vogelfrei—free as a bird
June 22–September 8, 2024
During the Cultural Capital Year, the Landungsplatz Train Station in Ebensee transforms into a realm of tangible, self-determined imagination. A resounding invitation to all to invent birds and other flying creatures – especially to children and their adults. The artist duo Gerda Steiner & Jörg Lenzlinger provides space up to the ceiling for fantastical beings to be discovered, created and built on-site.
A wild decoy bird world grows, inhabited by cunning turtledoves and bashful vultures, organized chickens and enamored dragons, by hungry smacks, curious tits and Salzkammergut swallows, well-traveled gallows birds and generous magpies, by zizibes, birigoes and as-yet-undiscovered swarms. The former restaurant becomes a hub of anarchic ornithological diversity. Its final appearance remains uncertain: Those who call the birds need courage for the wild.
Since 1997, Gerda Steiner & Jörg Lenzlinger co-create immersive in situ installations. Transformation, proliferation and crystallization play important roles in their work. Viewers are invited to dive into a fantastical vegetative universe, or to participate in experiments that awaken their senses and minds. The artists’ installations, which are as unsettling as they are enchanting, forge links between antagonistic worlds, proposing to observe the strange laboratory of the living with its biodiversity and to ponder notions of fertility and growth.
For the first time in the nearly 40-year history of the European Capitals of Culture, the title has been granted to a rural, inner Alpine region. With its 23 municipalities, each more individual and strong-willed than the last, the Salzkammergut region stands as a model for all of Europe and proves that it is possible to work together for the future despite all differences. With four programming series “Power and Tradition,” “Culture in Motion,” “Sharing Salzkammergut—The Art of Travelling” and “Globalocal—Building the New,” the European Capital of Culture Bad Ischl Salzkammergut 2024 examines important topics within the region, within Europe and in the world. The European Capital of Culture Bad Ischl Salzkammergut 2024 provides new impulses, gives the impetus for new developments and raises the curtain on historically rooted and contemporary art and culture in order to network the region internationally and reimagine it for the future.
vogelfrei—free as a bird
A project by Gerda Steiner & Jörg Lenzlinger.
Curated by Katharina Lackner and Julia Stoff.
Landungsplatz, Ebensee, Austria
Opening hours
June 23–July 5, 2024:
Monday–Friday, 9am–12pm and 3–5pm
Saturday–Sunday, 10am–3pm
July 6–September 8, 2024:
Thursday–Monday, 10am–3pm
Tuesday–Wednesday: groups only
