You’re in Vienna for ESC? Here’s What Else to See: Art Edition
Between ESC-rehearsals and afterparties, the city is doing what it’s always done best: keeping its best art slightly hidden. These are the exhibitions insiders are seeing this week.
Imagining Queer Utopia @ Queer Museum Vienna
Queer Museum Vienna is a relatively new, self‑organised art institution founded in early 2020 that takes up space for queer culture in the city. Rather than a dusty archive or a traditional museum with velvet ropes, it’s run by a collective that sees art as a tool for resistance, community and re‑imagining how we live together, outside of heteronormative frameworks and mainstream narratives.
Every now and then, we hand over the mic to you, our readers. Forget the ivory tower: you get to decide whether a work is brilliant … or, well, shitty. Read what our readers thought of the current exhibition in this week’s culture newsletter.
LAST LITTLE HAVEN is Viennas first lesbian bar, or rather, a reconstruction of a fictional queer bar from the 1930s to the 1950s, which also serves as an exhibition space. With a beer in hand, you can browse through the world's largest collection of artifacts related to lesbian bar history, including original ashtrays from Mona's Bar in San Francisco from 1930. Behind the project is the core team of TERESA FISCHER, BETTINA WOESS, and MARIE ZAHIR, who spent around a year fine-tuning the implementation. The bar is located at Gumpendorferstraße 68 in the 6th district.
Last Little Haven – Lesbian Bar meets Art Space
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Gustave Courbet @ Leopold Museum
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller @ Unteres Belvedere
Anyone seeking a break from the world can lose themselves in the breathtaking landscape paintings of the 19th-century artist. The exhibition is on display at UNTERES BELVEDERE until June 14th.