A city known for its architecture, music, and paintings switches focus to another art form for one month at the Foto Wien photography festival.
- A long celebration of photography around Vienna
- Exhibitions, workshops, talks and more
- Entry to the Foto Wien festival centre (and its events) is free
- Next festival: Mar 10 to Mar 28, 2021
- See also: Events in Vienna | Photo & Adventure Fair
What is Foto Wien all about?
Organised by Kunst Haus Wien (the Hundertwasser museum), this is Vienna’s contribution to the European Month of Photography.
Consider Foto Wien a celebration of the art of photography, a showcase for local photographic initiatives and photographers, and a focus for all those with a love of the medium to come together at talks, workshops, exhibitions etc.
In its inaugural year, over 100 partners hosted events of one kind of another, but there was also a festival centre that acted as a hub and headquarters.
2021 highlights
The 2019 festival was the first and its successor is slated for 2021. As such, it will be a while before programme details emerge.
In 2019, many of Vienna’s leading art museums, galleries, and other institutions were festival partners, including the Museumsquartier, the Albertina, the Jewish Museum and the Natural History Museum.
Such was the large number of related exhibitions and events, that I’d simply urge you to browse the festival website to review the highlights.
The festival centre was at the former Post Office Savings Bank (Postsparkasse), itself an iconic piece of architecture and design by Otto Wagner. In addition to talks and workshops, the HQ hosted:
- The chance to take a tour of the building
- Numerous exhibitions. For example:
- Bodyfiction: presenting the works of photographers nominated for the European Month of Photography Arendt Award 2019
- Curator’s Choice: featuring selected works from photographers in Austria
- White Flag: the results of a two-year photo project by Hanna Putz and Sophie Thun
- Urban zones: urban spaces and the interactions that take place within them
- Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation: the results of a five-year photographic documentation project
- Stefan Oláh’s large format photos of the Postsparkasse’s interior design
- The ten photos shortlisted for the photography prize awarded by the Rondo lifestyle magazine
- The 23 winners of the Wiener Wohnen photogaphy prize for photos of Vienna’s social housing projects
- Outstanding photobooks (which you can look through)
- …and many more!
- A pop-up photo lab for developing black & white negatives
- A pop-up book shop with a focus on limited edition photobooks
- A weekend photobook market
As you can tell, the festival centre alone was worth a visit for anyone interested in the medium.
2021 tickets and dates
Watch this space for 2021 info. All I know for now are the dates: March 10th to March 28th.
In 2019, anything happening at the Foto Wien festival centre was free. Exhibitions and events elsewhere may have required admission to the particular location.
How to get to Foto Wien
The festival centre was just off the Ringstrassen boulevard in the NE corner of Vienna’s old town. I can’t yet say if this location will serve the same function in 2021.
Subway: it’s a short walk from either Stubentor (on the U3 line) or Schwedenplatz (U1 and U4 lines)
Tram/bus: take trams 1 or 2 to Julius-Raab-Platz
Address: Georg-Coch-Platz 2, 1010 Vienna | Website