Bring together a host of art galleries and what do you get? A lot of discussion, for starters. And a rather considerable amount of art. Now throw in interesting presentations, tours, and similar, and you have viennacontemporary.
- Contemporary art fair with a strong international reach
- Around 65 galleries from 16 countries participated in 2020
- Developed a new decentralised concept from 2021
- 2022 dates: provisionally Sept 22-25
- See also: Art Vienna | ART&ANTIQUE fair
Galleries from all over
(Press image courtesy of Vienna Contemporary and © Nicko Havranek)
It’s easy to stare up at all those old buildings and see Vienna as a time capsule and its art museums as preservers of the past. But that’s just not true.
Art in Vienna sticks its fingers into numerous creative pies. This includes contemporary art, of course, not least through the influence of the MuseumsQuartier collection of museums, venues, and events.
You might consider the viennacontemporary art fair as a collective manifestation of this local contemporary art scene. The event brings together numerous local galleries in a showcase of works.
And not just art galleries from Vienna.
Nor just from Austria: viennacontemporary draws on galleries from across central and eastern Europe.
According to the organisers, 2021 initiated a long-term transition toward a more flexible, decentralised event that reaffirms the role of the artist in the art market and better reflects the times we live in.
So the previous event featured a central exhibition in association with selected galleries at the Alte Post venue, guided tours to local galleries, talks, and a special audiovisual performance at one of Vienna’s historic post-WWI social building projects (Amalienbad).
Find full details of the 2022 event at the official website, once available.
2022 dates and tickets
In 2022, viennacontemporary provisionally runs from September 22nd to September 25th. Check the website for ticket and registration details.
How to get to viennacontemporary
The Alte Post location for the 2021 exhibition is a new cultural and urban development project. At the time of writing, it remains to be seen whether viennacontemporary returns there in 2022 or sets up elsewhere.
If you do ever find yourself at the Alte Post:
- Be sure to view a neighbour: Otto Wagner’s modernist landmark that is the Postsparkasse building
- Another neighbour is the Vienna University Archive, perhaps most famous for it starring role as the outdoor location for the police station in the Vienna Blood period detective series
- And go up the nearby Fleischmarkt street for some remarkable Jugendstil buildings.
Subway: a short walk from two central subway stations. Try Schwedenplatz (U4 and U1 lines) or Stubentor (U3 line)
Tram/bus: tram lines 1 and 2 both stop at Schwedenplatz, too.
Address: Postgasse 10, 1010 Vienna