Vivi Civitas (living city)

How do you portray a living city like Vienna through photography? This was the challenge faced by students studying to become media specialists. Is it even possible to capture the character, appearance or significance of an urban organism? What defines a metropolis and how does it change before our eyes – is it the architecture, the people, the empty spaces, the traffic, the selfie spots, the green spaces, the weather, old walls, the underground or renderings of new buildings that herald the future that characterize a city?

Based on the exhibition No Feeling Is Final. The Skopje Solidarity Collection at Kunsthalle Wien and inspired by a master class by Austrian artist Elfie Semotan, the students developed strategies together with photographer and artist Lisa Zalud to discover Vienna's urban space in an individual way and to take on new perspectives in their photographic observations and reflections. The focus was primarily on urban development areas, such as Seestadt or Nordbahnhof, in order to read current developments in these changing places. The resulting photographic works dealing with urban space can be seen as an exhibition at Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier from December 6, 2023, until January 28, 2024.

We warmly invite you to the exhibition opening on Wednesday, December 6, 5 to 7 pm, where the students will present their works.

A collaboration between the art education team of Kunsthalle Wien and Berufsschule für Chemie, Grafik und gestaltende Berufe, OeAD – Agency for Education and Internationalisation, and The Academy Goes to School.