30th anniversary program of Grazer Kunstverein

30th anniversary program | Grazer Kunstverein
 
In 2016, the Grazer Kunstverein will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a special program, which includes exhibitions, performances, concerts, lectures, workshops and a series of publications that will reflect upon the position the institution had, locally, nationally and internationally, as well as what function it will fulfill in the future.

To continue its focus on language, communication and exchange, the Grazer Kunstverein has invited British artist Liam Gillick for a one-year commission, which takes on the form of a large flag. The flag reflects in a bold manner the institution's internal structure as well as its position within the city of Graz. It will be inaugurated on January 1, 2016 by placing it in the ancient flagpole holder on the original façade of the Palais Trauttmannsdorff.

By using the history and archive of the Grazer Kunstverein as a starting point, Mexican artists Mariana Castillo Deball and Carlos Sandoval will develop a large procession, which will be held within the city of Graz on the July 1, 2016. The procession will take the form of a Perchtenlauf, a folkloric tradition from the central and eastern Alps dating back to pagan times. The procession will end at a site where our 30th anniversary will be celebrated with performances by Dorit Chrysler & Gregor Schmoll and Nils Bech.

The exhibition program will follow the same conceptual logic as previous years, in which history, past and present collapse on top of each other by reflecting on social and political issues in an abstract manner, fueled by notions of "language." Over the course of the year, there will be exhibitions by Philippe van Snick, Kay Rosen & Matt Keegan, Peter Friedl and Beatrice Gibson.

Additions to The Peacock, the non-stop group show examining the Grazer Kunstverein as a functional site, will be by artists Liam Gillick, Plamen Dejanoff & Swetlana Heger, Christian Mayer and Chadwick Rantanen. 

All of this within the spirit of American artist Ian Wilson, to whom the Grazer Kunstverein sees its own mission reflected: to explore the relationship between the viewed—or discussed—and the viewer, and the urgency involved in these interactions.

Grazer Kunstverein is a national and internationally renowned venue for contemporary art. Since its establishment in 1986, the Grazer Kunstverein has functioned as a place for production, curating and mediation in contemporary art. The aim is to promote and present recent artistic positions and address questions around current cultural and political tendencies. As a place for production of recent art and intermediation, the Grazer Kunstverein plays an important role in Graz as well as in Austria and abroad. Due to a close cooperation with various institutions and universities, it has over recent years become a centre for artistic and cultural studies. The Grazer Kunstverein is not guided by populist demands but advocates for the promotion and presentation of qualitative artistic experiments.

Grazer Kunstverein is structurally supported by the city of Graz, the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Art and Culture, the province of Styria, Legero | con-tempus.eu, and its members.  

contacts
Grazer Kunstverein
Palais Trauttmansdorff | Burggasse 4 |8010 Graz |Austria
Hours: Wednesday–Sunday 11am–6pm

T +43 (0)316 83 41 41
office@grazerkunstverein.org
www.grazerkunstverein.org