VIENNA
It seems appropriate that Vienna, which was for centuries Europe’s center of intellectual life, is on the vanguard once again when it comes to contemporary art. Over the past few years, even during the pause of the pandemic, the Austrian capital has been buzzing with new galleries and artist-run spaces.
Part of what makes Vienna ideal as a cultural breeding ground is not only the emergence of new galleries, like Wonnerth Dejaco, which was established in 2020, but the innovation of the city’s storied art institutions, including the Kunsthalle Wien, Mumok, Kunsthistorisches Museum, and Secession. The Secession is the world’s oldest independent contemporary art space, founded in 1897 by Gustav Klimt and his circle, but even today it shows some of the most dynamic contemporary artists like Anthea Hamilton and Alex Da Corte.
“Institutions actually pay attention to what is going on locally. At the same time, the scene is very internationally oriented,” says Henrikke Nielsen, one of the founding partners of the gallery Croy Nielsen, which moved to Vienna
