As part of the Arc of History Lecture Series: Austria 1900-2020 gave a lecture on the four Allied powers (the U.S., U.K., France, and the Soviet Union) and the different approaches they took to cultural policy in Austria.
Rathkolb also looks at Austrians who went into exile in Britain during the war, highlighting how they helped rebuild and internationalise Austrian culture after they returned home, using specific case studies to illustrate their impact.
The Arc of History Lecture Series: Austria 1900 – 2020 was initiated by Katherine Klinger
This symposium, The Long History of Viennese Modernism 1900 to the Present, will examine and discuss the development of Viennese modernism since the late 19th century in the fields of music, literature, visual arts, design and architecture.
The aim of this interdisciplinary event is to identify similarities and differences as well as interconnections between the various cultural and artistic fields. In addition, the origins of Viennese Modernism, its impact in the interwar period and its reception after 1945 up to the present day will be reflected upon. A further focus will be on a comparative view of developments in other European cities, which will be incorporated into the discussion.
Playlist of all Panels, from the MAK official Youtube
Tue, June 10th, 2025, 6–7.30 pm Opening panel at the MAK Säulenhalle
Participants: Veronica Kaup-Hasler, Executive City Councillor for Culture and Science in Vienna Ralph Gleis, General Director, Albertina Lilli Hollein, General Director, MAK Markus Schinwald, Artist, Lecturer, State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe
Moderation: Oliver Rathkolb, University of Vienna and Chairman, Vienna Institute for Cultural and Contemporary History and Arts (VICCA)
Followed by a reception
Wed, June 11th, 2025, 10 am – 6 pm Symposium in the MAK Vortragssaal
10–10.30 am Greeting Words Lilli Hollein, General director, MAK Oliver Rathkolb, University of Vienna and Chairman, Vienna Institute for Cultural and Contemporary History and Arts (VICCA)
Introduction Kathrin Pokorny-Nagel, Head of MAK Library and Kunstblättersammlung/Archiv Das MAK und die Wiener Moderne
10.30–12 pm Literature Norbert Christian Wolf, Professor of Contemporary German Literature, University of Vienna: 1900 davor/danach Bettina Hering, Dramaturge and former Director of Drama at the Salzburg Festival: „Von morgen bis mitternachts“. Zwischenkriegszeit – Exil – II. Weltkrieg Daniela Strigl, Author and Literary Scholar at the University of Vienna: Modernitäten, Avantgarden, Traditionen. Die Literatur von der „Stunde Null“ bis Covid-19
Moderated by: Klemens Renoldner, dramaturge and former director of the Stefan Zweig Center at the University of Salzburg
Presentations 20 minutes each, discussion
12–1pm Lunch break
1–2.30 pm Fine Arts, Design and Architecture Matthias Boeckl, Professor of Architectural History, University of Applied Arts Vienna: Wien um 1900 und die Folgen. Regionale politische und globale künstlerische Netzwerke Anita Kern, Designer and Cultural Scholar: „Gestalter ihrer Umwelt“. Die Zweite Wiener Moderne – Aufbruch und Vernichtung Mechtild Widrich, Professor and Director, Department of Art History, Theory and Criticism, School of the Art Institute of Chicago: Zwischen Mythos und Kritik: Feministische Auseinandersetzungen mit der Wiener Moderne
Moderated by: Kathrin Pokorny-Nagel, Head of MAK Library and Kunstblättersammlung/Archiv
2.30–3 pm Coffee break
3–5 pm Musical Awakenings Barbara Boisits, Head of the Department of Musicology, Austrian Academy of Sciences and Deputy Chairwoman, Vienna Institute for Cultural and Contemporary History (VICCA): 1900 davor/danach Anita Mayer-Hirzberger, Associate Professor of Historical Musicology, mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna: Zwischenkriegszeit, Vernichtung und Exil – NS und II. Weltkrieg Conversation with HK Gruber, composer, conductor and chansonnier: Die verzögerte Rekonstruktion der modernen Musik und Gegenwartsmusik
Moderated by: Gerald Heidegger, Germanist and head of the contemporary history/current affairs department, ORF Wissen
5–6 pm Closing discussion Wohin entwickeln sich die Gegenwartskünste in Wien und Österreich – über 100 Jahre nach dem Fin de Siècle 1900?
Participants: Daniel Ender, musicologist and Secretary General, Alban Berg Foundation, Vienna Lydia Haider, Germanist and writer, lecturer at several art universities in Vienna Peter Kogler, Artist and Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich August Ruhs, specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapeutic medicine, psychoanalyst (IPV)
Moderated by: Gerald Heidegger, Germanist and head of the contemporary history/current affairs department, ORF Wissen
Idea and concept: Oliver Rathkolb Program committee: Lilli Hollein, Kathrin Pokorny-Nagel, Lydia Rathkolb, Oliver Rathkolb
