Institution

HALLE FÜR KUNST is an innovative exhibition venue for contemporary and modern art production in an international context. At the same time, our program also recognizes regional art production. With these different perspectives HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark sees itself as a communicative institution that addresses the international within the context of the local. Using the various formats of solo exhibitions and thematic group shows, performances, and residencies, our curatorial team wishes to react directly to the manifold forms of expression in contemporary art production, and to offer a space open for the resonance of relevant discussions. The late-modernist architecture of the building (1952) and the surrounding park offer a special setting, and this physical space is complemented by the website in the form of a platform that reflects and disseminates our many different focuses and artistic productions.

As in previous years, our 2026 program is not based on any specific theme or leitmotif, but instead attempts to present the field of contemporary art in the most precise and diverse possible ways. The unifying element thus lies in the urgency of each format and its very own focus.

Our program will be accompanied by weekly events and educational formats, as well as informative online offers and publications, making HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark a venue where contemporary art can be experienced as an expression of our times.

In conjunction with the Neue Galerie at the Landesmuseum Joanneum, the house was for decades the site of the legendary Three-Country Biennial Trigon, which was an essential platform for cultural exchange during the Cold War and thus established early links with numerous artists from the South-East European region, such as Marina Abramović/​Ulaj, Sanja Iveković, Mangelos, Gianni Colombo, Luciano Fabro, Luigi Ontani.

In the 1980s, when there was a direct connection between the Graz and Cologne art scenes through Martin Kippenberger and Jörg Schlick, among others, the Pavillion also hosted, for example, a groundbreaking solo exhibition by Albert Oehlen and then later, in the early 2000s, the first Austrian institutional solo exhibition by Cosima von Bonin.

In 2013, the Kunstverein Medienturm, under the artistic direction of Sandro Droschl, finally took over the building, which had previously undergone a general renovation, in order to establish it as an independent institution under the name Künstlerhaus, Halle für Kunst & Medien. The sophisticated and comprehensive program realized in this period can be viewed here: www.km‑k.at.

Under the same leadership but an institutional transformation and reorganization, in 2021 the team was pleased to present the HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark.

Today the exhibition house is dedicated to the presentation of contemporary, socially relevant art production in an international context, whereby the carefully presented art here should also consciously stand and speak for itself. At the same time, attention to local art production has a significant influence on the artistic program. Through these different perspectives, the Kunsthalle (hall of arts) positions itself as a progressive house that cannot think the international outside of the local context and vice versa. Through various formats such as solo and thematic group exhibitions, performances, and residencies, the curatorial team aims to respond directly to the diverse means of expression of today’s artistic production and to be an open place for the resonance of currently relevant discussions.

In doing so, the wonderful architecture and surrounding parkland provide a unique setting for such a program. Facing this physical space, the new website of the HALLE FÜR KUNST Steiermark is set up as a diversely playable platform that reflects the different focal points and artistic productions and carries them to the outside. Following this step of opening up, it is a great concern of the institution to make contemporary art accessible to all members of society, so that admission to the exhibitions is free and a versatile mediation offer is available.

By 2024, the HALLE FÜR KUNST will be a climate-friendly cultural centre. In order to sustainably reduce CO2 emissions and increase energy efficiency, the exhibition lighting was converted from neon light to LED lighting with funds from the European Union’s NextGenerationEU reconstruction and resilience fund, and a natural outdoor shading was installed in the foyer.
 

Come! into the open, friend!
–Friedrich Hölderlin, Der Gang aufs Land. An Landauer, 1800/01.