Austrian Cultural Forum New York
The Austrian Cultural Forum ( ACF; spelling : austrian cultural forum nyc ) in New York City is one of the two official cultural representations of Austria in the United States (the other is located as austrian cultural forum was in Washington, DC ) and is part of the network of Cultural forums of the Austrian Foreign Ministry .
history
The Austrian Cultural Forum New York was founded in 1942 by Austrian emigrants as the Austrian Institute for the Maintenance of Austrian Culture in New York. In 1963 it was opened at its current address at 11, East 52nd Street in the central district of Manhattan, as the official cultural agency of the Austrian federal government. Since 2002, the institution, renamed the Austrian Culture Forum , has had a new building designed by Raimund Abraham .
The Kulturforum is the responsibility of the Austrian Consulate General in New York. The first head of the Austrian Institute was Wilhelm Schlag from 1957, the third from 1970 to 1975 Richard Sickinger, followed by Fritz Cocron. From 1984 to 1987, the future City Councilor for Culture Peter Marboe was director, from 1988 to 1999 Wolfgang Waldner . Christoph Thun-Hohenstein then headed the ACF until August 30, 2007, and Andreas Stadler from September 1, 2007 to August 2013. He was followed by diplomat Christine Moser, who was previously the Austrian ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) .
building
The previous building at the same location was due for general renovation in the 1980s. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided on a new building. In 1992 an architecture competition was held; the international jury rated Raimund Abraham's design as the best of 226 submissions.
The building, which was completed in 2002, is located in a gap in Manhattan that is only 7.5 meters wide. It is therefore not surprising that the building, which has 24 floors and a total height of 84 meters, is an architectural specialty. The facade of the building, which is sloping upwards in several steps by several meters, consists of glass, zinc and aluminum. The building is considered one of the most interesting architectural projects in recent New York history. It has exhibition rooms, a theater, a library and audio library, offices, seminar and reception rooms as well as apartments for the heads of the institution.
activities
Since it was founded, the ACF has served as a place of cultural exchange between Austrians and Americans and presents contemporary Austrian artists in the US.
It is responsible for the cultural and scientific cooperation with all states of the United States , with the exception of Washington, DC , which has its own cultural forum within the Austrian embassy. Both the in-house events and the funding of cooperation projects with various cultural institutions in the USA are based on a clear orientation towards contemporary, artistic, socio-political and scientific relevance.
Events
Exhibitions
The ACF building has a total of 5 floors, which serve as exhibition space for predominantly contemporary art and in which three larger thematic exhibitions usually take place each year. In between there is also space for smaller event-like installations.
music and dance
Concerts and performances take place partly in the in-house auditorium, partly outsourced to various venues in New York. The latter takes into account the cooperation with US partner institutions, events have already taken place in Carnegie Hall or in the Judson Memorial Church .
In the spring of 2005, for example, Moving Patterns was held by Austrian electronic and experimental musicians, an event that was highly regarded in the electronic music scene.
Movie
As part of a year-round series at the ACF, films related to Austria are shown on the one hand, and special screenings related to other events of the Kulturforum take place on the other.
Discussion events and readings
Various panel discussions, readings and book presentations are another area of activity in the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York.
Library
The ACF library is located on the 4th floor of the building and has a collection of over 10,000 books related to Austrian art and culture. The library is currently being digitized, the titles recorded so far can be accessed online via the system of the Austrian Library Association.
Consulting services
The employees of the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York are available in their respective areas for advisory and network services for Austrian and American artists and scientists.
Editorships
- Our house. Anton Pustet , Salzburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7025-0712-1 .
- Vienna Complex. Anton Pustet, Salzburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-7025-0756-5 .
- Self-timer stories. Anton Pustet, Salzburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-7025-0772-5 .
- Lenin: Icebreaker Revisited. Anton Pustet, Salzburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-7025-0787-9 .
- Display of the Centuries. Frederick Kiesler and Contemporary Art. Anton Pustet, Salzburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-7025-0802-9 .
Web links
- Austrian Cultural Forum New York - Official website.
- Kulturforum New York: Austria's cultural message in New York. - Description in cultural forums on the BMEIA website.
Individual evidence
- ^ Walter Seidl: Between culture and culture. The Austrian Institute in New York and Austria's cultural representation in the USA . Böhlau, Vienna, Cologne, Weimar 2001, ISBN 3-205-99293-8 , pp. 32 ( online [accessed May 8, 2014]).
- ^ Anne Midgette: A Quiet Cultural Force Leaves New York Richer as He Returns to Austria. In: New York Times . August 30, 2007 ( online [accessed June 26, 2016]).
- ^ New ACF leader in New York. In: Der Standard , August 30, 2013.
- ↑ Michael Freund: "Permanently outside of the Austrian norm." In: Der Standard , November 20, 2010, supplement album, p. A11
Coordinates: 40 ° 45 ′ 34 " N , 73 ° 58 ′ 31" W.