Conservative religious groups in Austria have launched a campaign against the exhibition “You Shall Make For Yourself An Image” at Vienna’s Künstlerhaus contemporary art museum, which explores Christian iconography from critical, feminist, and queer perspectives. The backlash, including an online petition and a “prayer of atonement” protest outside the museum, has been linked to a prior attack on another religious-themed exhibition at a Jesuit Church in Vienna. The show features over 30 artists, including Martin Kippenberger, Andres Serrano, and Marina Abramović, and has drawn particular ire for works like Kippenberger’s crucified frog and Anouk Lamm Anouk’s depiction of the Virgin Mary as a transgender woman.
The controversy matters because it tests the boundaries of artistic freedom in Austria, where freedom of art is constitutionally protected. The museum’s director and president have strongly opposed calls to close the exhibition, framing the protests as anti-art statements that threaten democratic culture. The targeting of women artists, who engage with patriarchal Christian worldviews from feminist perspectives, highlights ongoing tensions between conservative religious values and contemporary artistic expression, especially in the wake of physical attacks on artworks in the region.