For more than twenty years Lower Austria has been experiencing an impressive upswing in the cultural sector. In the biggest Austrian state, which encircles Vienna, there has emerged a multitude of contemporary cultural buildings, which provide a worthy setting for top-class music festivals, the lively theatre scene and the most diverse exhibitions.
After stopovers in Vienna, Bratislava, Košice (as part of its programme as European Capital of Culture 2013) and Paris, the exhibition “Building[s] for the Arts – Contemporary Architecture in Lower Austria” will now be shown at Aedes. It presents a selection of 30 buildings from the last 20 years dedicated to culture in Lower Austria. Highlights include the Wolkentum open-air theatre and the auditorium in Grafenegg. In Krems, the Krems Kunstmeile (art mile) has emerged, whilst in the spa town of Baden and the Weinviertler town of Mistelbach historical structures have been adapted for contemporary art.
Across the state there has been further building action. Historical structures (including convents, monasteries, castles and palaces) have been revitalized in an innovative manner according to a contemporary interpretation of the definition of continuity and have therefore been able to greatly contribute to maintaining the cultural legacy of the region.
The interdisciplinary exhibition shows in two parts the multi-faceted cultural scene of this region. The architectural photographer Bruno Klomfar uses expressive images to present the places and buildings for culture in operation and in their vibrant usage. His photographs are known for their rigorous precision and pure compositions, which lend the images their characteristic profile that reaches far beyond the documentary.
In the second part, ‘the next ENTERprise – architects’ present an architectural installation by Marie-Therese Harnoncourt, the sculptural form of which is derived from topographic data. Information about individual places or regions can be directly accessed on smartphones via an accompanying app. An integral part of the sculpture is a sound installation by the composer Rupert Huber, who has developed a piece of spatial programme music using a direct reference system for the development history of Lower Austrian cultural buildings and their regional location.
Catalogue
An Aedes catalogue was published.
With a text by Erwin Pröll
ISBN 978-3-943615-17-3
German/English
Price € 10,-
Sponsors
Österreichisches Kulturforum Berlin, Kultur Niederösterreich
