Lebt und arbeitet in Wien Talks (DE)
The Heated City

The Lebt und arbeitet in Wien Talks are consived as a polyphonic portrait of the city of Vienna. Starting from socially relevant questions, the series of talks approaches the city not through a uniform narrative, but through contradictions, ruptures and parallel perspectives. Vienna is considered as a space for reflection where social, political, cultural and historical dynamics overlap.

The talks form a discursive extension of the exhibition Lebt und arbeitet in Wien: Contemporary Art from Vienna. While the exhibition brings together artistic positions, the series of talks opens up a public space for thought and discussion in which the city is not described but negotiated. The talk series does not explain Vienna, but rather makes it tangible – as a complex, contradictory and vibrant city that can only be described through many voices.

Titled Die erhitzte Stadt [The Heated City], the first event will address the climatic and urban planning challenges of a growing metropolis with guests Julia Grillmayr and Lilli Lička. How can a city be reimagined in the face of rising temperatures? What effects do climate change and heat waves have on urban planning and the social fabric of urban spaces? With these questions, the talk series opens up a public space for reflection and discussion in which the challenges, lines of conflict and future plans of a city that is repositioning itself in the tension between quality of life, growth and climate adaptation are negotiated.

The talk is part of Klima Biennale Wien 2026 and is free with a valid exhibition ticket for Lebt und arbeitet in Wien (valid until 26.10.2026). With a Klima Biennale Wien Festival Pass, you can get a reduction on the ticket price, paying €11 instead of €14.

Julia Grillmayr

Julia Grillmayr is a cultural studies scholar and journalist. She researches and teaches at the University of Arts Linz, focusing on speculative literature, new natures and urban wetlands. Her book Science Fiction Futurologien has just been published by transcript and is available as Open Access. She is part of the artistic research collective Lobau Listening Comprehensions and hosts the monthly live broadcast Science Fiction Book Club on Radio Orange. She spends the rest of her time in the muddy forests of the Danube floodplains.

Lilli Lička

Lilli Lička is a landscape architect, researcher, author and activist. She is head of the Institute of Landscape Architecture at BOKU (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna), co-founder of the nextland and LArchiv collections, curator of the L-x lecture series and founding member of the performative activist groups BLA and WOOPS as well as the action platform westbahnpark.live. She directed the landscape architecture firm koselička with Ursula Kose and has been heading LL-L since 2017. Her work combines design, research and public discourse.