Symposium, exhibition finissage, and catalogue presentation
Joanneumsviertel
8010 Graz
Austria
For the finissage of the central exhibition of its 2024 edition, Horror Patriae, steirischer herbst is pleased to announce a one-day symposium and catalogue presentation.
Still on view through February 16, the exhibition at Neue Galerie Graz / Universalmuseum Joanneum delves into the darker and more comical sides of nationhood. It invites visitors to engage with historical artifacts or artworks and contemporary works dealing with different aspects of the cultural construct of the nation. Placing local history into a global context, it addresses the increasingly polarized debates over the resurgence and electoral triumph of nationalism as a political force.
Before the exhibition ends, a day-long symposium on February 8 explores the commonalities and differences of the current “culture wars” in Austria, Germany, and elsewhere in Europe. Why is it so easy to exclude uncomfortable voices? How did the logic of shitstorms lead to a new McCarthyism? How can cultural institutions navigate the new pressures of the day, and what are the strategies for the “day after”? How can we repair the damage done to the institutions and to public discourse?
These and similar questions are the focus of a day of panel discussions with Emily Dische-Becker, Andreja Hribernik, Eva Menasse, Daniel Muzyczuk, Natascha Strobl, Nina Tabassomi, Ilija Trojanow, and Antje Weitzel, moderated by Ekaterina Degot, David Riff, and Pieternel Vermoortel.
The symposium also includes a first look at the exhibition and festival catalogue. The richly illustrated publication, designed by Grupa Ee and published by Hatje Cantz (ISBN 978-3-7757-6008-9), documents the program of steirischer herbst ’24. Edited by Ekaterina Degot and David Riff, it contains contributions by Kevin Clarke, Clemens Ruthner, Barbara Seyerl, Heidemarie Uhl, and Hans-Peter Weingand.
A detailed schedule and more information is available here.
If you wish to attend the symposium, we kindly ask you to register until February 6 via registration [at] steirischerherbst.at.
steirischer herbst ’24 is curated by Ekaterina Degot, David Riff, Gábor Thury, and Pieternel Vermoortel and created by the festival’s whole team.
