Autumn dedicated to art
Vienna has long been considered a breeding ground for creative and contemporary art. The autumn of art is the time to really enjoy this. Numerous art events take you on an exciting journey of discovery. A chronological overview.
Art fairs to get the ball rolling
The first art fair of the season will be held at the magnificent Park Hyatt Vienna Hotel in the Goldenes Quartier in Vienna’s city center. This fall edition of Art at the Park will feature 20 participating galleries showcasing around 500 works of art. After that, the events continue in quick succession: viennacontemporary will take place in the second week of September. After spending many years in the city center, the art fair is moving to Hall D of Messe Wien for its tenth anniversary. This year, several more galleries – bringing the total up to around 90 – will be taking part. As in previous years, the focus of the fair is on Central and Eastern Europe, works by female artists and late 20th century art.
As is the case every year, Parallel Vienna, a cross between an art fair, exhibition platform and artists’ studio, will take place at the same time. The twelfth edition of Parallel Vienna will remain true to its premise, in which vacant buildings are used as a platform for the arts. As was the case last year, three pavilions at the Otto Wagner Areal in Vienna’s Penzing district will be hosting the event. Both art fairs will also be attracting visitors with a varied supporting program. A third, entirely new art fair will take place in Vienna during the same period: the Particolare will present 40 primarily large-scale contemporary works of art on the overarching themes of time and movement in the opulent Kursalon in the Stadtpark. The 16th edition of Austria’s largest gallery festival will kick off immediately afterwards: it is called Curated by and brings together 24 established or upcoming Viennese galleries for a whole month. Curators from all over the world have once again been invited. The motto of this year’s event is Untold Narratives.
Design and architecture highlights
Anyone looking for even more art to enjoy during the fall art season will definitely want to attend art-related Viennese events. Vienna Design Week is back for the 18th time, and once again there will be a concentrated mix of events with exhibitions, installations, guided tours and workshops. This year’s focus district is the 3rd, Landstraße. The main themes will be “Urban Food & Design” and design and craftsmanship. Visits to production facilities will also be offered during the event. There will be two more design highlights in Vienna this fall: the Design District will once again transform the Vienna Hofburg into a design experience. 250 leading national and international brands will be showcased over an area of 7,500 square meters. They will present the latest trends from the fields of design, real estate, automobiles, interiors, lifestyle, technology and art. In 2024, around 150 carefully selected furniture, fashion and jewelry labels from all over Europe will once again be invited to Blickfang Wien. The venue will be the MAK – Vienna Museum of Applied Arts.
We recommend Open House Vienna to anyone who wants to discover exciting architecture that is otherwise not accessible to the public anywhere else. Volunteers will be offering free, no-booking tours of 55 fascinating buildings on September 14 and 15. The main themes for the tenth anniversary will be timber-framed buildings, open spaces in the city and the reuse of former business premises. And during the Long Night of Museums, culture-loving night owls will once again be invited to roam the streets: on October 5, a large number of museums and galleries will open their doors until midnight. Only one ticket is needed for admission to all the participating institutions and events. The Rotlicht Festival for Analog Photography will once again bring together the local and international analog photography scene over the course of ten days. The headquarters of the festival will be the Atelierhaus of the Academy of Fine Arts (also known as the Semperdepot).
All of Vienna is art
But that’s not all by a long shot! There will be plenty of other art fairs at exciting venues over the course of fall art season: Art Vienna will be hosted, as in previous years, at the Schönbrunn Palace Orangery. 30 local and international galleries and art dealers will be exhibiting in one of the largest baroque orangery buildings in Europe. The fair appeals to a wide audience with works of art spanning the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
The Fair For Art Vienna, an art and antiques fair organized by the Association of Austrian Antique and Art Dealers and held across three floors of the Aula of Sciences, is also a permanent fixture of the fall art season. It is dedicated to modern and contemporary art. Additional highlights from the worlds of 18th and 19th century fine art and 20th century jewelry and design will also be on display. Art&Antique has been around for 55 years. The fair will be held at the Vienna Hofburg in November. Around 40 national and international art dealers and galleries will present art, antiques and design, from paintings, furniture and handicrafts to jewelry, carpets and art deco.
The Vienna Art Week is the traditional end to the fall art season. Admission is free and for the 20th time, numerous events with around 70 program partners will take place all over the city. Major museums have come on board, as have newly established artists’ studios. The shared motto “Facing time” explores the phenomenon of time from different angles.
Discover even more contemporary art in Vienna
The Vienna Fall Art Season at a Glance:
- Art at the Park: 09.06 – 09.08, Park Hyatt Vienna, www.parkvienna.com
- Parallel Vienna: 09.11 – 09.15, Otto Wagner Areal, www.parallelvienna.com
- Particolare: 09.11 – 09.15, Kursalon Wien, www.particolare.com
- viennacontemporary: 09.12 – 09.15, Messe Wien, Hall D, www.viennacontemporary.at
- Open House: 09.14/15, various locations, www.openhouse-wien.at
- Curated by: 09.17 – 10.19, various participating galleries, www.curatedby.at
- Art Vienna: 09.20 – 09.22, Schönbrunn Palace Orangery, www.artvienna.org
- Vienna Design Week: 09.20 – 09.29, www.viennadesignweek.at
- Vienna City Gallery Walk: 09.25 – 09.28, 1st District, www.gallerywalk.at
- Design District: 10.04 – 10.06, Hofburg, www.design-district.at
- Long Night of Museums: 10.05, www.langenacht.orf.at
- Fair for Art Vienna: 10.5 – 10.13, Aula of Sciences, www.fairforart-vienna.at
- Art&Antique: 11.07 – 11.11, Hofburg, www.artantique-hofburg.com
- Blickfang Wien: 11.08 – 11.10, MAK, www.blickfang.com
- Vienna Art Week: 11.08 – 11.15, various locations, www.viennaartweek.at
- Rotlicht Festival for Analog Photography: 11.15 – 11.24, Atelierhaus of the Academy of Fine Arts (Semperdepot), www.rotlicht-festival.at
- Paper Positions: 11.21 – 11.24, Kursalon Wien, www.paperpositions.com