Vienna's 2025 Art Festival Reimagines Boundaries with Unspeakable Worlds Theme
Vienna's annual art festival has unveiled its plans for 2025 under the theme Unspeakable Worlds. This year's event will focus on ideas that challenge ordinary language, with a tighter schedule and a shift away from its previous central location. New collaborations and revived projects will also shape the programme.
The festival will run for just one month, a change designed to create urgency and highlight concepts beyond conventional description. Unlike in past years, there will be no main hub at Nordwestbahnhof. Instead, the event will spread across the city, featuring more public domain images. Among them is a sculpture of a decaying SUV and a series of billboard-based works.
For the first time since 1982, Kaorle at Karlsplatz—a public art project by Margot Pilz—will return. The Vienna Business Agency will also present winning entries from a competition aimed at reimagining public spaces. These projects received funding to bring fresh ideas to life.
The festival's leadership has shifted, with Sithara Pathirana now directing the event alone after Claudius Schulze's departure. Under her guidance, the programme is deepening ties with independent art venues. Ten spaces have been chosen for Immediate Matters, a series curated by Anne Faucheret as part of the 2026 Klima Biennale Wien. Each venue will host climate-focused exhibitions, supported by a fixed grant.
The 2025 festival will present a condensed but ambitious programme, with public art, revived projects, and climate-themed shows. The shift from a central hub and the focus on independent spaces aim to broaden its reach. Organisers expect the tighter schedule and bold themes to draw fresh attention to ideas that push beyond everyday expression.
