Kunsthalle Wien

Kunsthalle Wien is a space which comprises the broad diversity of international contemporary art and its related contemporary discourses. To this effect, Kunsthalle Wien has been developing innovative exhibition and communication formats. As an open forum, it is not a collection, but rather both a space for established art and a negotiation site for current issues and future developments. It attaches great importance to the reflection of art and culture in addition to the presentation of art, and is equally concerned with its responsibility towards its visitors. Kunsthalle Wien is open and accessible to all. Its educational program offers a variety of approaches, encourages a combination of artistic practice and its theoretical reflection, and promotes an in-depth discussion of current issues of everyday life.

Since it opened in 1992 – originally as a makeshift structure shaped like a container, today with locations at the Museumsquartier and Karlsplatz – Kunsthalle Wien, as an urban institution, presents national and international contemporary art. In this respect, it is both a location for established art and negotiation site for current societal issues as well as future developments.

In the beginning, Kunsthalle Wien was a makeshift structure. Conceptualized as a temporary edifice in the shape of a container by Adolf Krischanitz, Kunsthalle Wien opened its doors at Karlsplatz in 1992. The initially rather controversial yellow container structure not only shaped the Viennese cityscape, but also changed the local art and exhibition scene.

In May 2001, Kunsthalle Wien eventually moved into its new headquarters, designed by the architect duo Ortner & Ortner, at the Museumsquartier. For this headquarters the Winterreithalle (winter riding arena) of the Hofstallungen (Imperial Mews) was extended by a functional annex which combines the historic building with contemporary architecture. Two halls with different interior profiles provide space for exhibitions of contemporary art.

The entrance area was remodeled and the building extensively renovated in 2013, rendering the original spatial concept visible again.

In 2001, the yellow container at Karlsplatz was reduced to a glass pavilion. This glass cube, which was also designed by Adolf Krischanitz, is now the second location of Kunsthalle Wien and presents a wide-ranging program of exhibitions and events.