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
My current top tips
(A trio of Klimts; press photo courtesy of the Wien Museum and © Klaus Pichler)
Secessions
- Turn of the century art from the Vienna, Munich and Berlin Secessions
- Includes Klimt paintings
- Until Oct 13th, 2024
- At the Wien Museum
Special mention
- Robert Longo (until January 26th, 2025) at the Albertina: the famous US artist’s astonishing monumental charcoal drawings had me mesmerised
- Alfred Kubin (until January 12th, 2025) at the Albertina Modern: not everyone’s cup of tea given the often dark themes, but extraordinarily imaginative
- New Objectivity in Germany (until September 29th, 2024) at the Leopold Museum: an insightful look into art of a time (post-WWI) and place
What art exhibitions are on?
Let us begin with…
Art history & art around 1900
(The Kunsthistorisches Museum)
I review 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
- Egon Schiele − Adrian Ghenie: Schiele’s lost works brought back to life through the paintbrush of Adrian Ghenie (October 11th, 2024 to February/March?)
Lower Belvedere
- Akseli Gallen-Kallela: first solo exhibition in Austria for this Finnish artist with an international reputation, building on his participation in secessionist exhibitions in Vienna just after 1900 (September 27th, 2024 to February 2nd, 2025)
- World in Colors: highlights of Slovenian painting across a period stretching from the revolutionary year of 1848 to independence from Austria Hungary in 1918 (January 30th to May 26th, 2025)
- Gustav Klimt. Pigment & Pixel: digging a little deeper into Klimt’s world of colour to examine his methods and processes. Includes a close look at the techniques and materials used to create The Kiss (February 20th, 2025 to September 7th, 2025)
- Cézanne, Monet, Renoir: highlights of French Impressionism drawn from the prestigious Villa Langmatt collection (September 25th, 2025 to February 8th, 2026)
- Franz Xaver Messerschmidt: an exhibition that promises to expand our understanding of the role, relevance and context of his famous character heads (October 31st, 2025 to March 8th, 2026)
Upper Belvedere
- Franz Anton Maulbertsch: taking a closer look at the work of this artist, who so influenced central European painting in the latter half of the 1700s; part of the IM BLICK series (April 12th to September 29th, 2024)
Kunsthistorisches Museum
- Point of View exhibitions that focus on a single piece and provide often intriguing background detail:
- Jupiter and Mercury with Philemon and Baucis by the Rubens workshop (February 2nd, 2024 to January 12th, 2025)
- The Vitrine EXTRA series of small exhibitions of one or more artefacts from antiquity:
- The Professor and the Art Market (February 16th to September 22nd, 2024)
- Imperial Impressions: medals as art, featuring Habsburg acquisitions and the work of court medalists, who were often artists in their own right (February 13th, 2024 to October 26th, 2025)
- Rembrandt – Hoogstraten: a major Rembrandt exhibition that presents his works in dialogue with those by his student, Samuel van Hoogstraten (October 8th, 2024 to January 12th, 2025)
- Arcimboldo – Bassano – Bruegel: another treat but I await details (provisionally March 11th to June 29th, 2025)
- Michaelina Wautier: exhibition around the Dutch Baroque artist (provisionally September 30th, 2025 to January 25th, 2026)
Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien
- Paul Gauguin: first major retrospective in Austria for over 60 years for Gauguin, featuring works from prestigious international museums and collections (October 3rd, 2024 to January 19th, 2025)
Wien Museum
- Secessions – Klimt, Stuck, Liebermann: shines a light on the secessionist art movements in Vienna, Munich and Berlin around 1900 (May 23rd to October 13th, 2024)
Academy of Fine Arts
- Considering the collection: highlights of the paintings collection with additional contemporary interventions and juxtapositions (June 26th, 2024 to February 16th, 2025)
Dom Museum
- In the Spirit of Friendship: the concept as interpreted and explored in various artistic media both contemporary and (far) older (September 27th, 2024 to August 24th, 2025)
Modern art & contemporary art
(The Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien)
I review 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
- Franz Grabmayr: solo exhibition featuring paintings and graphic works (May 17th to October 13th, 2024)
- Robert Longo: monumental photorealistic works in charcoal based on black & white photos (September 4th, 2024 to January 26th, 2025)
- Chagall: featuring around 90 works across all creative phases of his life (September 28th, 2024 to February 9th, 2025)
- Jim Dine: highlights from the Albertina’s extensive in-house collection of his works (November 8th, 2024 to March 23rd, 2025)
Albertina Modern
- Alfred Kubin: solo exhibition featuring drawings on the dark side of the imagination (August 14th, 2024 to January 12th, 2025)
- Erwin Wurm: full retrospective for the internationally-renowned Austrian artist (September 13th, 2024 to March 9th, 2025)
- …see also the seasonal exhibitions at the Albertina’s Klosterneuburg location just outside Vienna
Upper Belvedere
- Bruckner: Symphony No. 5 in B-Dur: Dara Birnbaum with a contribution to the Carlone Contemporary series (April 25th to September 29th, 2024)
- arched landscape: minimalist sculpture by Ugo Rondinone within the Carlone Contemporary series (October 5th, 2024 to March 30th, 2025)
Lower Belvedere
- Hannah Höch: first large museum retrospective for the German artist (June 21st to October 6th, 2024)
- Amoako Boafo: first solo exhibition in Austria for the Ghanaian artist (October 25th, 2024 to January 12th, 2025)
- Radical!: modernism with a difference, featuring only female artists from over 20 countries to bring new perspectives to the movement and the role of women within it (June 18th to October 12th, 2025)
Heidi Horten Collection
- Focus Franz West: small exhibition around works by the Austrian artist known most for his sculptures (from September 6th, 2024)
- Light, Sound and Senses: a multisensory exhibition with works from the collection, loans and exhibition-specific installations (September 20th, 2024 to March 23rd, 2025)
Leopold Museum
- Unknown Familiars: highlights from six art collections from companies within the Vienna Insurance Group, ranging from classic modernism to contemporary works (May 8th to October 6th, 2024)
- New Objectivity in Germany: the art of post-WWI Germany, capturing the dichotomy of the prevailing Zeitgeist until the rise of the Nazis brought an end to the era (May 24th to September 29th, 2024)
- Rudolf Wacker: retrospective for one of the prime proponents of New Objectivity in Austria (October 30th, 2024 to February 16th, 2025)
The MAK
- Transmedia 1900: a dialogue between objects from the Wiener Moderne around 1900 and contemporary design and art they inspired in today’s students from the neighbouring University of Applied Arts Vienna (March 13th to October 20th, 2024)
- MAK Film Forum: screenings of films created by contemporary artists (April 1st to September 29th, 2024)
- 100 Best Posters: the next iterations of this competition featuring the top works from artistic poster design in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria (October 30th, 2024 to March 16th, 2025)
- Cod.Act: kinestic sound objects by the duo of André and Michel Décosterd (October 30th to December 1st, 2024)
- Blockchain Unchained – DAO & the Museum: visitors participate in an interactive story-driven experience that bridges the interface between real and virtual through augmented reality (November 6th, 2024 to September 14th, 2025)
Kunst Haus Wien
- The End is Where we Start From: solo exhibition for Anne Duk Hee Jordan (September 11th, 2024 to January 26th, 2025)
- Talking to Nature: Emma Talbot presents a huge painted silk hanging (September 11th, 2024 to January 5th, 2025)
- Antimatter Factory: solo exhibition for Mika Rottenberg (February 27th to August 10th, 2025)
MUMOK
- Avant-Garde and Liberation: global modernism and its relevance to contemporary art (June 7th to September 22nd, 2024)
- Kumgangsan: artist Jongsuk Yoon adds her artistic touch to the walls of the museum foyer (June 7th, 2024 onwards)
- Mapping the 60s: a conceptual retrospective that focuses on a decade that brought forth and/or influences many of today’s artistic and sociocultural movements (July 5th, 2024 to February 1st, 2026)
- Basically: “re-schooling” as a live project and exhibition in one by Nikima Jagudajev (August 30th to October 27th, 2024)
- Between Strings: a walkthrough sound installation with associated performances and other events (October 2nd to October 27th, 2024)
- Inventing Modern Sculpture: retrospective for Medardo Rosso (1858-1928) that includes pieces by artists influenced by this pioneering artist’s work (October 18th, 2024 to February 23rd, 2025)
- Arise Alive: solo exhibition for Liliane Lijn (November 15th, 2024 to May 4th, 2025)
Wien Museum MUSA
- Sold!: highlights from the city’s recent art purchases but also a look behind the scenes at the processes involved in purchasing, storing, maintaining and exhibiting contemporary art (September 26th, 2024 to February 23rd, 2025)
The Kunsthalle
All at the MuseumsQuartier site unless marked as the Karlsplatz site.
- Nora Turato: long text-based work on the outside of the Kunsthalle (September 5th, 2024 to September 14th, 2025)
- Aleksandra Domanović: solo exhibition for the Berlin-based artist (September 5th, 2024 to January 26th, 2025)
- La Gola: new film work by Diego Marcon (October 4th, 2024 to February 2nd, 2025)
- Radical Software: Women, Art & Computing 1960–1991: group exhibition examining part of the history of artistic experimentation with a focus on works by women artists pre-Internet (February 28th to May 25th, 2025)
Belvedere 21
- Walter Pichler < > Friedrich Kiesler: a dialogue between these two artists (June 28th to October 6th, 2024)
- Kazuko Miyamoto: comprehensive retrospective featuring paintings, drawings and installations (September 12th, 2024 to March 2nd, 2025)
- CIVA: Festival of Contemporary Immersive Virtual Art (October 1st, 2024 to February 2nd, 2025)
- Monster Chetwynd: custom installation for Belvedere 21 with associated performance art (November 7th, 2024 to February 9th, 2025)
- Wotruba international: exhibition around the famous Austrian artist Fritz Wotruba seen through the lens of his international activities, reception and influence on post-WWII sculpture (July 17th to November 16th, 2025)
- Feminist Futures Forever: art in the context of feminist perspectives and those sociopolitical, gender and environmental issues that remain unresolved despite decades of discussion (September 19th, 2025 to January 18th, 2026)
Academy of Fine Arts
- Considering the collection: highlights of the paintings collection with additional contemporary juxtapositions. Most notably, Klaus Scherübel engages with Lucas Cranach the Elder’s The Holy Kinship from the early 1500s (June 26th, 2024 to February 16th, 2025)
Künstlerhaus
- Wunderkammer: the 2024 membership exhibition inspired by the cabinet of curiosities of past times (June 28th to October 13th, 2024)
- Substanz: art as a social and societal action, for example in knowledge transfer, triggering an emotional reaction or driving change (November 1st, 2024 to February 9th, 2025)
Jewish Museum
- The Last Days of Democracy: 16 scenes from Karl Kraus’s play The Last Days of Mankind, as imagined by artist Deborah Sengl in the form of stuffed rats and with texts by Lydia Haider (June 19th to September 29th, 2024)
MQ Freiraum & Salon
- Becoming Earth: Ursula Biemann explores issues around indigenous peoples in the Amazon (September 27th, 2024 to February 23rd, 2025)
- Point Zero: installation by Rodrigo Braga (September 27th, 2024 to February 23rd, 2025)
Weltmuseum Wien
- Dark Pairing: Wie-yi T. Lauw’s screen images offer a metaphor that invites critical examination of colonialism (since May 20th, 2021)
- (Un)Known Artists of the Amazon: indigenous art and its public perception (April 24th, 2024 to April 21st, 2025)
Dom Museum
- In the Spirit of Friendship: the concept as interpreted and explored in various artistic media both contemporary and (far) older (September 27th, 2024 to August 24th, 2025)
Theseus Temple
- There May Exist: installation by the contemporary conceptual artist Zeinab Alhashemi (April 18th to October 13th, 2024)
Sigmund Freud Museum
- THE UNCANNY. Sigmund Freud and Art: psychoanalysis and art as influences on each other (April 26th to November 4th, 2024)
Design & architecture
(The MAK)
I review 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
- Iconic Auböck: the design work and influence of the Auböck workshop with a focus on key eras in the 20th century (May 15th, 2024 to January 6th, 2025)
- Aut Now: exhibition illustrating the best of Austrian design from the 21st century across various fields (September 18th, 2024 to May 18th, 2025)
- Peche Pop: major exhibition on the work and enduring impact of Dagobert Peche, who took design in intriguing, unexpected, even bizarre directions (December 11th, 2024 to May 11th, 2025)
Leopold Museum
- Poetry of the Ornament: presentation of the museal archives of the Backhausen furniture and interior decoration company in the context of their close cooperation with artists and designers of the Wiener Moderne (November 13th, 2024 to March 9th, 2025)
Vienna Furniture Museum
- For her: rooms for women: trail of specific objects within the permanent exhibition created for individual women, like Empress Maria Theresa (June 18th, 2024 to January 5th, 2025)
- From her: furniture by women: small selection of items designed by women…from post-WWI objects to contemporary designs (June 18th, 2024 to January 5th, 2025)
- Do it Differently!: featuring artists from the 1930s to the present day who designed for the celebrated Augarten Porcelain Manufactory (September 20th, 2024 to January 5th, 2025)
Weltmuseum
- A Little Bit of Everything: objects from the collection used to illustrate a list of materials (April 24th to September 22nd, 2024)
- A Glance at Pants: a spotlight on trousers, combining collection items with contemporary design pieces (October 16th, 2024 to January 26th, 2025)
Architekturzentrum Wien
- Carl Auböck: a look at the life and works of this designer and architect, who would have been 100 this year (September 5th to November 4th, 2024)
- Europe’s Best Buildings: exhibition around the biennial EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award (October 3rd, 2024 to January 20th, 2025)
Ringturm
- Bahnhöfe: remarkable examples of railway station buildings in Europe (July 9th to November 15th, 2024)
Photography
(Westlicht)
I review this section about once a month, but do check locally and with official sites for any changes, particularly to the dates of future exhibitions.
Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien
- Anton Corbijn – Favourite Darkness: a focus on his photographs portraying artists from various media, but also includes, for example, his cover art and film work (February 15th to June 29th, 2025)
Foto Arsenal Wien
- TBA
The MAK
- Elements: photographs by Adam Štěch that document modernist architecture and interior design elements (September 18th, 2024 to March 2nd, 2025)
Westlicht
- World Press Photo 2024: annual exhibition of prize-winning media photos (September 13th to November 10th, 2024)
- The White Canvas: multimedia exhibition curated by Nassirou Holik which features his own works and those of Samira Saidi (September 13th to November 10th, 2024)
Other major exhibitions
History, culture & current affairs
(The Jewish Museum main site)
I review this section about once a month, but do check locally and with official sites for any changes, particularly to the dates of future exhibitions.
Marx Halle
- The Last Days of Pompeii: multisensory immersive and VR exhibition (October 2nd, 2024 to January 4th(?), 2025)
Weltmuseum
- On the Backs of Camels: the history, culture and socioeconomics of domesticated camelids (February 27th, 2024 to January 26th, 2025)
- The European Qurʾan: European perspectives on the Islamic scriptures and the latter’s role in lives on the continent (September 18th, 2024 to August 24th, 2025)
Wien Museum
- Theft: complementary part of a joint exhibition with the Wien Museum, with small case studies of items “taken” by the Nazis from Jewish owners. The focus is on acquisition and restitution at the Wien Museum (June 6th to October 27th, 2024)
- Winter in Vienna: a look at aspects of the season through the centuries, with a focus on such matters as climate change, city initiatives against the cold and dark, winter activities and winter as a promotional motif for Vienna (November 14th, 2024 to March 16th, 2025)
- Mixed: an exploration of the diversity that has always played a role in Vienna’s sociocultural history. But not without its darker moments (December 5th, 2024 to April 20th, 2025)
Jewish Museum
- Theft: highlights selected histories of Jewish property stolen in the Nazi era. A joint exhibition with the Wien Museum; the focus is on the provenance and acquisition part at the Jewish Museum (June 6th to October 27th, 2024)
- The Third Generation: the perspective of the third post-Shoah generation along with explorations of how we might manage and handle today’s Holocaust legacy (September 18th, 2024 to March 16th, 2025)
- Angst (“fear”): the emotion in its various historical and contemporary dimensions, as well as views of the Jewish sense of the word (November 6th, 2024 to April 27th, 2025)
Literature Museum
- Friederike Mayröcker: manuscripts, drawings and other media related to this notable Austrian poet (April 18th, 2024 to February 16th, 2025)
- Franz Kafka: foyer exhibition that presents this remarkable literary character through the perspective of different media, notably Nicolas Mahler’s comics (May 29th, 2024 to January 12th, 2025)
Metastadt
- 007 Action Vienna: vehicles, costumes, props, behind-the-scenes insights and more from the James Bond film franchise (from September 7th, 2024)
Papyrus Museum
- Divine and Eaten: the often ambivalent or paradoxical relationship between animals and people in ancient Egypt, as illustrated within documents of the time (June 13th, 2024 to May 4th, 2025)
Science, nature & music
(No prizes for guessing the name of this museum)
I review this section about once a month, but do check locally and with official sites for any changes, particularly to the dates of future exhibitions.
National Library
- Anton Bruckner. The Pious Revolutionary: highlights from the Bruckner collection in honour of the composer’s 200th birthday in 2024 (March 21st, 2024 to January 26th, 2025)
Naturhistorisches Museum
- 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 (November 8th, 2023 to September 22nd, 2024)
- The Thin Skin of Earth – Our Soils: travelling exhibition on soil biodiversity and soil organisms (June 19th, 2024 to March 3rd, 2025)
Technisches Museum
- Energiewende: examines the race against time, the challenges, and the possible solutions as we convert to climate-neutral forms of energy production (June 16th, 2023 to December 30th, 2024)
- Cash. The Value of Money: the evolution of payments and the mechanics (with various meanings of the word) of the cash ecosystem, as well as various aspects of cash itself, from symbolism to sensory impressions (April 24th, 2024 to March 31st, 2025)
- 100 Years of Radio in Austria: the role of radio and its technological development from the early days through to the 2020s (from October 2024)
Haus der Musik
- Arnold Schönberg: features his journey from Vienna through Europe to Hollywood, highlighting his role as an imaginative composer and wider thinker. Includes paintings, manuscripts, and original voice recordings (July 10th, 2024 to January 6th, 2025)
Theatermuseum
- Johann Strauss: dedicated to the life and works of the composer (December 4th, 2024 to June 23rd, 2025)
Mozarthaus Vienna
- Mozart at Table: explores Mozart’s dining habits and experiences and their relationship to his life and work (May 24th, 2024 to March 16th, 2025)