As part of the Styrian show of the Universalmuseum Joanneum, the Kunsthaus Graz takes a look ahead: The exhibition “What will be. From the future to the future” takes up questions about digitization, the climate crisis, work, education and the distribution of resources in various projects . “We are showing bold, visionary, and perhaps also disturbing versions of the future,” promised Kunsthaus boss Barbara Steiner at an online press conference on Tuesday.
Image: APA
The History Museum will deal with the past, the Folklore Museum will present the present, the Kunsthaus will show future designs in the large-scale show, in which “essential questions of the time will be asked”, said Christopher Drexler (ÖVP).
The starting point of the exhibition is the current situation in Styria, emphasized Steiner. Under the impression of the pandemic, “the future now seems more uncertain and uncontrollable than ever”. Instead of a draft for the future, there were “many different ideas”, explained the Kunsthaus director. The exhibition therefore looks into different areas of society. It extends over the entire Kunsthaus including the forecourt and courtyard. 92 artists and 203 project partners are involved. “What art does not offer are specific instructions for action,” emphasized Steiner.
The exhibition also sees itself “as a platform for the exchange of knowledge,” explained curator Katrin Bucher Trantow. On the ground floor, the focus is on education. Various concepts such as “learning with virtual reality” are examined as well as the manual development of skills. The next floor is about work, with a wide variety of aspects being shown. “Work and control” is becoming an important topic alongside handicrafts, but also the increasingly important area of care. There is also an installation by Iris Andraschek in the form of a bathroom. Drawings and words relating to “care” and “being well cared for” can be seen on the tiles. For her work, the artist spoke to nurses, but also to people in need of care, and examined the topic comprehensively.
Another area is “wilderness”, whereby it is about the resources, but also about “the problem of overexploitation”, explained Bucher Trantow. Another section is dedicated to living and residential construction, especially since there are “more and more pioneering projects in Styria that are geared towards the common good,” said the curator. Projects related to structural change in Styria will also be shown, as will the development of wooden houses and wooden skyscrapers.
The Styria Show will open on April 9th as a live stream event, two days beforehand the mobile pavilion will be shown in Vienna. The total cost of the project is just under nine million euros.
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