Free Republic of Vienna - Wiener Festwochen

Confronting historical models, they wondered: how does utopia manifest itself? What emerged are spaces that issue an invitation to take on unexpected perspectives, to try out alternative forms of community, to instigate a dialogue between the preliminaries and the unwritten future of the Free Republic of Vienna. Spaces to think and work, to eat and dance, spaces that are not static, but mutate over the course of the five weeks. To make this possible, the artists will operate an open workshop in the House of the Republic. Every second week, the Academy of Fine Arts scenographers will invite the audience on a tour of discovery of the house and to cast a look behind the facade.

Artistic team
Alma Rothacker, Anna Grebennikova, Aylin Mutluer, Carlos Alfonso Ibanez-Reyes, Constanze Bieber, David Degasper, Elia Kreutz, Elias Emil Borgeest, Emma Ait-Kaci, Hannah Lowe, Laila Rosenbauer, Louis Platzer, Marc Pierre, Marcus Möller, Nike Hartmond, Philipp Banholzer, Philipp Lossau,Qian Qin, Roman Berleth, Ruth Erharter, Shan Kim, Sophie Glaser

Direction
Nina von Mechow (IKA)

More information on www.festwochen.at

Making Of…..

For the cooperation with the Wiener Festwochen, five students (Clara Holzer, Marcus Möller, Louis Platzer, Hannah Lowe, Ruth Erharter) in Jasmin Hammer's "Material and Effect" seminar in the Academy's stage design department painted a Transparent for the exterior façade of the Volkstheater in Vienna in 14 full working days.

The Prospekt is 7.47 metres wide and 3.64 metres high and is based on a design by the artist Bob Venables with slight modifications by the students. The Transparent was created using the technical language of theatre painting and weatherproof colours on nettle fabric.

On 16 May 2024, the prospectus was hoisted above the balcony of the Volkstheater and will hang there as a "revolutionary painting" until the end of the Wiener Festwochen. The Volkstheater is an official location of Wiener Festwochen.