The city has numerous history, science, and art exhibitions on (or planned) at any one time. This list covers the major museums and venues. Click/tap to view by topic:
- Personal tips for the coming days
- Art history & art around 1900
- Modern and contemporary art
- Design & architecture
- Photography
- History, culture & current affairs
- Science, nature & music
A few notes:
- Most locations have permanent displays too, of course. So you’ll always find Klimt at the Belvedere and Leopold museums, for example
- Many also have small exhibitions and installations or those intended for local audiences, which I often won’t cover here
- Check the event listings for suggested exhibition highlights for each month of the year
- Exhibitions in Vienna almost always present information in at least English and German, but you may find one or two exceptions
- See also:
Personal tips
(Pablo Picasso, The Orange-Colored Blouse – Dora Maar [Le corsage orange – Dora Maar], 21.04.1940 © Photo: Volker Naumann, Schönaich © Succession Picasso/Bildrecht, Wien 2022)
Amazing
- Highlights from the prestigious Würth collection
- Picasso, Munch, Sisley, Magritte, Richter & more
- Runs to Sept 20th, 2023
- At the Leopold Museum
Special mention(s)
- Picasso (until June 18th, 2023): a journey through his creative phases illustrated with works from the extensive Albertina collection
- BioInspiration (until September 3rd, 2023): discover how nature has driven innovations in health, architecture, design, and other disciplines
What art exhibitions are on?
Let us begin with…
Art history & art around 1900
(The Kunsthistorisches Museum)
I update this section about once a month, but do check locally and with official sites for any changes, particularly to the dates of future exhibitions.
Lower Belvedere
- Colossal: large-format works from the Baroque to the present day (June 22nd to August 27th, 2023)
- Broncia Koller-Pinell: as well as covering her own works largely within the context of the Wiener Moderne, the exhibition also examines her artistic network and her efforts to promote art (January 26th to September 8th, 2024)
Kunsthistorisches Museum
- Around the World in 80 Coins: coins as the traveler’s companion, with anecdotes concerning historical personalities (April 26th, 2022 to January 28th, 2024)
- Georg Baselitz – Naked Masters: a dialogue between Baselitz’s contemporary works and selected Old Masters with the naked form as a theme (March 7th to June 25th, 2023)
- Female Perspectives on Vermeer: juxtaposes Vermeer’s Art of Painting with a Vanitas still life by Maria van Oosterwijck and Maria Lassnig’s animated Art Education film (March 21st to June 25th, 2023)
- Point of View exhibitions that focus on a single piece and provide often intriguing background detail:
- Mary and Child by the Master of the Benda Madonna (June 23rd to November 12th, 2023)
- Philemon and Baucis by the workshop of Peter Paul Rubens (November 17th, 2023 to May 12th, 2024)
- Back in the Future: a closer look at the troubled history of a single Greek beaker (June 1st to October 1st, 2023)
- In Love with Laura: small exhibition centred around Francesco Laurana’s Renaissance Female Bust, a rare example of coloured marble and perhaps hiding a tale of unrequired love? (June 20th to October 15th, 2023)
- Raphael – Silk & Gold: the major year-end exhibition reveals the glory of monumental tapestries from the Renaissance (September 26th, 2023 to January 14th, 2024)
- Provisionally planned: an exhibition on the centre of Renaissance art in Augsburg and northern Europe featuring works by Hans Holbein the Elder, Hans Burgkmair the Elder, Hans Holbein the Younger, Albrecht Dürer, and others (March 19th to June 30th, 2024)
- Provisionally planned: a major Rembrandt exhibition that presents his works in dialogue with those by Samuel van Hoogstraten (October 8th, 2024 to January 12th, 2025)
Albertina
- Gods, Heroes and Traitors: paintings from around 1800 of historical moments in their wider sense, particularly scenes from mythology and religion (June 2nd to August 27th, 2023)
- Michelangelo and the Consequences: the traditional major year-end exhibition features the great master and his influence on both his peers and later artists (September 14th, 2023 to January 7th, 2024)
Academy of Fine Arts
- Considering the Collection: featuring various works from the extensive paintings gallery, plus a room pitched as an insert by contemporary Dutch artist, Willem de Rooij (March 8th to August 20th, 2023)
Wien Museum
- Secessions – Klimt, Stuck, Liebermann: shines a light on the secessionist art movements in Vienna, Munich and Berlin around 1900 (from May 23rd to October 13th, 2024)
Dom Museum
- The Meal: a reflection in historical and contemporary art of the role of meals in communities and cultures (September 29th, 2022 to August 27th, 2023)
Wien Museum MUSA
- Big city / small format: exhibition focused on Vienna in postcards (May 4th to September 24th, 2023)
Modern art & contemporary art
(The Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien)
I update this section about once a month, but do check locally and with official sites for any changes, particularly to the dates of future exhibitions.
Albertina
- Picasso: exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of his passing (March 17th to June 18th, 2023)
- Georg Baselitz -100 Drawings: retrospective exhibition around the artist’s donations of numerous works to the Albertina Museum and the Morgan Library (June 7th to September 17th)
- Ofer Lellouche: solo exhibition for the Tunisian artist (June 29th to September 19th, 2023)
- Gottfried Helnwein: selected works from the last two decades (October 25th, 2023 to February 18th, 2024)
- Katharina Grosse: solo exhibition with new art developed specifically for the location (November 1st, 2023 to February 25th, 2024)
Albertina Modern
- Andy Warhol to Damien Hirst: post-1945 printed graphics with resonant names from the pop art world and other genres (February 24th to July 23rd, 2023)
- Yoshitomo Nara: paintings, objects and graphic works from the contemporary Japanese artist (May 10th to November 1st, 2023)
- The Beauty of Diversity: an exhibition that presents artistic diversity in its widest sense, including underrepresented voices in contemporary art (February 17th to August 4th, 2024)
Kunsthistorisches Museum
- Georg Baselitz – Naked Masters: Baselitz himself selects his own works and places them in juxtaposition with various Old Masters. A theme is naked figures (March 7th to June 25th, 2023)
Upper Belvedere
- ambulant # 05: a mobile light sculpture by Marina Faust as the latest in the Carlone Contemporary series (March 8th to October 15th, 2023)
- Public Matters: contemporary sculptures from various artists in the Baroque gardens (May 13th to October 1st, 2023)
Lower Belvedere
- Public Matters: contemporary sculptures from various artists in the privy garden and palace courtyard (May 13th to October 1st, 2023)
- Colossal: large-format paintings from the Baroque to the contemporary (June 22nd to August 27th, 2023)
- Louise Bourgeois: solo exhibition with her paintings from the 1940s in dialogue with later works (September 22nd, 2023 to January 28th, 2024)
Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien
- Kiki Kogelnik: the largest solo exhibition to date for this multifaceted Austrian artist, perhaps best-known internationally for her contributions to pop art (February 2nd to June 25th, 2023)
- Robert Motherwell: solo exhibition for the American abstract expressionist (October 12th, 2023 to January 14th, 2024)
Leopold Museum
- Amazing: modern and contemporary art highlights from the Würth collection, one of the most important private collections in the world. Features such local and international names as Munch, Picasso, Sisley, Magritte, Richter and Lassnig (April 5th to September 10th, 2023)
- Max Oppenheimer: solo exhibition helping return this pioneering expressionist to his rightful position in art history (October 6th, 2023 to February 25th, 2024)
- Gabriele Münter: retrospective for this leading proponent of German avant garde art (October 20th, 2023 to February 18th, 2024)
Marx Halle
- Frida Kahlo*: immersive exhibition on her life and works (April 27th to July 16th, 2023)
The MAK
- Birke Gorm: intriguing sculptures by the Hamburg-born artist (February 1st to June 25th, 2023)
- Help yourself: three decades of Julius Deutschbauer’s self-commissioned posters, sometimes humorous, sometimes ironic, sometime provocative (March 29th to August 6th, 2023)
- Lily Reynaud-Dewar: multimedia video installation around the murder of Pier Paolo Pasolini in 1975 (March 29th to August 6th, 2023)
- Land of Lashes: solo exhibition for Rosemarie Castoro (May 24th to October 1st, 2023)
- Gertie Fröhlich: exhibition honouring the varied aspects of this multifaceted Austrian artist and designer (September 13th, 2023 to March 3rd, 2024)
- 100 Best Posters: another iteration of this competition featuring the top works from artistic poster design in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria (September 27th, 2023 to March 3rd, 2024)
- Wong Ping: solo exhibition for this creator of animations and installations (October 25th, 2023 to March 31st, 2024)
Heidi Horten Collection
- RENDEZ-VOUS: focuses on numerous French artists in the collection in the context of influential French locations, particularly Picasso, Chagall and Klein (May 6th to October 29th, 2023)
Academy of Fine Arts
- Considering the Collection: featuring various works from the extensive paintings gallery, plus a room pitched as an insert by contemporary Dutch artist, Willem de Rooij (March 8th to August 20th, 2023)
Wien Museum MUSA
- The Noughties. Bye bye confidence (my translation of the German title!): themes like migration, terrorism and ecology, as seen through the contemporary art of the first decade of the 21st century (October 19th, 2023 to March 17th, 2024)
Weltmuseum Wien
- Dark Pairing: Wie-yi T. Lauw’s screen images offer a metaphor that invites critical examination of colonialism (May 20th, 2021 to September 30th, 2023)
- Science Fiction(s): a look at the future and science fiction through the lens of contemporary artists and indigenous voices (March 30th, 2023 to January 9th, 2024)
- Beyond the Future: presenting various forms of modern Japanese calligraphy (March 30th, 2023 to January 9th, 2024)
- Whatever you throw at the sea: installation by Zara Julius (April 27th, 2023 to April 2nd, 2024)
- Fruits of Labour: solo exhibition for Maximilian Prüfer and his examination of two historical campaigns by Mao in China and their resonance for today’s world (May 18th, 2023 to July 9th, 2024)
Theseus Temple
- Space Mosque: artist Saks Afridi poses the question of what might pass if all our prayers were answered (April 21st to October 8th, 2023)
Künstlerhaus
- HUMAN_NATURE: the 2023 members exhibition (June 15th to September 17th)
The Kunsthalle
All at the MuseumsQuartier site unless marked as the Karlsplatz site.
- Exhibitions for the works of:
- Laure Prouvost (May 11th to October 1st, 2023)
- Denise Ferreira da Silva & Arjuna Neuman (Karlsplatz: October 5th, 2023 to February 18th, 2024)
- No feeing is final: international group exhibition with a focus on the works and story of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Skopje (April 20th, 2023, to January 28th, 2024)
- Unfreezing the scene (Karlsplatz): exhibition of works by the winners of the 2022 Kunsthalle Wien award (May 25th to September 10th, 2023)
- International group exhibition around the breast and its various meanings (November 29th, 2023 to March 10th, 2024)
MUMOK
- Solo exhibitions:
- Adam Pendleton (March 31st, 2023 to January 7th, 2024)
- Agnes Fuchs (May 5th to October 8th, 2023)
- Elisabeth Wild (May 5th, 2023 to January 7th, 2024)
- Benoît Piéron (October 26th, 2023 to January 14th, 2024)
- On Stage. All the Art World’s a Stage: exploring artistic expression in theatrical and stage-related form (March 15th, 2023 to January 7th, 2024)
Belvedere 21
- Alois Mosbacher: immersive exhibition by this Austrian visual artist (March 10th to September 10th, 2023)
- Constanze Ruhm: exhibition of feminist art from (or selected by) this Austrian contemporary video artist (March 16th to August 27th, 2023)
- On the New: multiple artists, curators, and projects present a wide-ranging selection of contemporary Austrian art
- Part I: April 7th, 2023 to July 2nd, 2024
- Part II: July 13th, 2023 to October 15th, 2024
- Part III: October 26th, 2023 to January 14th, 2024
- Public Matters: contemporary sculptures from various artists in the garden area (May 13th to October 1st, 2023)
- Belvedere Art Award: solo exhibition for the winner of this new art prize (September 8th, 2023 to February 18th, 2024)
- Renate Bertlmann: major retrospective for this national great and major figure in the Austrian (feminist) avant-garde (September 29th, 2023 to March 3rd, 2024)
- Walter Pichler < > Friedrich Kiesler: a dialogue between these two artists (June 28th to October 6th, 2024)
Dom Museum
- The Meal: a reflection in historical and contemporary art of the role of meals in communities and cultures (September 29th, 2022 to August 27th, 2023)
Design & architecture
(The MAK)
I update this section about once a month, but do check locally and with official sites for any changes, particularly to the dates of future exhibitions.
The MAK
- Werkstätte Hagenauer: objects from the 90-year history of this Viennese art metal workshop established in 1898 (November 16th, 2022 to September 3rd, 2023)
- /imagine: various aspects of architecture and urban planning in the context of virtual spaces (May 10th to September 10th, 2023)
- woom bikes: showcases the innovative products of this award-winning manufacturer of bicycles for children (May 24th to August 6th, 2023)
- Glitz and Glamour: celebrates the bicentenary of J. & L. Lobmeyr (the renowned glass manufacturer) with a suitable exhibition of its designs (June 7th to September 24th, 2023)
- The 1873 World Fair in Vienna: explores the event through the lens of the prevailing orientalism of the time, particularly as it pertained to Japan and Egypt (June 28th to October 22nd, 2023)
- Critical Consumption: a critical perspective on fashion consumerism as reflected in textiles through the ages (August 30th, 2023 to September 8th, 2024)
- Berta and Bernard Rudofsky Collection: textiles related to the former’s clothes and the latter’s life and work as designer, exhibition curator, architect, etc. (August 30th to November 12th, 2023)
- Stars, Feathers, Tassels: showcasing the work of Felice Rix, a renowned artist and designer for the Wiener Werkstätte (November 22nd, 2023 to April 21st, 2024)
- Fabric of Community: an exploration of textiles and ceramics in contemporary art from a range of viewpoints (December 13th, 2023 to April 28th, 2024)
National Library
- Of Gardens and People: looks at design and landscaping in gardens and parks across the centuries (March 30th to November 5th, 2023)
Vienna Furniture Museum
- German Design 1949–1989: a comparison of post-WWII design in West and East Germany, exploring the differences, similarities and interactions (September 13th, 2023 to January 14th, 2024)
Architekturzentrum Wien
- Yasmeen Lari: the work and architectural evolution of Pakistan’s star architect (March 9th to August 16th, 2023)
- Hollein Calling: looks at the work and influence of this great Austrian architect from contemporary perspective (September 21st, 2023 to February 12th, 2024)
Wien Museum
- Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach: on the Karlskirche and other Viennese buildings by this Baroque architect (February 1st to April 28th, 2024)
Theatermuseum
- Costume exhibition: costume design drawings by Monika von Zallinger (May 5th to November 6th, 2023)
Ringturm
- Next exhibition TBA
Photography
(Westlicht)
I update this section about once a month, but do check locally and with official sites for any changes, particularly to the dates of future exhibitions.
Albertina
- Valie Export: although perhaps best-known for her performance art and wide use of diverse media, this exhibition focuses on the Austrian artist’s photography (June 23rd to October 1st, 2023)
- Joel Sternfeld: works from his American Prospects series (September 28th, 2023 to January 21st, 2024)
MQ Freiraum & Salon
- Crossing Lines. Politics of Images: photos in the context of political communication and image projection (June 2nd to August 20th, 2023).
Westlicht
- All you need is love: photos of the Beatles (May 26th to August 6th)
National Library
- Yoichi Okamoto: the work of the photographer, notably his documentation of the rebuilding of Vienna and Austria after WWII (from November 24th, 2023)
Other major exhibitions
History, culture & current affairs
(The Jewish Museum)
I update this section about once a month, but do check locally and with official sites for any changes, particularly to the dates of future exhibitions.
Jewish Museum
- Happy Birthday Israel!: a participatory installation (February 22nd to July 2nd, 2023)
- Guilt: how we deal with (or fail to deal with) guilt, whether taken upon yourself or “inherited” (March 28th to October 29th, 2023)
- Maria Austria: the works of Marie Österreicher, who survived WWII in hiding in the Netherlands and later became a celebrated photographer (June 21st, 2023 to January 14th, 2024)
- Superjews: a look at the Jewish history and fan culture of five professional football clubs from Austria, Holland, England, and Germany (provisionally July 12th, 2023 to January 14th, 2024)
- Frieden (my translation: peace): a small exhibition on a topic that remains particularly relevant given the recent European experience (provisionally November 7th, 2023 to May 4th, 2024)
Imperial Carriage Museum
- Sisi’s Mystery Dress: reconstruction of one of Empress Elisabeth’s dresses, based on real material and a portrait. Excitingly, it may (but possibly not) have been part of her wedding dress (May 12th to November 5th, 2023)
Literature Museum
- Ingeborg Bachmann: a homage to the acclaimed Austrian writer featuring, for example, items from her estate, letters, photos, recordings, drafts, and more (November 17th, 2022 to November 5th, 2023)
Technisches Museum
- Women at Work: special exhibition on the women’s pavilion at the 1873 World Fair in Vienna, focusing on the reality of life and work for women of the time (May 3rd to July 2nd, 2023)
Lower Belvedere
- The Belvedere. 300 Years a Venue for Art: celebrates the 300-year anniversary of Belvedere with a comprehensive review of its role through time (December 2nd, 2022 to January 7th, 2024)
Weltmuseum
- Extinctions!?: explores narratives of extinction from different perspectives (February 23rd, 2023 to April 2nd, 2024)
- Science Fiction(s): a look at the future and science fiction through the lens of contemporary artists and indigenous voices (March 30th, 2023 to January 9th, 2024)
Wien Museum MUSA
- Big city / small format: traces the history of the postcard medium as it pertains to Vienna and its urban landscape (May 4th to September 24th, 2023)
Papyrus Museum
- A present from the Nile: showcases documents illustrating the importance and role of water resources in ancient Egypt (June 14th, 2023 to May 5th, 2024)
Theatermuseum
- Showbiz made in Vienna: explores the film and theatre dynasty that was the Marischka family (October 18th, 2023 to September 9th, 2024)
House of Austrian History
- End of Testimony?: looks at the relationship between Holocaust survivors and those who interview them (January 27th to September 3rd, 2023)
Science, nature & music
(No prizes for guessing the name of this museum)
I update this section about once a month, but do check locally and with official sites for any changes, particularly to the dates of future exhibitions.
Sigmund Freud Museum
- Analysis Interminable. Psychoanalytical Schools of Thought after Freud: an introduction to five contemporary psychoanalytic schools (April 19th to October 8th)
Mozarthaus Vienna
- Cherubino alla vittoria!: intriguing exhibition that explores some of the musical background to the ending of the famous Non più andrai aria in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro opera (from January 27th, 2023. End date unknown at the time of writing)
Technical Museum
- BioInspiration: how disciplines like architecture, medicine, transport and material science have drawn inspiration from nature and natural systems (from October 26th, 2022 to September 3rd, 2023)
- Energiewende: examines the race against time, the challenges, and the possible solutions as we convert to climate-neutral forms of energy production (from June 16th, 2023)
- SmartWorld (working title): the use, importance, and consequences of smart technologies in daily life (from autumn 2023)
Natural History Museum
- Brazil: the natural history of the country set within the context of important issues and two centuries of relations with Austria (June 8th, 2022 to September 3rd, 2023)
- Arctic: exploring the intriguing nature (in various senses of the word) of a sensitive region in a state of change. A location intimately connected to our lives, despite its isolation (from November 8th, 2023. End date unknown at the time of writing)
Theatermuseum
- Austropop: Austrian pop phenomena in the widest sense of the expression (from Mozart to the modern) and viewed from different perspectives (October 12th, 2022 to September 4th, 2023)