Künstlerhaus

Künstlerhaus, original name: "Genossenschaft der bildenden Künstler Wiens" (Fine Arts Cooperative of Vienna), since 1976: "Gesellschaft bildender Künstler Österreichs, Künstlerhaus" (Association of Austrian Fine Art, Künstlerhaus), founded in 1861, representative body of painters, sculptors and architects, since 1972 also for performing artists and since 1983 for film and audio-visual artists, created by uniting the artist associations "Eintracht" and "Albrecht-Dürer-Verein". After the founding of the Secession in 1897 the Künstlerhaus gradually lost its representative function. The Künstlerhaus building, an exhibition centre and headquarters, was built by A. Weber from 1865-1868 and soon became the centre of social life in Vienna (famous carnival parties). In the Künstlerhaus a cinema was opened in 1949, and a theatre in 1974. Along with organising exhibitions the Künstlerhaus has also concentrated on exchanges with eastern Europe since the 1970s. The Künstlerhaus is known internationally for its large exhibitions (e.g. "Die Türken vor Wien" in 1983, "Traum und Wirklichkeit" in 1984/1985). The Künstlerhaus-Ges.m.b.H., a company founded in 1985, also organises exhibitions for other museums and institutions. A Künstlerhaus also exists in Salzburg and another one in Klagenfurt.

Literature: R. Schmidt, Das Wiener Künstlerhaus, 1951; W. Aichelburg, Das Wiener Künstlerhaus 1861-1986, 1986; idem, Das Künstlerhaus und seine Künstler, 1994.