Vienna is becoming an art metropolis: autumn full of innovation and creativity!

Vienna is becoming an art metropolis: autumn full of innovation and creativity!

This fall, Vienna is positioning itself as an international center for art and design and is attracting visitors with a dense program that combines art fairs, an important design festival and outstanding museum exhibitions. The art fair took place from September 11th to 14th viennacontemporary took place, at which over 100 galleries from 25 countries, with a particular focus on Central and Eastern Europe, presented their works. At the same time, the event transformed Parallel Vienna the Otto Wagner area became an experimental art stage where established artists came together with up-and-coming talent.

A highlight of the autumn cultural program is the Vienna Design Week, which starts on September 26th and lasts ten days. With around 200 events and 40,000 expected visitors, the festival is seen as a social laboratory that promotes critical and playful discussions. Festival director Gabriel Roland emphasizes the social mission of the event and sees the Vienna Design Week as a platform that presents Vienna as a “City Full of Design”.

Diverse formats and social innovation

Since its founding in 2007, Vienna Design Week has established itself as Austria's largest curated design festival. The program offers a wide range of formats, including thePassion paths, in which international designers work with Viennese craft businesses, and theCity work, where Caritas Vienna develops social design solutions. Another exciting aspect are the Urban Food & Design initiatives, which are dedicated to the extraction of dyes from bioregional resources.

• Passionswege: Internationale Designer kooperieren mit lokalen Handwerksbetrieben.
• Stadtarbeit: Soziale Designlösungen durch Caritas Wien.
• Urban Food & Design: Nachhaltige Farbstoffgewinnung.

The diversity of formats is also reflected in the emphasis on product, furniture and industrial design as well as in the discussion of architecture and graphic design. A strong network of designers and partners supports the event in order to network local potential internationally and also make access easier for newcomers.

Art and culture in Vienna's museums

While some of the most exciting events take place outdoors, the museums in Vienna also offer a wide range of exhibitions. TheAlbertinaThe exhibition “Gothic Modern” shows a journey through time from medieval art to Max Beckmann and Edvard Munch. TheLeopold Museumis dedicated to the occult influences on art around 1900, and thatMACis planning a comprehensive retrospective on filigree glass art and Helmut Lang in December.

With this sophisticated mix of commercial art fairs and socio-politically committed design initiatives, Vienna has succeeded in positioning itself as an innovative hotspot. The master’s program “Social Design – Arts as Urban Innovation” at the University of Applied Arts also aims to train a new generation of designers who develop creative solutions to urban challenges.

With all of these highlights, autumn in Vienna really makes you want to enjoy art, design and social innovation - a real joy for anyone who wants to experience the cultural diversity of this city!