A rare opportunity to enjoy the full diversity and creativity of Vienna’s contemporary art scene in an exhibition at the Kunsthalle Wien.
- Showcases the work of 56 artists
- All live and work in the city
- Remarkable variety of media, motifs and contributors
- Runs May 1 – Oct 26, 2026
- Book Kunsthalle Wien tickets*
- See also:
Contemporary art from Vienna
(Part of the exhibition at the Museumsquartier site. Three ceramic works in the foreground are by Laurence Sturla; press photo by Markus Wörgötter)
Many regard the years either side of 1900 as the period of peak creativity in Vienna, when artists, architects, designers, and intellectuals discarded the shackles of a conservative past and followed new paths to fresh destinations.
Living in Vienna today, it seems that spirit of innovation, dynamism, agency, and diversity continues in the contemporary art community: something you can judge for yourself at the Lebt and Arbeitet in Wien exhibition at the Kunsthalle Wien.
The exhibition showcases work by artists who live and work in Austria’s capital. So not “Viennese art” as such but “art from Vienna” in a format designed to both survey and celebrate the local scene. This is the fifth edition of the exhibition, whose first appearance was in 2000.
The curators describe one of the goals as reaffirming Vienna’s position as an art capital that draws in creatives from around the world. Another parallel to times past, when composers and artists flocked to the imperial city. And, indeed, Lebt und Arbeitet in Wien has participants from 18 countries.
Exhibits represent artists of all ages and the full gamut of media: painting, performance, photography, ceramics, installations, film, sculpture, even film sculpture (look for Philipp Fleischmann’s work, for example).
So you essentially have a feast of art laid out in buffet form. Put together using a cornucopia of ingredients by over 50 chefs known for their skill and creativity…chefs all working in one city, but with a range of backgrounds and heritages.
(Part of the exhibition at the Karlsplatz site; press photo by Markus Wörgötter)
The exhibition is “deliverately unfocused” as the curators put it. With no overriding theme, the wide diversity within the local art scene receives due tribute. That scene often fills the gaps between the art museums and public galleries with, for example, over 100 artist-run spaces in Vienna.
The positioning of some exhibition works immediately outside the premises of the Kunsthalle Wien reflects that proliferation of Vienna’s artistic culture beyond established institutions.
The joy is in the variety, of course, so everyone will have their likes and dislikes in that buffet of creativity. But here four of my personal treats you might look for:
- Laurence Sturla’s post-industrial ceramic sculptures, which I first encountered at the MAK’s Hard/Soft exhibition
- Sergei Tcherepnin’s 2026 Birds sound installation featuring the birdsong of male pairs of Kōkako
- Vika Prokopaviciute’s perspective-filled abstract paintings
- Michaela Polacek’s monochrome abstract drawings
Dates, tickets & tips
Explore the richness of contemporary art in Vienna from May 1st to October 26th, 2026. The exhibition is spread over both Kunsthalle sites: the smaller Karlsplatz venue and the larger MuseumsQuartier location.
A ticket just for the Karlsplatz location is available but you really want to see the MuseumsQuartier site: a ticket for the latter includes access to the former.
(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)
For more contemporary art in Vienna, I have two suggestions for you:
- My overview of contemporary art in the city and where to see it, with links to other relevant sites
- My curated list of contemporary art exhibitions on now and in the future
How to get there
Both locations are central: check my main Kunsthalle article for travel tips. It’s actually only a short walk between the two sites. Rather poignantly, this walk can take you past the Secession building, and we might say today’s artists continue to carry the conceptual torch lit by Klimt and colleagues back in 1897.
Address: Museumplatz 1, 1070 Vienna (MuseumsQuartier) & Treitlstraße 2, 1040 Vienna (Karlsplatz)