Austrian Cultural Forum NYC

"Linz will be the most interesting city in Austria in 2015"
- Martin Heller, Artistic Director of Linz 2009

Situated between Vienna and Salzburg, Austria's most famous visitors' destinations, Linz is a European Capital of Culture in 2009. Known foremost as an industrial city, Linz accommodates well-established corporations working in steel processing and the chemical industry as well as a wide variety of business sectors. As a cultural destination, however, Linz has remained very much on the fringes - until now.

The designation "European Capital of Culture" is intended to promote local cultural events and events involving people from other cities in the European Union. It aims to reach as wide an audience as possible by employing a multimedia, multilingual approach. Funded by regional, state, and federal governments as well as the EU, the project attempts to exploit the historic heritage, urban architecture, and quality of life in the city while establishing and strengthening a sustainable cultural infrastructure.

Linz enjoys the freedom of not having to offer many of the trappings that have become programmatic for the other two major Austrian cities. Beyond the burden of tradition and the requirements of prestige, the city is free to experiment with cultural heritage and market potentials. The unique interplay of culture, industry, and nature, combined with Austrian hospitality, gives the city on the Danube its exceptional vitality and gritty edge.

The city's history can be traced back as early as the 4th millennium B.C. In the 15th century it was temporarily the center of the Holy Roman Empire, as Emperor Frederick III resided there. The more recent history of Linz is of course rather dark. The city was hometown to Adolf Hitler, who had planned for the city to become one of five "Cities of the Führer" in Greater Germany. The National Socialists promoted the city to a center of the armaments industry during World War II, laying the cornerstone of the city's status as a major industrial area.

Linz's past is one of the central themes in the city's program for 2009. Curated by historical scholars and art historians, the exhibition The Cultural Capital of the Führer deals with National Socialist cultural policies, cultural life in the region, and the city's Nazi past.

Perhaps more than any other Austrian city, Linz has undergone remarkable change during the last few decades. So besides reflecting on the past, the Linz09 project will also focus on the city's present and future. Today, Linz is a vital, modern city with a high standard of living. The changes are just as apparent in the city's romantic corners, narrow streets, and historic sites as in its many new and exciting architectural projects.

With its vibrant presence in the cityscape, the Ars Electronica Center will function as a transparent light sculpture in its own right and as the architectural counterpart of the Lentos Museum across the Danube. The Lentos collection comprises some 1,600 paintings, sculptures, and assemblages, more than 10,000 works on paper, and about 850 photographs. It includes important paintings by Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka and other masters. In partnership with Linz09, the museum is launching a Best of Austria project on January 1, 2009. The exhibition will present what an ideal art collection could look like as a temporary and playful experimental arrangement, featuring close to one hundred works from more than thirty Austrian museums, collections, galleries, and foundations.

Cooperative efforts with cultural institutions from around the city and the province, with regional festivals, and with educational institutions, associations, and members of the local indie art and culture scene will facilitate the staging of a wide array of exhibitions, projects, ideas, and concepts for Linz 2009 European Capital of Culture.

http://www.linz09.at
http://www.lentos.at
http://www.aec.at