Further information and picture material on individual projects can be found at the following link: Programme 2018

 

On November 24, the Universalmuseum Joanneum presented its programme for the coming year. ‘2018 will definitely be particularly exciting,’ the State Cultural Counsellor Christopher Drexler was pleased to report. ’32 exhibitions, countless art projects as well as intensive educational programmes demonstrate the broad spectrum covered by the Universalmuseum Joanneum – which is considered the largest of its kind in Central Europe. 2018 is marked by anniversaries, commemorations, and birthdays, which serve as the starting point for many projects. So we can all look forward to a highly varied year of exhibitions,’ Drexler said.

 

2018 Highlights
Science, art and culture lie at the heart of the coming year, too: ‘2018 is a year of anniversaries, which the Universalmuseum Joanneum has dedicated itself to at a range of locations: from the central exhibition to mark the Peter Rosegger Year in the History Museum to the show titled Faith Love Hope, which is part of the 800-year anniversary of the Diocese of Graz-Seckau and will be on show in the Kunsthaus Graz, not forgetting the exhibition commemorating 300 years since the signing of the Treaty of Passarowitz in the Styrian Armoury. Besides, the Neue Galerie Graz is showing a solo show by female Iranian artist Shirin Neshat, as well as an exhibition of Günter Brus’s actionist drawings to mark the artist’s 80th birthday. Once again, our team proves with its varied programme that it hits the pulse of our time with its exhibitions, taking current trends and themes and reworking them for a broad public,’ as the Director of the Joanneum, Wolfgang Muchitsch, emphasised at the press conference.

From portraits of past centuries right up to Neshat, Brus, and Congo Stars

2018 begins with the presentation in the Neue Galerie Graz of a large personality from the art world: the female Iranian artist, photographer and film-maker Shirin Neshat (*1957) is primarily known for her engagement with the situation of women in the Muslim world. From January 19th, the Neue Galerie Graz will be dedicated to the works to date of Shirin Neshat in a solo exhibition that is set up as a retrospective.

The BRUSEUM, part of the Neue Galerie – which sees itself as the centre of expertise and research into the works of the artist Günter Brus – will show the first world-wide, comprehensive exhibition of the artist’s actionist drawings from September 28th onwards, to mark Brus’s 80th birthday. The anniversary exhibition Wie mit dem Skalpell (As if with the Scalpel) is an opportunity, moreover, to present the first part of a catalogue of works, a project spanning several years.

From October 5th, works by Alfred Hrdlicka and Fritz Martinz will be on show that emanate very much from anti-fascism and the experience of war. With this show, the Neue Galerie Graz has also contributed toward commemorating the start of the Nazi reign in Austria 80 years ago.

Schloss Eggenberg has once again targeted a young public with its new special exhibition: GesICHt und DU (My portraIt and YOU) sets out, from April 27th, to make portraits of past centuries more easily accessible to young persons and those accompanying them, and to encourage them to create, depict, and take part in role play.

The Kunsthaus Graz will be devoted to the themes of Glaube Liebe Hoffnung (Faith Love Hope) from April 13th. This exhibition poses questions about possible connections between the secular and religious spheres, exploring artistic engagement with images and values shaped by Christianity. Congo Stars, the second Kunsthaus exhibition in 2018 starting on September 22nd, condenses recent contemporary art from the Congo and representatives of ‘Art Populaire’ into an imaginary series of dynamics that are social, political and religious in nature, and more besides.

Traces of Peter Rosegger and Archduke Johann

In 2018, the Universalmuseum Joanneum presents two key programmatic areas to mark the 175^th birthday of Peter Rosegger, and the centenary of his death: from February 9^th the anniversary exhibition Peter Rosegger. Waldheimat und Weltwandel (Peter Rosegger. Forest Home and a Changing World) is on show, and the Rosegger Museum Krieglach is mounting a new show from March 24^th with the title … wem gehört der Großglockner? (…whom does the Großglockner belong to?). Both exhibitions shed light on the life and works of Peter Rosegger in his role as a critical, political and, occasionally, self-promoting, Styrian.

2018 will see a special exhibition again in the Agriculture Museum at Schloss Stainz, the first in three years: Eisen. Eine Spurensuche mit Erzherzog Johann (Iron. Searching for Traces with Archduke Johann) takes as its theme erstwhile innovative methods of treating iron, which Archduke Johann brought to Styria from England. The exhibition starting March 24^th also presents the versatility of iron as a material, from the simple scythe to the high-performance steel cable.

Nature and Science close up

From March 9^th, the exhibition Hotspot Mur. Smaragde im Verborgenen (Hotspot Mur. Concealed Emeralds) in the Natural History Museum offers visitors the chance to take an exciting tour through the River Mur habitat, where rare and highly endangered fish species are to be found. The show makes the connections to current scientific research, and takes as its theme the Mur as a hub of species variety in Styria.

Year-end 2018 is the provisional date for the opening of a new kind of Science Center, the result of a cooperation between the Universalmuseum and the Children’s Museum in Graz, FRida & freD: specially themed rooms with imaginative storylines running through them allow visitors to delve into the worlds of science and technology through play. Both the design and didactic methods employed reach out to the wider public, making science and applied technology something tangibly to be experienced. Watch this space!

 

You can find texts and images for all 32 exhibitions, as well as the various educational programmes on offer, online at: Programme 2018

_________

 

We look forward to your reports, and are always happy to answer any inquiries or questions!

 

With kind wishes,
Anna Fras & Pia Moser