Projects

Graz Airport is more than just a place of departure to the “wide world” or a point of return home; this fact is well-known.

Several years ago, the Graz Airport Operations LLC and the Cultural Department of the City of Graz expanded their cooperation; today, artworks by artists from Graz and Styria are displayed on the first floor of the departure hall, and on specific occasions, international artists are also showcased. The Graz Airport is heavily frequented, and apart from passengers and other visitors, approximately 150 seminars/conferences with active participation take place in the Airport Gallery every year.

Applications from interested artists are accepted year-round. A jury decides on five to six artistic positions for the gallery exhibitions each year. Due to spatial limitations, the exhibitions focus on two-dimensional forms of visual art.

The organizational preparation of the exhibitions is managed by the Cultural Department of the City of Graz and Kulturvermittlung Steiermark.

The Photo Gallery at Graz City Hall is one of the few exhibition spaces in Graz dedicated exclusively to photography. Since the mid-1970s, it has showcased art photographers connected to Graz and Styria. The gallery’s program, dedicated to documenting and promoting local and regional photographic art, is unique. The annual program includes one representative from each of the following categories: younger, middle, and older generations, as well as artist collectives and Artists in Residence. A longstanding fixture is the diploma exhibition of HTBLVA Graz-Ortweinschule. The Graz City Hall Photo Gallery not only serves as a launching pad for the younger generation but also presents the works of established Styrian art photographers already active in the inter/national context.

photo graz

Photo Newsletter for Styria

The Photo Newsletter provides year-round information about exhibitions and other photography-related projects in Styria, as well as inter/national calls for competitions, workshops, scholarships, and more. The newsletter highlights the full spectrum of activities within the Styrian photography scene and reports around 100 photography-related events annually. Submissions to the editorial team are accepted throughout the year.

Contact for suggestions/queries (note: photography only!): photo-graz@kulturvermittlung.org

Photos (excerpts):
Natascha Reiterer, Andreas Ledl, Emma Macuha, Karl Cebul, Elisa Wüntscher, Heinz Pöschko, Antonia Wechner, Matthias Jäger, Brisila Bufi, Bruno Richard, René Böhmer, Markus Himberger, Harald Wawrzyniak, Barbara Essl, Stephan Weixler

Promoting the joy of creative work among children and adolescents is a key concern of the Youth Gallery at Graz City Hall. The aim here is to instill in young artists a sense of the value of their work, as well as of art and culture. Early on, they are encouraged to recognize the significance of their creations. The pieces, often technically elaborate, are honored with a professional presentation in an official setting. Schools and educators are given the opportunity to showcase the results of their teaching beyond the school walls. For school classes of all age groups, the exhibition in the Youth Gallery usually marks a highlight in the academic year. Celebrations often include musical performances by the school or class choir and visits from parents and friends.

Exhibition view Vielfalt beginnt im Kopf (2022)

Our projects are often realized through collaborations: on the one hand, to compensate for the lack of event spaces, and on the other, to engage with colleagues in the cultural sector, share expertise, and make use of resources. These partnerships are not confined to the Graz scene alone; the exchange also extends to rural areas and beyond national borders.

Selected collaboration partners: aai Graz, Camera Austria, Galerie Centrum, ISOP, Off Gallery, raum, Schaumbad, Lichtungen, ausreißer – Die Grazer Wandzeitung, Galerie Transit …

June 5, 2023: Leben erzählen_Sudan, aai Graz
May 25, 2023: el jardin, aai Graz
May 25 to June 10, 2023: Graz & »[ʁeː]«, Folkwang Universität der Künste
May 10 to May 20, 2023: Struggle & Contemplation, Galerie Centrum
May 9, 2023: Lyrik aus Georgien, aai Graz
April 28, 2023: die höhlenkörper. Ein poetisches Konzert, KULTUM Graz
February 22, 2023: Küchengespräch mit Valeriia Lysenko und Roman Trubchaninov, KiG! Kultur in Graz
February 18, 2023: Kater Murkos Abenteuer – Пригоди котика Мурка, FRida & freD – Das Grazer Kindermuseum
December 15, 2022 to January 5, 2023: Broken Mirror, Galerija Zuccato Poreč

Photo: Exhibition view of Galerie Centrum, Struggle & Contemplation © Kulturvermittlung Steiermark

We frequently field last-minute changes, cancellations, or emergencies of various kinds on the part of artists and collaborating partners. These issues often arise due to problems in logistical and/or financial support. Despite a densely packed annual schedule, we respond and take action on requests that reach us on short notice. This proactive approach often forestalls a complete breakdown of work already undertaken, costs incurred, and time invested, thereby ensuring sustainable resource utilization. Additionally, current events (local, regional, international) or impromptu inquiries sometimes call for spontaneous “actions.” With our existing infrastructure, logistics, and other capabilities, we are able to act swiftly and efficiently.

Beginning in the 1950s, Graz evolved into a hub of progressive photography production and dissemination, at the time even surpassing the capital city Vienna, thereby establishing a solid foundation for contemporary photography. The protagonists of that era played a significant role in establishing photography as an art form in Austria, founded important institutions, and influenced younger generations within Graz’s photography schools.

From the abundant pool of each Styrian Photography Biennial, which presents a multifaceted overview of the local scene, a selection is curated for a traveling exhibition. The works explore current and socially relevant themes, analyze socio-cultural phenomena, and provide insights into individual and existential questions. The photographers delve into the perception and representation of reality, questioning the role and potential of the medium of photography. Space is given to techniques from classical black-and-white photography to image collages and more.

The concept of the traveling exhibition aims to introduce the artistic work of local and regional (Graz/Styria) photographers to an international audience.

“We need cool heads, clear minds, creative thinking, and the protection of human rights right now. Because where money talks, truth remains silent. Truth, democracy, and human rights are the most precious things we have in Europe.”
— Radka Denemarková, Writer in Residence of the City of Graz, 2017/2018

In 2007, the first Graz Path of Human Rights was established by Kulturvermittlung Steiermark in the Leech Forest, Graz, based on an idea by Max Aufischer. After more than 15 years, the aging plaques were replaced with new ones. With a grand opening ceremony, this pathway was reintroduced to public attention. The plaques of the “revisited” Path of Human Rights were designed by Josef Fürpaß.

Preface from the publication commemorating the reopening.

Project: Human Rights Trail

In 2007, the Graz Human Rights Trail was opened to the public. In 2008, the financial crisis ensued, followed by the refugee crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, with the impacts of climate and environmental crises becoming more and more evident. Unfortunately, all these crises have also posed a threat to human rights. Instead of the necessary unity of all people in the fight against these challenges, society is divided by individual interests. The safety of some becomes a violation of human rights for others.

It cannot be repeated enough: human rights concern and protect ALL people. For instance, they guarantee the right to fair wages and reasonable working hours, to rest and leisure. They secure the right of our children to free education and the right to personal property.

Sharpening an awareness of the universality of human rights in Graz – City of Human Rights is a special concern for us, in line with the 2001 Human Rights Declaration of the Graz City Council, which states: “The residents, particularly the youth, shall be informed about applicable human rights and their associated rights and responsibilities.”

Often, general knowledge about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, is limited to the phrase “All human beings are born free and equal.” The continuation of that sentence and what comes after it is, to many, for the most part unfamiliar. Unfortunately, the contents of the other 29 articles, which encompass nearly all aspects of society for people from all walks of life, are not widely known.

For Kulturvermittlung Steiermark, these considerations were a main catalyst for initiating the Graz Human Rights Trail and installing it in the Leech Forest on the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. The Leech Forest provides recreational space for many residents of Graz. The ongoing positive feedback underscores the wide acceptance and continued necessity of the Path of Human Rights.

Over the years, the plaques along the Human Rights Trail in the Leech Forest have suffered wear and tear. Despite several restoration and cleaning efforts, a replacement proved necessary.

For this reason, we’re pleased to announce that starting from May 9, 2023, the Graz Path of Human Rights revisited is once again open to the public.

Web Publication

Graphics © Alina Idlhammer, Collage Natascha Reiterer