OUR HAUS at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York
Opening: May 16, 2012
Duration: May 17–August 26, 2012 Austrian Cultural Forum NY, USA Curated by Amanda McDonald Crowley
Artists: Sabine Bitter/Helmut Weber, Judith Fegerl, Rainer Ganahl, Matthias Herrmann, Johanna Kandl, Mathias Kessler, Fabian Patzak, Rainer Prohaska, Time's Up, Wochenklausur
The Austrian Cultural Forum has launched the exhibition Our Haus in celebration of its ten year anniversary. Curated by Amanda McDonald Crowley, Our Haus forgoes a typical survey, instead examining the many facets of the Forum’s mission as a place for the presentation of contemporary culture, as a center for the discussion of ideas and establishing cross-cultural relationships. These aspects are presented through recent and newly-commissioned works by ten artists with ties to Austria and New York, who employ the landmark architecture of the Forum to explore themes that celebrate the history and mission of the ACFNY and its role within the city.
The show's bilingual title, Our Haus, speaks to these bilateral cultural navigations. The works included in Our Haus explore the relationship between the building and it’s environment and the architecture of New York, while simultaneously providing the audience with an invitation to participate in the discussion. Our Haus is an exhibition that recognizes the ACFNY as a cultural center, but also as a space for conversation, contradiction, intimacy, and conviviality.