KARIN SANDERAuf den Sockel gehoben
Generation MQ
Performance
MuseumsQuartier
Vienna
Austria
20 Jun 2026
read inGerman
To mark the 25th anniversary of MuseumsQuartier Vienna, renowned conceptual artist Karin Sander has developed a site-specific project: an ode to the MQ Generation and a tribute to the people who feel connected to this unique cultural complex. Taking place as a one-time event on 20 June 2026, the project will activate the entire main courtyard of MuseumsQuartier. Through Karin Sander's intervention, a wide range of participants will come together in a collective performance, becoming, for a brief moment, a work of art themselves. Based in Berlin and Zurich, Karin Sander (*1957) is one of the leading artists of her generation. Her practice is predominantly site-specific, and her work has been presented at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Venice Biennale. Sander responds to existing situations and explores the contexts in which they are embedded. By drawing attention to what already exists, she invites participation and critical engagement with the particular conditions of a place. The seemingly familiar is reconsidered and becomes the starting point for a process of exploration. Working across almost every medium of contemporary art, Sander creates projects in public space that emerge directly from the conditions and characteristics of their surroundings. Building on this approach, Sander's project for the 25th anniversary of MuseumsQuartier focuses on the social and cultural dimensions of the entire complex. Rooted in an expansive understanding of art that encompasses architecture, dance, design, fashion and the visual arts, MuseumsQuartier brings together a remarkable diversity of disciplines and perspectives, reflecting the richness of contemporary cultural production. This inclusive vision of culture has enabled MuseumsQuartier to engage an exceptionally broad audience and establish itself as one of Vienna's most vibrant and widely visited public spaces. This diversity also forms the foundation of Karin Sander's anniversary project. The artist invites everyone who has shaped or experienced MuseumsQuartier—past and present—to come together in a shared artwork that symbolically unites the "MQ Generation": employees and visitors of the institutions, as well as passers-by who experience MQ as a public urban space. In a gesture of appreciation and as a performative artistic act, Karin Sander literally elevates this MQ Generation by transforming them into a living sculpture. On 20 June 2026, several hundred wooden blocks will be distributed throughout the MuseumsQuartier courtyard. Symbolically mapping the public space, these blocks invite participants to step onto them, stand and balance there for several minutes. The project depends on the participation of as many people connected to MuseumsQuartier as possible. By standing together on these symbolic pedestals, they will momentarily form a collective image that celebrates the community at the heart of MQ. The one-time performance in the MuseumsQuartier courtyard will be documented through photography. As a token of appreciation for their participation, every participant will receive a signed photographic print of the event by the artist.
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