporary Art, TU Graz. The main language of this event will be English.

14–18 March 2018

Urbanity and Province in New Austrian Cinema: a four-day film seminar developed in co-operation between University of Vienna’s Department for Theatre, Film and Media Studies and Diagonale Festival of Austrian Film, with film scholar Georg Vogt. The course will focus on the Diagonale Specials ‘Zum Kollektiv: Filmladen’ and ‘Kein schöner Land – Blicke in die Provinz, Blicke aus der Provinz’. The main language of these classes will be German. Members who are interested in participating in these discussions with the seminar group may contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

15 March 2018

6:15pm: Lecture by visiting artist-in-residence Carl Johan Högberg at the Institute of Design & Communication at FH Joanneum, organised in the frame of Anke Strittmatter’s lecture series ‘Künstlerische Environments’, in collaboration with Prof. Karl Stocker, programme director of Exhibition Design. This lecture is open to the public. The language of the event will be English.

20 March 2018

7pm: Talk by Petar Milat, philosopher and programme co-ordinator at Multimedia Institute – MaMa, Zagreb. Milat will present a lecture at Grazer Kunstverein in the frame of Exhibiting / IZK Theory Lecture Series, organised by IZK Institute for Contemporary Art, TU Graz. The main language of this event will be English.

4 April 2018

7pm: The Members Library with Isabella Kohlhuber presenting her monographic publication htb, published by Verlag für moderne Kunst in 2017. The book reflects on Kohlhuber’s typographically-rooted arts practice, with an overview of selected works and projects, and text contributions by Victoria Dejaco and Dirck Möllmann. The main language of this event will be English.

13 April 2018

7pm: Talk by Krist Gruijthuijsen, director of KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin and former artistic director of Grazer Kunstverein. Gruijthuijsen will be in conversation with artistic director Kate Strain to reflect on his time in Graz, his relationship with the city, his thoughts on the current cultural scene and the impact of the programme he developed at Grazer Kunstverein. The main language of this event will be English.

18 April 2018

7pm: Artists' Homes with Dorit Chrysler, sound artist, producer, singer, and co-founder of The NY Theremin Society with branches in New York and Paris. For this event Chrysler will share insights into her artistic practice, her work in musical composition, and her love affair with the theremin. A short tour of the Schaumbad studio complex will precede the event, and light refreshments will follow. The main language of this event will be English. Studio Address: Schaumbad - Freies Atelierhaus Graz, Puchstraße 41, 8020 Graz.

4–6 May 2018

Gallery Days: during Graz’s annual Gallery Days weekend Grazer Kunstverein proudly presents tours of current exhibitions She Who Speaks by Carl Johan Högberg and Foiled Glass by Niamh O'Malley. There will be a dedicated Gallery Days tour of the exhibition on Saturday 5 May.

16 May 2018

1pm: The Members Library Children's Edition with Christina Simmerer and Linda Konrad. Join us for our first Children's Edition of The Members Library, during which Simmerer and Konrad will discuss the fantastical significance of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's 2009 book Crazy Hair. Light lunch will be served, and children are especially welcome. The language of the event will be German and English.

7 June

7pm: Opening to celebrate the launch of the Summer Season at Grazer Kunstverein, with three new projects; On Sleep Stones by Nadia Belerique, Words After the World by Christian Nyampeta, and Non-Functional Thoughts by Cesare Pietroiusti. The ongoing research project If Michael Asher by Triple Candie also continues with its second iteration. An opening reception takes place from 7pm, with delicious refreshments specially made by Das Gramm for the occasion. All are welcome.

13 June

10am - 4pm: Seminar on Art, Relational Aesthetics and Political Responsibility. Organised by Univ.-Prof. Dr. phil. Sabine Flach in the frame of the research project Kleider Machen Leute. This day-long seminar will feature presentations from Sabine Flach (Institute for Art History / Chair of Modern and Contemporary Art / Project Management), Kristopher Holland (University of Cincinnati), Kate Strain (Grazer Kunstverein), Marie-Theres Steingassner (Institute of Art History), Anja Lindbichler (Institute of Art History), Martin Griesbacher (Institute of Sociology) and Sabine Hirzer (Institute of Art History). Contributing researchers have developed papers responding to projects as part of the 2017 artistic programme of the Grazer Kunstverein. All are welcome to attend. The event will be in English and German. For more information and programme schedule please see: https://kleider-machen-leute.uni-graz.at

13 June

7pm - 9pm: Ethnography, Dance, and Media of Embodiments: Literary scholar Piet Devos, sonic interaction designer Florian Grond, and choreographer, dancer and performer Anne Juren offer new approaches to blind (auto)-ethnographies. Combining an interactive dance performance with a verbal presentation on binaural recordings, the contributors critically explore art and media practices that allow us to approach perceptions and perspectives of blind experiences. Organised by the Center for Intermediality Studies in Graz (CIMIG), and hosted by Grazer Kunstverein. All are welcome to attend. The event will be in German and English.

For more information about events related to Critical Disability and Intermediality please see: https://intermediality-centre.uni-graz.at/en/

14 June

6pm: Working Group meeting, translations with Christian Nyampeta. Each meeting will consist of reading, discussion, writing and refreshments. Attendance is open to all. No experience is necessary but a working knowledge of French, German and English is an advantage.

27 June

6pm: Working Group meeting, translations with Christian Nyampeta. Each meeting will consist of reading, discussion, writing and refreshments. Attendance is open to all. No experience is necessary but a working knowledge of French, German and English is an advantage.

2–6 July

10am–1pm and 3pm–5pm: Five-day workshop with Cesare Pietroiusti. This workshop will explore artistic processes based on Pietroiusti’s new bi-lingual publication Non-Functional Thoughts. Participants will undertake a series of micro conceptual art projects using everyday objects, practices, props and people. Unconventional thinking and artistic ideas will be applied to all kinds of contexts and situations, culminating in a performance-based presentation in Fürstenfeld on Friday 6 July, as part of Mariainsel - Wasser Biennale Fürstenfeld 2018. Participants will each receive a copy of Pietroiusti’s handbook Non-Functional Thoughts. Refreshments will be provided during working hours. Travel costs between Graz and Fürstenfeld will be reimbursed. To participate or find out more about the project please see the Workshops section of our website or email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

5 July

7pm: Presentation at Museum Pfeilburg as part of Mariainsel- Wasser Biennale Fürstenfeld 2018. Mariainsel is a project by Alfredo Barsuglia for the 6th Water Biennale in Fürstenfeld 2018. Contributors to the discussion include Alfredo Barsuglia, Günther Pedrotti, Cesare Pietroiusti and Kate Strain. Address: Museum Pfeilburg, Klostergasse 18, 8280 Fürstenfeld. See more information at http://www.museum-pfeilburg.at/

6 July

7pm: Opening of Cesare Pietroiusti’s project for Mariainsel- Wasser Biennale Fürstenfeld 2018, organised by Alfredo Barsuglia and Günther Pedrotti. At the invitation of Günther Pedrotti, the initiator of the 6th Water Biennale Fürstenfeld, the artist Alfredo Barsuglia built an island on the Feistritz, which he named after the most common name of the region, namely Mariainsel. Barsuglia, similar to a director of an arts and culture festival, has appointed six curators of visual arts, performance and music, who will organize diverse art-projects during the summer months of 2018. The openings of these projects take place every second Friday from 8 June from 7pm onwards. Address: Mariainsel, opposite Badstrasse 1, 8280 Fürstenfeld. See more information at www.mariainsel.at

11 July

7pm: The Members Library with Markus Jaroschka. He will present the book Zeit der Zauberer. Das große Jahrzehnt der Philosophie 1919-1929 by Wolfram Eilenberger. Published in March 2018, this book explores the importance of philosophers like Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Benjamin and Cassirer during the years 1919-1929. This event will be in German.

17 July

4pm: Working Group meeting, translations with Christian Nyampeta. Each meeting will consist of reading, discussion, writing and refreshments. Attendance is open to all. No experience is necessary but a working knowledge of French, German and English is an advantage.

18 July

7pm: Artists’ Homes presents an out-of-town dinner with zweintopf, a collaborative artist duo living in Feldbach. The artists will prepare a snack and present aspects of their artworks at their sprawling home and studio. Members are invited to meet at Grazer Kunstverein at 6pm or to travel directly by car to Oberweißenbach 38, 8330 Feldbach. If interested in joining this excursion please register in advance.

20/21 September

Preview days as part of steirischer herbst, Volksfronten 2018

22 September

2:30 pm: Opening to celebrate the launch of the Autumn Season at Grazer Kunstverein, with three new projects; TTOPOLOGY by Dennis McNulty, Plan (. . .) by Anne Tallentire, and What Where by the Department of Ultimology. The ongoing research project If Michael Asher by Triple Candie also continues with its third iteration. An opening reception takes place with tasty morsels and delicious drinks by returning artist Fiona Hallinan as part of Fink’s.

2 October 2018

7 pm: Concert organized by haus.kultur within the festival Versöhnliche Töne. Schubert mit Glass. This event deals with the subject of social housing and music. Grazer Kunstverein as an interdisciplinary artistic meeting place is the frame for music from Franz Schubert, Václav Matĕjka and Philipp Glass. The musicians are Giovanni Mareggini, Armin Eger, Lena Fankhauser and Erich Oskar Huetter. The entrance is free, but please register for tickets at https://www.hauskultur.at/tickets/

22 September – 13 October 2018

12 pm: The Moment Space, guided walks as part of TTOPOLOGY by Dennis McNulty. These guided audiovisual walks through Graz last 40 minutes and take place every Wednesday through Saturday at 12 noon or by appointment, throughout steirischer herbst. Tours are available in English or German, the starting point is Grazer Kunstverein.

10 October 2018

7 pm: The Members Library with Beate Katschnig. The Members Library consists of books recommended by members of the Grazer Kunstverein. These books (either bought or donated) have played an important part in the member’s lives (by way of thinking). The Library hosts monthly evenings during which members are invited to present or organize something around the books they have selected.

13 October 2018

7 pm: Conchita Vs. Gabalier
Conference as part of steirischer herbst
From the “island of the blessed” to illiberal democracy? Austria between tradition and modernity. National identity defines itself through territory, which in turn can be perceived as a body, says linguist Ruth Wodak. So what does this so-called national body look like in Austria? This conference explores the two different versions of this projection. With Department of Ultimology, Olga Flor, Gerald Grosz, Markus Rheindorf, Paul Sailer-Wlasits, Gerhild Steinbuch. Moderated by Colette Schmidt. Concept by Martin Behr. Venue: Orpheum, Orpheumgasse 8, 8020 Graz.

17 October 2018

7 pm: Artists’ Homes with Christoph Szalay. Artists’ Homes presents selected Styrian artists and their work in a personal and often unusual context. It is an initiative that facilitates tours to the homes or studio locations of artists who are based in or around Graz. These excursions stimulate a social dimension beyond the walls of the Grazer Kunstverein, and open doors to the compelling and diverse talents of artists living in or near the region. Location tbc

22–26 October 2018

Matters of Facts
A residency project with OMG (Orthogonal Methods Group) from CONNECT Centre for Future Networks and Communications at the invitation of The Incomputable research project at IZK Institute for Contemporary Art, TU Graz. Matters of Facts is a series of workshops, talks and screenings developed by OMG, that explores the relationship between facts, computation, algorithms, poetics and politics. The series is a part of The Incomputable transdisciplinary research hub established at TU Graz, and explores the ways in which particular forms of knowledge present themselves as part of a search for truth and/or as a justification for particular actions in the world. This series poses questions and provides a platform for conversations on the role of mathematics, measurement, language and statistics in describing reality and shaping society, particularly in relation to the role of computerised algorithmic mediation and governance. Over the course of the week-long residency in Graz, OMG, with Grazer Kunstverein and IZK TU Graz will host a number of talks, workshops, screenings and hangouts to explore, articulate and map Matters of Fact. Participants of OMG include Fiona McDermott, Tom O’Dea, Dennis McNulty, Jessica Foley, Linda Doyle, Cliona Harmey.

27 October – 1 November 2018

Members trip to Palermo
Our second Members Trip of 2018 brings us to Palermo where we will explore Manifesta 12 as well as guided tours of the many cultural offerings of the region.

7 December 2018

2–5pm: Lunch and Talks: In anticipation of leftovers is a one-day event with readings, recitals and performances preceding the official opening of the Winter Season. Contributions to this event will be made by invited speakers Arnisa Zeqo, Pádraic E. Moore, Sophie Tappeiner, Florian Langhammer of Collectors Agenda, Fiona Hallinan of The Department of Ultimology, and Valerio Del Baglivo of The Institute of Things to Come.

6pm: Opening to celebrate the launch of the Winter Season at Grazer Kunstverein, with two new exhibitions; Flotsam, Jetsam, Lagan, and Derelict by Mehraneh Atashi and Poems to Gadgets by
Angelika Loderer, and the continuation of the ongoing research project If Michael Asher by Triple Candie.

10pm: CMRK After Party, Kombüse

Free Shuttle Service (Vienna–Graz–Vienna)
Departs Vienna 3pm / Opera bus stop, 59a
Departs Graz 11.30pm / Künstlerhaus KM–, Burgring 2

12 December 2018

7pm: The Members Library / H ΒΙΒΛΙΟΘΉΚΗ ΤΩΝ ΜΕΛΏΝ. Grazer Kunstverein team members Spyros Valvis and Janeda Milo present a special Greek edition of The Members Library. Through literature, film, music and traditional Greek cuisine they will share with us insights into Greek culture. Spyros and Jana are originally from Athens and have come to Graz to pursue their studies in cultural management and architecture. The event will be in English (and Greek).

11 January 2019

7pm: As part of The Members Library, Radna Rumping will present the artist book Profeminist WHITE FLOWERS (2007) by Sands Murray-Wassink. Radna Rumping is an independent curator, editor, writer and radio host based in Amsterdam. Her work is embedded in music culture, contemporary art, communality and a critical view towards present-day communication. She has realised exhibitions and public programmes across a variety of institutions, stimulating new encounters between bodies and buildings, artists and audiences. She has an independent studio practice and makes radio shows at Red Light Radio and Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee. She recently published Ludic Garden, a publication with artist Mehraneh Atashi, whose solo exhibition Flotsam, Jetsam, Lagan, and Derelict is currently on view at Grazer Kunstverein until 22 February 2019. The event will be presented in English. We look forward to welcoming you for a communicative evening with light refreshments.

16 January 2019

7pm: Artists’ Homes with Milica Tomić. Originally from Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Milica Tomić is an artist whose practice traverses photography, installation art, and education. Her work centres on researching, unearthing, and prompting public debate on issues related to political and economic violence, trauma, and social amnesia. Tomić is Professor and Chair of IZK Institute for Contemporary Art at TU Graz, and recently participated in Volksfronten, the 2018 edition of steirischer herbst, with Exhibiting on a Trowel’s Edge, research and investigative processes of Aflenz Memorial in becoming, at Forum Stadtpark, Graz. For Artists’ Homes Tomić will speak about the methodology of the exhibition and the future memorial. Location: IZK Research Space, TU Graz, Kronesgasse 5, 3rd floor, 8010 Graz. This event will be held in English.

16 February 2019

2.30pm: impuls MinuteConcerts

The Grazer Kunstverein is again part of this gallery tour with music this year. From 10am–11 pm there will be a tour through Graz with a total of 8 concerts. During the concert, the exhibition can be visited.
http://www.impuls.cc/en/festival-2019/162.html

17–24 February 2019

Members Trip to Marrakesh. This February the first of two trips of 2019 takes us to Marrakesh where we will visit 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair among other cultural destinations. Organised with care and expertise by general manager Tanja Gurke, this trip promises an exciting glimpse into the contemporary art scene of one of Morocco’s major cities as well as providing a taste of Moroccan culinary arts and culture.

Friday 8 March 2019

8pm: Opening of two new exhibitions by Sylvia Schedelbauer and Triple Candie. The Spring Season opening takes place in the frame of CRK+ with additional openings around the city at <rotor> (6pm), Camera Austria (7pm), as well as Grazer Kunstverein (8pm), followed by a celebration at Schauspielhaus as part of International Women's Day (10pm) by Women* in Action: the private is political - no sh*t!

Saturday 23 March 2019

11am: Panel Discussion in collaboration with Diagonale – Festival of Austrian Film. This event is chaired by Claudia Slanar with discursive contributions by Sylvia Schedelbauer, Lydia Nsiah and Daniel Fitzpatrick. The theme of this event sourrounds the political impact of experimental/innovative cinema today. Brunch will be provided by Fink’s artist Fiona Hallinan.

Wednesday 24 April 2019

7pm: Artists’ Homes with Gottfried Pengg-Auheim
Born in Graz and living here since 2006, Pengg-Auheim did not embark on his artistic career until he had completed his studies in forestry. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and has since worked as a successful painter focusing on landscape, portraiture and still life. He invites us to his studio to dive into his visual worlds. Location: Glacisstraße 33, 8010 Graz.

Friday 3 May 2019

7pm: Reading performance by J. Michael Martinez and Karen Tei Yamashita as part of Forms of Migration: An International Conference on Transnational Literature & Innovative Aesthetics. Also featuring a special performance, “To A Syrian Prisoner of Conscience,” by Gregory Carlock and Stefan Maneval. This event is organized by Jennifer A. Reimer, FWF and American Studies Department, Uni Graz.

J. Michael Martinez received the Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets for his first book, Heredities. His latest book, Museum of the Americas, was longlisted for the 2018 National Book Award in Poetry and Winner of the 2017 National Poetry Series Competition. The book is an exploration in verse of imperial appropriation and Mexican American cultural identity. Martinez is the editor of Noemi Press and currently teaches poetry at St. Lawrence University in New York.

Karen Tei Yamashita is the author of Through the Arc of the Rain Forest, Brazil-Maru, Tropic of Orange, Circle K Cycles, I Hotel, Anime Wong: Fictions of Performance, and Letters to Memory. I Hotel was selected as a finalist for the National Book Award and awarded the California Book Award, the American Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Award, and the Association for Asian American Studies Book Award. She received a US Artists Ford Foundation Fellowship and is Professor of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday 3/4/5 May 2019

Aktuelle Kunst in Graz Gallery Days
The Grazer Kunstverein is delighted to host a reading performance presented by Uni Graz (on Friday 3 May) as well as the ongoing exhibition programme of the Spring Season.

Wednesday 15 May 2019

7pm: The Members Library with Theresia Fauland-Nerat
The artist takes us on an inspiring journey through artistic techniques, various motifs and fascinating cultural insights that she was able to gain during her travels. Her recently published catalogue illustrates the wide range of her practice. Born in Styria, Fauland-Nerat studied art history and restoration and works mainly in the fields of sculpture, installation, photography, painting and performance.

Friday 17 May 2019

2–6pm: Editing session and public discussion with Triple Candie. For this daytime event, Triple Candie (Shelly Bancroft and Peter Nesbett) will be in conversation with artistic director Kate Strain and invited guests to discuss their expansive research project If Michael Asher, as well as their current exhibition at Grazer Kunstverein, and the content and compilation process of their forthcoming publication which serves as a catalogue documenting the entire project.

Friday 14 June 2019

8pm: Opening of new group exhibition titled My Summer is your Winter and 2019 Summer Party+ featuring performances by Julius Pristauz, Chris Evans and Morten Norbye Halvorsen, and Marta Navaridas and Monique Fessl. The event takes place in the frame of CRK+, and is preceded with openings at <rotor> (6pm) and Camera Austria (7pm).

Wednesday 19 June 2019

7pm: Performing Climate Change
The Canadian-born and New York-based playwright Chantal Bilodeau will speak about the first three plays of an eight-part series entitled The Arctic Cycle. Bilodeau's presentation will be followed by a conversation with Wendy Arons (professor of theater arts at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh) on theater activism around climate change and the role of theater artists and scholars in shaping the conversation around climate change, environmental justice, and ecological sustainability. This event is facilitated by Nassim Balestrini (Institute of American Studies and Centre for Intermediality Studies in Graz, University of Graz).

Wednesday 26 June 2019

7pm: Artists’ Homes with Lewis Blake
Lewis Blake combines sculptural and painterly practices to create two dimensional artworks that often reflect the architectural environment around him. As a newcomer to Graz, much of his current works include impressions of the city, from the Schlossberg to Sackstraße. Join us for an intimate visit to the artist’s studio to discover more about his artistic practice. Address: Körblergasse 61, Graz, 8010

Wednesday 10 – Saturday 13 July 2019

Animal Workshops
Wednesday 10 July 5pm
Thursday 11 July 5pm
Friday 12 July 2pm
Saturday 13 July 5pm
Devised by Krõõt Juurak and Alex Bailey
A series of animal workshops led by pets with specific skill sets. During the hour-long workshop, participants will perform a series of exercises as demonstrated by the workshop leaders. Each workshop will respond to the specific talents of the animal leader, and so duration, technique and ability level may differ in each case. Wear comfortable clothing.

Friday 26 July

6pm: Member’s Event visible/nonvisible 8 de 10
This dance choreography is inspired by René Margritte's images and the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke. Bruno Genty has choreographed eight small pieces as works-in-progress to unfold across successive rooms. The audience follows the two dancers Ilona Seidel-Jerey and Monika Schabus-Steffen and the vocalist and musician Annette Giesriegl. There will be a short q&a with the artists and Tanja Gurke afterwards.

20 September 2019

Options, an exhibition and performance event by Riccardo Giacconi, opens as part of steirischer herbst '19—Grand Hotel Abyss.

10am: Public Performance at Schloßbergplatz, 8010 Graz
12.30am: Artist Talk by Riccardo Giacconi at Grazer Kunstverein

25 September

7pm: Artists' Homes with Anna Schmidbauer
Anna Schmidbauer was part of the animal workshops that took place at Grazer Kunstverein from 10-13 September 2019. We will visit the dog trainer at her farm where she is working with numerous animals like dogs, cats and rats. Address: Kärntnerstrasse 342, 8054 Graz Seiersberg.
Due to unforeseen reasons, this event needs to be cancelled. A new date will be communicated.

3-6 October

Members trip to Frieze London and other institutions like museums, galleries and artists' studios.

5 October

6pm-1am: Long Night of the Museums at Grazer Kunstverein

1 November

6pm: Discursive event with live broadcast in collaboration with Radio Helsinki at Grazer Kunstverein
Join us for an evening of thoughtful conversation, to consider not only the impact of the Option Agreement on contemporary citizens, but also to think about similar opt in / opt out socio-geographic and political situations the world over. The event is convened during Martin Doplers Live-Radio show "Die Neue Stadt" by Lale Rodgarkia-Dara and Riccardo Giacconi during with input from invited guests and speakers, with Giacconi's exhibition and audio-visual material as a backdrop for further discussion. The event will be part of a live-broadcast on Radio Helsinki.

13 November

7pm: The Members Library with Katrin Kollenz and Mirijam Bräuer
Katrin Kollenz, member of Grazer Kunstverein and passionate reader, will talk with her friend and author Mirijam Bräuer about her book "Die Erschaffung von Flügeln". This book, published in November 2018, tells in a touching way about wishes, remembrances and dreams of a young woman who is looking for the way to herself.

6 December 2019

Winter at Grazer Kunstverein
4–8pm: Fiona Hallinan
I remember oranges, you remember dust 4–6pm: Cooking Workshop
6–8pm: Collective meal
9pm: Book launch and Digestif
Triple Candie, Grazer Kunstverein, 2017–2020
in the frame of CRK+

18 December 2019

16h-17:30h: Climate Change Theatre Action 2019

A group of high-school students from BG GIBS will perform two short English-language plays — Chantal Bilodeau’s “It Starts with Me” and Alister Emerson’s “Six Polar Bear Fell Out of the Sky”. This event is part of Climate Change Theatre Action 2019 and evolved in cooperation with the Centre for Intermediality Studies in Graz (CIMIG).

This event contributes to the worldwide network of CCTA 2019 performances of very short plays which pursue the goals of fostering awareness of climate change and of bringing people together to talk about this issue. Nassim Balestrini (CIMIG), Eva Koegeler, and Erica Huber (GIBS) want to build bridges between art and science as well as secondary school and university as part of the effort to discuss climate change.

24 January 2020

7–9pm: Launch of Grazer Kunstverein Depot as part of Der Grazer Kunstverein zieht um!

In the frame of Graz Kulturjahr 2020, the Grazer Kunstverein is moving! Working with over 20 artists throughout the year, the Grazer Kunstverein is conducting a feasibility study aimed at speculatively re-locating the institution to one of Graz's 17 districts. This year-long public program unfolds as a series of ephemeral events realized in public space, through close collaborations with artists, communities, venues and people of Graz.

Working in a year-long seasonal rhythm, each of the 17 test sites will take the form of a site specific event or artistic project located in public or private space. A central Depot at the Grazer Kunstverein, conceived and designed by artist Edward Clydesdale Thomson, acts as an incubation hub and evolving documentation space for all associated activities, providing a permanent working site, documentation space and visitor's touchstone for temporary events throughout the city.


12–16 February 2020

6–9pm: VERNISSAGE

VERNISSAGE is a week-long project conceived by Richard Kriesche especially for the Grazer Kunstverein. Open only in the evenings, the project aims to reconsider the precise location of art in the contemporary context, thinking about the individual, subjective experience in contrast with the quantification of culture as data. Since the 1990’s Kriesche’s work has explored the interdependencies of art, society, technology and economy, working in critical and creative tension to problematise systems and reveal glitches. For Winter 2019/20, Kriesche creates a situation in which visitors to the Kunstverein are invited to search for, and locate meaning, against a dizzying backdrop of bureaucracy, protocol and radical hospitality.
 

28 February 2020

Grazer Kunstverein moves to the city library
Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński
Stadtbibliothek Zanklhof, Kernstockgasse 2, 8020 Graz, 6pm
(Gries)

4 March 2020

Grazer Kunstverein moves to a football stadium
Tai Shani
Meeting point at the football stadium, 6pm
(Liebenau)

3 July 2020

Grazer Kunstverein moves to a bathroom, becoming multiple bathrooms performed in a bathing situation by Anna Paul at Mariatrost. Read more here.

24 July 2020

11 December 2020

Opening of our Winter Season with solo exhibition not visble or recognizable in any form by Alma Heikkilä.
Soft opening 2-7pm.
Read more here.

10 March 2021

7pm: Artist Talk with Alma Heikkilä and Antti Majava via Zoom

Alma Heikkilä (born 1984) and Antti Majava (born 1977) will talk together with the team of Grazer Kunstverein about their praxis and shared interests in their respective artistic work. The talk will take place in the frame of the current exhibition not visible or recognizable in any form.

If you wish to participate, please register until 9 March with a message to Tanja Gurke: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You will receive the link to access the online event.

February–March 2021

Grazer Kunstverein goes on air!

In connection to our feasibility study Grazer Kunstverein is moving!, we will be recurring guests on Favour Moriba’s show What’s the matter on Saturdays from 7–8pm on Radio Helsinki (92,6 MHz) to discuss questions around what it means to move Grazer Kunstverein to a radio station or how art can be perceived through an audio format.

On 20 February, we introduce our ongoing project Grazer Kunstverein is moving! and fill the listeners in on what will be happening in the following sessions.
To listen to: https://cba.fro.at/491305

On 27 February, we discuss Grada Kilomba’s book Plantation Memories: Episodes of Everyday Racism from 2008. This conversation is informed by Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński’s project Library of Requests, which was part of Grazer Kunstverein is moving to the city library in February 2020.
To listen to: https://cba.fro.at/491307

On 6 March, we speak about artistic positions and of black female artists, based on Natasha A. Kelly's book Millis Erwachen. Schwarze Frauen, Kunst und Widerstand/Milli's Awakening. Black Women, Art and Resistance.
To listen to: https://cba.fro.at/492436

On 13 March, the discussion about art and culture of black female artists continues. How much have the experiences of black women in the white majority society shaped their art? Where do these women stand today, what voice can art give them? And can black female artists empower themselves and assert themselves or how does art activity support them?
 

On 20 March, we ask ourselves why it is so hard for white people to confront their own racist thoughts and how these can be mastered. The book White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo is the basis for that.
To listen to: https://cba.fro.at/495863

20.3.–2.4.2021

Wolfgang Becksteiner
The Measure of All Things

Exhibition of new works by Graz based artist Wolfgang Becksteiner at Grazer Kunstverein on the occasion of the edition The Measure of All Things for the Rotary Art Collection 2020

Apparently incompatible elements receive a new, higher meaning from their rearrangement. Sprawling and self-confident sculptures take their place. Craftsmanship, paired with tireless perseverance and the determination to impose a shape on hard, tough materials and give them character are traits of the artist.

Wolfgang Becksteiner has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions as well as national and international art fairs since 1999. Public purchases were made by the City of Graz, the Austrian Sculpture Park, the Liaunig Collection and various other collections. In 2006 the artist received the City of Graz's Art Promotion Prize. Out of more than 300 submissions, his Corona memorial Distanzierte Nähe (Distanced Closeness) was selected as one of three winning projects in 2020.

Open daily 11am–6pm

16 April 2021
Opening of our Spring Season with solo exhibition Cameo by Bianca Baldi.
Soft opening 2–7pm
Read more here.

15 May 2021

12am Soft Relaunch of the Depot at Grazer Kunstverein

In the frame of Galerientage that take place from 14–16 Mai 2021, the exhibition at the Depot as center of the project Grazer Kunstverein is moving! within Graz Kulturjahr 2020 will be presented. Rotterdam based artist Edward Clydesdale Thomson who is responsible for this exhibition will be on site and will be happy to provide information and about his work and approach. Click here for more information.

2 June 2021

7 pm: The Members Library with Verena Borecký

Verena Borecký will introduce Brit Bennett’s book “The Vanishing Half” (2020): the twin sisters Desiree and Stella grow up in a black community in the South and are inseparable, until one of the sisters suddenly disappears and starts a new life – as a white woman. Brit Bennett weaves together multiple strands of a family history, stretching from the 1950s to the 1990s, from the American Deep South to California, and explores questions of identity, race and the American history of passing.

Verena Borecký, exhibitions and public program curator at Grazer Kunstverein since December last year, wants to connect Brit Bennett’s novel with the current exhibition of Bianca Baldi at the Kunstverein. Baldi deals in Cameo with the sociological concept of passing, which she talks about in her video work with the help of a cuttlefish that changes the color of his skin as a means of camouflage.

22 May–6 June 2021

Damir Očko
DICTA I (Screening)

Damir Očko's film series Dicta explores language as a fundamental political fact. The title of the series is the plural of the Latin word Dictum, which describes an unquestionable, dogmatic truth, a statement of a political will that comes into effect by pronunciation. Both films deal with the idea that the utterance of a single word or whole sentences has the power to change a situation or state. Očko treats this idea in different contexts: while DICTA I (2017) displays the recital of a linguistic collage of a text by Bertold Brecht to address the ambiguous play of truth and lie, DICTA II (2018) explores the use of safe words in BDSM practices by juxtaposing the safe words with imagery of MMA fighters and small colorful balls.
 
DICTA I will be screened at the Grazer Kunstverein from 26 May to 6 June at the regular opening hours, while DICTA II will be presented as part of our ongoing project Grazer Kunstverein is moving! on 7 July 2021 at Straßgang with an accompanying drag performance by Miss Alexandra Desmond. More info here.

4 June 2021

Online symposium Play-White: Racial Passing and Embodied Images

This symposium is designed as a one-day online event that will bring together international and local researchers, artists and thinkers. Hosted by Bianca Baldi in cooperation with Sint Lucas School of Arts Antwerp, ARIA (Antwerp University), Grazer Kunstverein and Netwerk Aalst  with contributions by Bianca Baldi, Pool Space (Amy Watson and Mika Conradie), Shoniqua Roach, Sinethemba Twalo, Zayaan Khan, Kate Strain and Pieternel Vermoortel. Questions will occur such as: What are the conditions of racial passing when looking at topics such as colonial trade routes, embodiment, shame, class betrayal, code switching and performativity? What does historical and zoomorphic research bring to our current understanding of racial identity, ethnicity, social class or gender?

Coinciding with Bianca Baldi's solo presentation Cameo at the Grazer Kunstverein and the launch of the accompanying publication, this one-day symposium brings together contributors to reflect on passing and the constructed nature of race through the lens of oceanic thinking.

The program of the symposium is here.
Please register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LxlaHz5BTP2dXr9oQviwCQ

25 June 2021

Opening of our Summer Season with solo exhibition The Elder Poem by Elisabeth von Samsonow.
7pm
Please read more about the security measures and regulations for the opening here. 

26 June 2021

8 July 2021
Grazer Kunstverein moves to a temporary cinema
8.30pm
Damir Očko
Straßgang
 
DICTA II (2018) explores the use of safe words in BDSM practices by juxtaposing the safe words with imagery of MMA fighters and small colorful balls. For our ongoing feasibility study Grazer Kunstverein is moving! we will move to a temporary cinema in Straßgang. In cooperation with Street Cinema Graz, Damir Očko's film DICTA II will be screened on the facade of a house. The film will receive an additional performative layer with the help of drag queen Miss Alexandra Desmond, which will pose questions on gender and language. Join us for this experimental event to find out how a Kunstverein can come alive on the walls of a building.
 
The screening will take place at Harter Straße 153, 8054 Graz. You can reach it with the bus lines 31, 32 and 33 from Jakominiplatz.
 
DICTA I was screened at the Grazer Kunstverein from 22 May to 6 June.