Reading Back And Forth
forty years of steirischer herbst: public, politics, recollection, revolts
82% visual arts
15% history
3% birthday


In the forty years of its existence, the question of the relationship between art and the public has always been of key importance to steirischer herbst: After all, a contemporary, pugnacious festival that is on the one hand aligned to an international audience and on the other hand firmly rooted in the local setting, operates in controversial areas of public spheres – between love and scandal.
Has steirischer herbst, then, set something in motion that has shaken the borderlines between art and public spheres at least temporarily? Or are these myths? A history that may not repeat itself?
„Reading Back And Forth“ invites seven artists from very different backgrounds to explore these questions and to develop specific readings of the history and the presence of the festival in commissioned works: By interventions in the public space or within the exhibition space, they describe mechanisms of production, they are referring back to artistic strategies from the early days of the festival or examining the relationship between politics and culture. Where are the borders, the contradictions or exclusions of an institution located that has always devoted itself to the risk of enabling artistic processes?
Such questions do not aggrandise the history of the festival nor do they relativise its importance. Instead, they re-view models of production and mediation that are taken for granted, so as to examine their impact on artistic practices and strategies. Looking not so much into the past as into the present.


further programme announcement: Forty years of steirischer herbst have not only written a little bit of history, but also a whole lot of stories.Fortysomething


Co-produced by steirischer herbst & stadtmuseumgraz

22/09 - 04/11

Tue - Sun 10 am - 6 pm


Guided tours with curator Reinhard Braun
Thur 04/10 & 11/10, 5 pm
Fri 05/10 & 12/10 and Sat 06/10 & 13/10, 3 pm


stadtmuseumgraz
With
Maria Eichhorn (D), famed (D), Annika Eriksson (S), Willem Oorebeek (B), Joke Robaard (NL), Michael Schuster (A) & Manuela Zechner (A/GB)

Curated by
Reinhard Braun (A)

stadtmuseumgraz


22/09 - 04/11

Tue - Sun 10 am - 6 pm


Guided tours with curator Reinhard Braun
Thur 04/10 & 11/10, 5 pm
Fri 05/10 & 12/10 and Sat 06/10 & 13/10, 3 pm


stadtmuseumgraz

With
Maria Eichhorn (D), famed (D), Annika Eriksson (S), Willem Oorebeek (B), Joke Robaard (NL), Michael Schuster (A) & Manuela Zechner (A/GB)

Curated by
Reinhard Braun (A)

stadtmuseumgraz