Wolfgang Bauer beim Literatursymposion 1975, Grazer Literaturtage 75 im Forum Stadtpark © Peter Philipp
This Wilderness Has Culture
50 x steirischer herbst
GrazMuseum traced fifty years of eventful festival activities, presented some curious archival finds and asked you to donate your personal memories of the festival in a video message.
For fifty years steirischer herbst has been synonymous with daring artistic approaches which raise essential questions as to the role of art in society. With progressive projects, artists and intellectuals have sought to challenge traditions characterised by German nationalism, fascism and a telling silence regarding the country’s recent murderous past, in some cases accompanied by massive reactions and heated discussions.
A special exhibition at the GrazMuseum illustrated how the festival, which set out as a “representative synopsis of artistic and scientific positions in Styria” (herbst-founder Hanns Koren), has evolved into an internationally renowned forum for contemporary art with venues all over Graz and Styria. It analysed the socio-political role of the festival and each programme relevant to its historical time, tracing the marks it has left in public space and appraising its influence on art, culture and the local population. A video station invited visitors to help write the history of steirischer herbst by recording their own memories of the festival.
Curators: Martin Behr, Otto Hochreiter, Annette Rainer, Martina Zerovnik | Research Associates: Martin Ladinig, Franziska Schurig | Project Management: Anna Reicht | Project Controlling: Sibylle Dienesch | Proofreading: Christina Töpfer | Translation: Otmar Lichtenwörther | Press and Public Relations: Bettina Landl | Cultural Education: Johanna Grützbauch and team | Exhibition Design: MVD Austria (Martin Embacher, Irina Koerdt, Madlyn Miessgang, Michael Rieper, Helene Schauer) and Michael Neubacher | Exhibition Set-Up: Mit Loidl oder Co. Graz, , Melanie Kohns, Edin Prnjavorac and Hans-Jürgen Walder
The Exhibition has been co-produced by steirischer herbst, GrazMuseum and musikprotokoll.
