vienna to temporarily close composer museums amid culture budget cuts

Vienna will temporarily close several museums dedicated to famous composers, including the apartments of Franz Schubert, Johann Strauss, and Joseph Haydn, as part of city-wide budget cuts. The closures, announced on Wednesday, are expected to last up to two years, with Schubert's birthplace also closing for a redesign ahead of the 200th anniversary of his death in 2028. The city's cultural budget has dropped from €29.7 million in 2025 to €28.4 million this year, with further reductions planned for 2027. Other institutions, such as the Prater Museum and Hermes Villa, will also reduce opening hours.

The Holy Spirit in a Rapture of Pain

Der Heilige Geist im Schmerzrausch

Florentina Holzinger's "Pfingstspiel" (Pentecost Play) is a multi-hour performance staged across two locations in Austria—the Wiener Eislauf-Verein in Vienna and Schloss Prinzendorf—as a satellite event to her contribution to the Venice Biennale. The work features extreme physical stunts, including a performer rappelling down a hotel facade, a car drifting with Holzinger on its roof, and a crucifixion scene, all drenched in blood, pain, and religious imagery. The performance, presented only once before 700 guests as part of the Wiener Festwochen, is described as a brutal, uncompromising marathon that pushes the boundaries of live art.

"Suddenly it was a completely different world"

"Es war plötzlich eine ganz andere Welt"

Margot Pilz, a pioneer of the feminist avant-garde, is reviving her historic 1982 art intervention "Kaorle" for the Klima Biennale in Vienna. Originally conceived as Europe's first urban beach, the installation transformed Vienna's Karlsplatz by depositing tons of sand and installing a palm tree, deck chairs, and a synthetic whale in a pond to create a surreal coastal escape in the city center.