Central European Forum

The twentieth anniversary of 1989 presented a unique opportunity to reflect on the events and the developments in the region since the end of communism. The events of 1989 were a formative experience for an entire generation of Central Europeans. In 1989, our countries “returned” to Europe. This project, put forward by the Central European Forum, builds on a key message of 1989: openness to the world.

Ash Heap of History?

Everyday propaganda in Eastern Europe, taking the former Czechoslovakia as an example.

Exhibition
16 September - 29 October 2009

Twenty years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Vienna-based Czech artist Abbé Libansky has created works that deal with the everyday political propaganda in the former Czechoslovakia, but also include references to other Eastern European countries.

Sonic Zones

Babylon. Electronic Music. Kalashnikov. You may think there is something wrong in this line up. But, as unusual as it seems, those three do have something in common. They are all linked to the Russian town of Izhevsk. In the Communist era, thanks to its Kalashnikov factory, Izhevsk was a closed town. Now, it hosts one of the most famous and vibrant festivals of electronic music, and it is often referred to as the “capital of the Russian electronic music scene”. The festival is held annually, in the Babylon Entertainment Centre.

Architecture of Remembrance – The Memorials of Bogdan Bogdanović

“Architecture of Remembrance – The Memorials of Bogdan Bogdanović” is a documentary on the life’s work of the former mayor of Belgrade, architect and scholar Bogdan Bogdanović. It combines his extraordinary biography with a specific focus on his work in former Yugoslavia and Belgrade in particular.

The unique memorials of Bogdan Bogdanović are documented for the first time in this video production that takes a scientific approach to its fascinating subject. 

Fairground - A Forgotten Scaffold. A two-part documentary

“Fairground” is a two-part documentary based on the events that took place 70 years ago in Belgrade’s Staro Sajmište (Old Fairground), one of the biggest prison camps in the Balkan region organised by German occupation forces during World War II. Nearly all the Jewish population of Serbia lost their lives here. Tens of thousands of Serbs and prisoners of other nationalities were taken from here to other prisons or forced labour camps across the “Reich”. It was a place of hard labour, humiliation, illness, torture, and – primarily – death. This place has not been marked properly to this very day, and there are not even any systematized or coordinated historical sources on the site.

Herklotzgasse 21: “The Triangle of my Childhood – A Jewish suburban community in Vienna XV” (exhibition)

From 1906 to 1940 Herklotzgasse 21 was the centre of Jewish life in the 15th district of Vienna. This exhibition, which takes a scientific approach, links the urban space of the 15th district as we know it today with the once-bustling life of a Jewish suburban community. The direct reminiscences of 14 survivors who spent their childhoods in this neighbourhood represent the main source for the exhibition.

Eurozine – Europe talks to Europe

Projected for a period of three years, the Eurozine project consists of three areas: a net magazine, a talk series and book publication. The net magazine features articles, essays and interviews – in their original as well as translated versions – on various “focal points”, compiling texts on topics such as minorities, migration and borders, European perspectives, European identity, the media and freedom of speech, and populism. 

Gedenksymbol Servitengasse 1938 (Servitengasse 1938 Memorial)

The Servitengasse 1938 Memorial project was initiated by citizens of the ninth district of Vienna who wanted to commemorate the numerous residents of the district who were displaced and murdered during World War II and thus chronicle the fates of an entire street – the Servitengasse.

Friedrich Ohmann (1858 – 1927) – An Architect Between Disciplines

This exhibition shows the works of architect Friedrich Ohmann that have survived to this day. Several of his buildings have been maintained in excellent condition; these include the Burggarten park Palm House and the Wien River Gate in Vienna, the Hotel Central in Prague and the museum of art and crafts in Magdeburg.