NEWS
Menschen, Ziegel und Unkraut
With Menschen, Ziegel und Unkraut (People, Bricks and Weeds), the artist collective CRAFT turns its attention to a historical chapter of Northern Burgenland’s history: the brickworks Erste Walbersdorfer Dampfziegelei and Hartig & Rothermann. These former production factories, where millions of bricks were manufactured starting in the 1870s, stand as examples of the profound transformation from an agrarian way of life and work to the industrial modern age.
The project not only sheds light on economic developments but also explores the social consequences of this transformation. It focuses on the living and working conditions of the people who, under immense pressure and often precarious circumstances, drove efficiency and profit—both in Burgenland and across Austria. At the same time, Menschen, Ziegel und Unkraut critically examines how the ideals of industrial optimization have reshaped our understanding of work, meaning, and community—and how these changes continue to affect us today. How can we (re)imagine creative and collective forms of working today? Can we redefine our relationship with nature beyond notions of utility?
The installation of the same name is permanently on display in the garden of the 70er Haus der Geschichten in Mattersburg. A publication accompanying the installation further documents the historical research and artistic reflections in greater depth.
The wall drawings and installation are on permanent display in the garden of the 70er Haus der Geschichten and in the museum in Mattersburg. A publication documenting the historical research and artistic reflections in depth was released at the opening. The artist book is available for purchase.
Project by: CRAFT, are Oscar Cueto and Manuela Picallo Gil
Location: 70er Haus der Geschichten, Hintergasse 70, 7210 Mattersburg
Many thanks for your support: Kulturland Burgenland, Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Civil Service, and Sport, District of Mattersburg, america latina, 70er Haus der Geschichten
ARCHIVE
Erinnerungspeicher: EN PARALELO
Erinnerungspeicher: EN PARALELO (Memory Storage: IN PARALLEL) invites visitors into a space of reflection while presenting an emerging architectural vision. Inspired by traditional storage structures—the Tschardaken of northern Burgenland and the Hórreos of northern Spain—a new construction takes shape. For generations, these storages were used to dry and store maize, grain, and firewood, ensuring survival. Today, they are protected as cultural monuments and form part of Burgenland’s and Galicia’s heritage. While their original function may have faded, as symbols of rural identity and resilient subsistence economies, they remain highly relevant. These buildings shaped social and economic structures, defined ownership and spatial boundaries, and condensed the knowledge of multiple generations.
In her architectural reinterpretation, Austrian-Spanish artist Manuela Picallo Gil preserves these memories through visual elements and sound fragments, exploring migration, cultural heritage, and the transformation of rural spaces at the intersection of tradition and change.
The installation is accompanied by a publication with texts by Marlene Wagner, Sigrid Wentzel and Manuela Picallo Gil.
The exhibition opend the music by Graničari and an conversation with: Mag. Margit Fröhlich, BA on Monday, October 13th 2025, 7 pm. The duration of the exhibition was from 14.10.2025 to 21.11.2025.
Curators & Production: Mag. Margit Fröhlich, BA and Klaudia Fritz
Location: artBox at Kulturzentrum Mattersburg, Wulkalände 2, 7210 Mattersburg
Thank you to Burgenland Kultur, Kulturzentrum Mattersburg. ///
Schubladenarbeit
In a culture that confuses visibility with meaning, the works that were never intended foran audience tend to slip from view. This exhibition is dedicated to pieces that were notcreated for recognition, circulation, or valorization, but arose from an inner impulse. Here, we present works that remained hidden, not as a retrospective act of utilization, but as an invitation to perceive their thoughts, their aesthetics, and their quiet assertions. Some of these works may have never wished to be seen and yet they now emerge, without denying the conditions under which they came into being. Pieces whose existenceis not legitimized by attention, whose value is not measured by presentation, market, ordiscourse. They radically challenge the relationship between time, labor, production, andvalue. In a present moment that often treats productivity as a benchmark, we instead turn to works born from emotion, intimacy, or intellectual depth—without the intention of being shown.
The pieces on display resist the imperative to make a political statement, to provetechnical virtuosity, or to overwhelm. Some works were too personal, too early, too rawor simply forgotten, stored away, set aside, because they were never meant for anaudience. By allowing these works to surface without submitting to the pressures of production or commodification, a different perspective on artistic existence becomes possible: A work can hold meaning without circulation. A process can be complete without visibility. Perhaps value lies not in showing, but in being.
Schubladenarbeit (drawer work) by: barba stöhr I Betty Wimmer I Oscar Cueto I Doris Steinbichler I Elisa Andessner I Em Schwarzwald I Erisa Mirkazemi I Florian Gruber I Frida Robles I Gerald Straub I István Antal I José Manuel Springer I Karina Fernandez I Larissa Ivette Loza Cueto I Leonhard Pill I Liliane-Sarah Kölbl I Marko Marković I Marlene Lahmer I Martina Mina & Pascal A.T. Baltzer I Miriam Laussegger I Monika Pichler I Nazanin Mehraein I Nha Ngo I Pablo Chiereghin I Reni Weichselbaum I Sattva Caru Giacosa I Víctor Cruz & Hugo Portillo
Project by: Manuela Picallo Gil
The opening was on Friday, November 28th 2025, 6:30 p.m. with music by Reni Weichselbaum and tour “avoir une case en moins” with Gerald Straub (german/english) and the closing was on Friday, Dezember 19th 2025, 6:30 p.m. with music by Reni Weichselbaum and tour with José Manuel Springer (english/spanish). The duration of the exhibition was from November 29th to Dezember 19th 2025
ada – artistic dynamic association, Wattgasse 16/6, 1160 Wien
Thank you to Ottakring Kultur, Stadt Wien and artisticdynamicassociation.eu ///
BUILDING < AGAINST
Defiant Materials, restistant Buildings, Future Worlds
building < against refers to the non-conformist production of space, resistant buildings, protest architectures, autonomous and functionally open architectures, the preservation and cultivation of places, radical reconstructions. And even more radical practices of not building at all. The main element of the exhibition is a heavy-duty shelf laden with found and self-made building components. Old, historical, new, useless, and fantasy materials and other artefacts are collected, sorted, produced, and synthesised here. It showcases the rich legacy of uprisings, protests, and resistance in Vienna’s past and present. For the duration of the exhibition, a wharf will be constructed as a setting for learning, workshops, and discussions. It is a place to read, rest, and plan. Together with the visitors, a resistant structure will be built from the materials at hand and ultimately inserted into the public domain in protest against real estate speculation, profit maximisation, and the destruction of the planet, while celebrating collective luxuries and democracy. The exhibition building < against will also feature works by artists who tackle aspects of defiant (non-) building and take a critical approach to materials.
Works by Andrea Ancira + Maru Calva + Gaby López Dena + Daniela Ramírez, Lisa Bolyos + Kirsten Borchert, Cäcilia Brown, Kollektiv CRAFT (Oscar Cueto und Manuela Picallo Gil), Bussi Gruppe, Sebastian Haaf, Janina Hoffmann, Pauline Hosse-Hartmann + Ida Zahradnik, Sophia Hatwagner, Adam Kraft + E.B. Itso, Folke Köbberling, Philipp Muerling, Heti Prack, Maja Quille, Sebastian Sattlecker, Tomash Schoiswohl, Florin Stanzer, Günter Stanzer, Misha Stroj, Julia Wieger, Ella Zwatz
Concept and organisation by Lisa Bolyos, Cäcilia Brown, Gruppe Bussi, Tomash Schoiswohl, Julia Wieger
The exhibition ran from 25.9.2025 to 25.10.2025. and was accompanied by an interactive program: Exhibition, Workshops, Interventions The following article (German) by Sebastian Sattlecker has been published:“Revoltierende Stoffe, widerständige Bauten, zukünftige Welten Gegen die Bau-Wut. Für offene Räume”
Location: kex—kunsthalle exnergasse, Währinger Str. 59, 1090 Wien
In cooperation with urbanize!, Augustin and AgidS Thanks to ÖH. ///
DAY LABORER: Project by CRAFT in cooperation with Guadalupe Aldrete, Marko Marković und Raphael Reichl, curated by Ursula Maria Probst and produced by Nina Vobruba, within the framework of “In der Kubatur des Kabinetts”
The term “day laborer” is widely associated with people who, due to unemployment, immigration status, race or gender, are forced to work for a day in an underpaid and unprotected job. Traditionally, employers select day laborers at certain unofficial locations and bring them to the workplace, called the “labor line”. This labor model appears to be a past practice that meets both supply and demand for labor. However, currently, “mini-jobs”, “project-based jobs” or “employed on a case-by-case basis” are indicative of this type of employment. This concept favors employers’ profits, but leaves employees without additional benefits such as social security. A lack of opportunities for advancement, repetitive tasks or physically demanding jobs with relatively low wages requires extreme short-termism. The day laborer concept had an impact on other work models.
The DAY LABORER project combines the reflections of four artistic positions, discussing the regression of workers’ rights, working conditions in times of late capitalism and the return of right-wing politics, with a particular focus on the vulnerability of cultural workers. Collective CRAFT is going to collaborate with Guadalupe Aldrete (MX/DE), Marko Marković (HR) und Raphael Reichl (AT).
Opening & Location: Thursday, 5.12.2024 started at 19:00 Uhr at FLUCC, Praterstern 5, 1020 Vienna.
The murals could be viewed in public spaces at FLUCC from December 2024 to April 2025. More information and pictures from the opening follow the link.
Thank you to the support: FLUCC, Stadt Wien Kultur, Bundesministerium Kunst, Kultur, öffentlicher Dienst und Sport. ///
Liminal Spaces: Tracing Dreams, Fears, and Futures
curated by Guadalupe Aldrete
The works in this exhibition move in the field of tension between fears, dreams, hopes and actions. To what extent can we delve deeper into the origins of our fears and negative energies, give them a concrete form and develop strategies to use them as a resource? The artistic contributions aim to create movement – they reflect on paralyzing emotions, recurring fears, possible scope for action and the process of self-empowerment.
The prints Digging for Shades explore fears, nightmares, dreams and memories – inspired by narratives from different generations and epigenetic perspectives. At the same time, Somos Semillas multimedia objects in the space deal intensively with moments of hope and new possibilities for action. The video work Poetic Anxious Memories combines these thoughts, stories and interpretations into a multi-layered picture.
The exhibition opened on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, and ran from November 20 to December 10, 2024. A workshop entitled “Fears, Hopes, and Actions” was held for young people, and everyone was invited to come and work at the “Open Day of Work and Exchange.” The closing event on Tuesday, December 10, 2024 marked the end of the exhibition at eindorf, reindorfgasse 8, 1150 Vienna.
Many thanks for the support of: City of Vienna, District Funding, Bildrecht, OeAD-GmbH — Agency for Education and Internationalization, and eindorf. ///
X-PRESS BURGENLAND
On behalf of the Province of Burgenland, Galerie21 is once again launching the art fair X-PRESS BURGENLAND at three locations: at the Designforum Austria
in the MQ Vienna, in the Landesgalerie Eisenstadt and in the artists’ village of Neumarkt an der Raab organised by Gallery 21.
Dates & Locations: Designforum Austria, MQ Wien: 14. – 17. November 2024; Landesgalerie Eisenstadt: 29. November – 1. Dezember 2024; Künstlerdorf Neumarkt an der Raab: 5. – 8. Dezember 2024
Open hours are: Thursday, Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, Sunday 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Signed and limited original prints such as etchings, copperplate engravings, woodcuts, lithographs and photography.
Thank you to Petra Werkovits and for the support: Kulturland Burgenland, Bildende Kunst Burgenland, Designforum, Galerie 21, design lab, Museumsquartier Wien. ///
10 MINUTES SHIFT
Minutes Shift is a project in the form of a curated exhibition which challenges the relationship between time, work, production, and value. In a world where productivity often reigns supreme, this exhibition questions the conventional notions by inviting artists to present art pieces created in 10 minutes. The exhibition interrogates the intrinsic worth of artistic production in a society fixated on commodification and consumption. By challenging the notion that value is contingent upon time spent, the exhibition invites to reassess the preconceptions about the economic and cultural valuation of art. Words like fair pay, freelancing, freedom, welfare, remain often just words in the everyday-life of artistic production.
The curated selection of artworks offers a diverse array of perspectives on the intersection of time, work, production, and value. From sketches to installations and actions, the artworks create a statement which transcends the limitations of the clock and the value that society gives to it. The spectators will be confronted with the ephemeral nature of artistic expression and the relentless march of time. “10 Minutes Shift” compels us to contemplate the fleeting moments and to reconsider the intrinsic value of creative work. In doing so, it invites to reframe the understanding of the relationship between time, work, production, and value in contemporary society.
Project by Pablo Chiereghin & Miriam Laussegger
Art and cultural workers: Aldo Giannotti, Alberto Storari, Alfredo Barsuglia, Andrea Heyer, Ania Zorn, Bea Rice Küninger, Brunilda Castejon, Camilla Lausch, Casaluce Geiger, Charlotte Aurich, Christine Baumann, Christian Rupp, Christiane Spatt, Edith Payer, Elisabeth Grübl, eSeL (Esel Lorenz Seidler), Francesca Centonze, Franziska King, Florent Souly, Gerald Straub, Gerald Zahn, Georg Eckmayr, Julia Bugram, Yomer, Hana Usui, Isabelle Seilern, Ilaria Carli Paris, Lisa Reiter, Linus Riepler, Klaus Taschler, Karin Maria Pfeifer, Michael Gumhold, Manuela Picallo Gil, Marianna Kozan, Michikazu Matsune, Miriam Laussegger, Naoko Muneoka, Olaf Osten, Ona B, Oscar Cueto, Pablo Chiereghin, Peter Kraus, Peter Fritzenwallner, Roman Pfeffer, Rudolf Hübl, Sandra Fockenberger, Sascha Alexandra Zaitseva, Sophie Dvořák, Stefan Wanka, Sula Zimmerberger, Torsten Köpf, Werner Schedler
The exhibition was on these days open: 13. Nov 17 – 20.00/ 14. Nov 17 – 20.00/ 15. Nov. 17 – 20.00 and was part of the VIENNA ARTWEEK INDEPENDENT with a tour: 14.11.2024, 17:30 – 18:00 h 10. Bar & Party with- DJ Lässer / eclectic electro – detroit special – vinyl only- DJ Electrorider
Atelier Glockengasse 8a – 1020 Wien ///
InBEtween 2024 – deep time
This year, the exhibition project inBEtween deals with the theme of Deep Time – a time frame concept that relates to processes of the universe and life, in the broader sense of the perception of time. Linear or as a cycle? This offers a holistic view of developments, placing the community in the spotlight.International artists present their reflections in various forms to enable an active discourse on the topic. The artists’ own experiences of being in-between help to create a new approach that can unfold away from standardized thought patterns, dominant culture and exoticism.Works by: Žarko Aleksić, Bengisu Bayrak, Bedia Ekiz, Ceyiz Makal Fairclough, Amina Ben Hassen, Michael Kalivoda, Mattéo Lacoste, Riin Maide, Manuela Picallo Gil, Negin Rezaie, Carla Schwaderer, Constance Hatice Steininger, Malashree Suvedi, Lorena Tabares Salamanca, Marlene WagnerCurated by: Constance Hatice Steininger
The exhibition from 13. to 15. September 2024 in cooperation with WIENWOCHE had included a Workshop for Teenagers Von Pflanzen und Menschen with Manuela Picallo Gil and a performance with: Negin Rezaie, Zarko Aleksic, Lorena Tabares Salamanca, Marlene Wagner, Malashree Suvedi, Amina Ben Hassen, Carla Schwaderer and the workshop Choir & Cooking – Eine praktische Einführung zur Esskultur im Gefängnis (A practical introduction to prison food culture).
Location: Karlsgarten Vienna, next to Kunsthalle am Karlsplatz in Vienna
Thank you for the supported by Stadt Wien – Musik, Stadtteilkultur und Interkulturalität. ///
Archive from September 2024 ///////