The Secession, which besides preserving Gustav Klimt´s magnificent Beethoven Frieze, often shows the work of contemporary artists (most recently Henrik Hakansson, Sue Williams, Koo Jeong-a, and Michael Beutler). Other neighbours include the Vienna State Oprea, the Musikverein, the Künstlerhaus, the Volkstheater,and, literally smack in front, the two historic palatial seats of the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Naturhistorisches Museum, respectively. As a result, a few art galleries have begun to migrate to the zone. One recent arrival is Mezzanin, which inaugurated its new space on the Karl-Schweighofer-Gasse during the month of October. The third and final phase of the MuseumsQuartier inauguration was completed with the opening of quartier 21, a complex infrastructure for the production and presentation of multiple cultural activities. Not limited exclusivly to the visual arts but also including music (with particular interest in electronic experimentation), publishing, fashion, and other creative fields.

A happy synergy between public and private is what makes the area so dynamic, building connections between various sectors with the sole, shared objective of “producing” culture. Included among the almost twenty sites, whose spaces have been adapted and reconstructured by a series of architects: A9-forum transeuropa, an exhibition space for temporary shows; !5house (pronounced “institut fünfhaus”) for the presentation of contemporary music; Spoiler, a group of independent Viennese musicians that organizes performances and concerts; AICA, the International Art Critics Association, which lines up various meetings and debates to create a dialogue betweeen art and society; Cultur2Culture, an association for the promotion and development of art, communication, education, and science,with particular attention toward problems tied to gender; and the circular Art Bookshop Prachner, designed as a sort of arena for liteature. Studios and small living quarters have also been designed for the housing of young artists in an artist-in-resindence-program. On the last floor of the MQ Oval Wing there are also a few guestrooms available at modest prices to the artists, journalists, and cultural managers who collaborate with quartier 21 from time to time. For a city of under two million inhabitants (the entire national population dosn´t reach nine million), the MuseumsQuartier is an extraordinary cultural challenge; a new international cultural force to keep one´s eye on.

Daniela Perra