Lebt und arbeitet in Wien Talks: Vienna as a Chosen Home
Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier,
Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna
8 October 2026, 6.30pm
With Hans Schabus, Johanna Charlotte Trede, Emily Wardill
moderated by Margherita Belcredi
A collaboration between Kunsthalle Wien and Phileas – The Austrian Office for Contemporary Art in connection with the exhibition Lebt und arbeitet in Wien: Contemporary Art from Vienna at Kunsthalle Wien.
What does it mean to come to Vienna as an artist and to remain here? Bringing together Hans Schabus, Johanna Charlotte Trede and Emily Wardill, this conversation reflects on the different conditions, motivations and experiences that shape an artist’s decision to make the city a long-term home. While some artists have developed their practices here over decades, others arrived more recently, offering distinct perspectives on Vienna and its cultural landscape. The discussion considers what makes Vienna an attractive place for artists who are exhibiting internationally, while also addressing some of the contradictions and challenges embedded within the city’s artistic and institutional structures. In conversation with Margherita Belcredi (Director, Phileas), the artists will reflect on how questions of permanence, belonging and critical engagement with place intersect with their practices and shape the ways in which they live and work in Vienna.
On the occasion of Lebt and arbeitet in Wien, Kunsthalle Wien has conceived a series of talks in collaboration with Phileas that foregrounds the voices of art professionals – and particularly artists – in various discussions about the realities of living and working in Vienna.
The talk is free with a valid exhibition ticket.
Every Thursday 17:00–20:00 Pay what you can!
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Hans Schabus (b. 1970, Watschig, Austria) has been showing his work in a national and international context since 1992. Since 2012 he has been teaching at the University of Applied Arts where he heads the Department of Sculpture and Space.
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Johanna Charlotte Trede (b. 1990, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany) has held exhibitions at Pech, Vienna (2026); Haus des Meeres, Vienna (2025); EFES24, Linz (2023); The Office, Vienna; mumok, Vienna; Pförtnerhaus, Freiburg im Breisgau (all 2022); WAF Galerie, Vienna (2021); Garage Künstlerhaus, Vienna (2019) and Parkhaus Heumühlgasse, Vienna (2017).
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Emily Wardill (b. 1977, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom) has held solo exhibitions at KW, Berlin; Art Now Tate Britain; Gulbenkian, Lisbon; Samstag Museum of Art, Adelaide; Secession, Vienna (2023); Bergen Kunsthall (2017) and Salzburger Kunstverein (2015). Wardill is Professor of Art and Film at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.
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