MUSÉE DE L'ACTIONISME VIENNOIS

It's the WAM! This new museum, which opened in March 2024 in the city center, is dedicated to Viennese Actionism. This is the most important and controversial Austrian art movement of the ^20th century. The opening is the result of an initiative by private collectors who have passionately assembled the world's largest collection dedicated to Viennese Actionism, well aware of the major contribution it made to the international post-war avant-garde. The collection comprises no fewer than 17,000 pieces. These include major works produced between 1957 and 1973, including paintings, photos, films, sketches, graphics and performances. These pieces will gradually be displayed in temporary exhibitions, one or two a year, over two floors and 900 m². The opening exhibition is entitled "Was ist Wiener Aktionismus? For the record, Viennese Actionism, a radical movement that explored the human body and psyche without taboos, shook up the Austrian state, church and society in the 1960s and 1970s. This provocative artistic movement of the revolutionary Austrian avant-garde, active between 1962 and 1968, revolved around violent performances designed to release individual frustrations and impulses and break social shackles. In particular, WAM presents the work of four artists emblematic of Viennese activism: Hermann Nitsch (1938-2022), Günter Brus (1938-2024), Otto Mühl (1925-2013) and Rudolf Schwarzkogler (1940-1969). WAM's mission is to present Viennese Actionism as a complex and diverse artistic movement whose representatives were distinguished by a wide variety of styles. It also aims to show that Viennese Actionism was not only a radical movement, but also one of great artistic quality. Finally, the museum is committed to continuing the study of Viennese Actionism, to enable new approaches to this movement. Collaborations and loans with Austrian and international museums are planned. This is an ambitious project that contributes to the Viennese art scene, offering visitors a wide range of didactic exhibitions, a digital guide and events.