Vienna Design Week 2025 at the MAK

Programm at the MAK 2025

Tue, 30.9.2025
Opening TURNING PAGES + Lecture Diedrich Diederichsen 
Free admission to the Lecture and the Opening 

6 pm
Lecture Diedrich Diederichsen
AURA AND ADDRESS 
An artist’s book derives its appeal both from its aura as artistic object and from its addressability as communication—two normally mutually exclusive concepts are thus, after all, revealed to be compatible. In this context Diederichsen poses the question as to whether artists’ books so defined are especially suited to disseminate and mediate a very particular type of knowledge that in other contexts fails to show to advantage.

Essayist, cultural critic, curator, and journalist, in the 1980s Diedrich Diederichsen was editor of Sounds and Spex magazines. Since 1992 he has taught university courses in such locations as Frankfurt am Main, Pasadena, Offenbach, Munich, Weimar, Gießen, Gainesville (Florida), St. Louis, Los Angeles, Vienna, and Bremen. From 1998 to 2007 he taught at the Merz Academy, Stuttgart, and from 2006 to 2024 was Professor for Theory, Practice, and Communication of Contemporary Art at the Institute for Art and Cultural Studies of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. His latest book is the essay collection Das 21. Jahrhundert [The 21st Century] published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch. He lives in Berlin.

Followed by the
Opening
TURNING PAGES. Artists’ Books of the Present
The book as an artistic medium plays a central role in the work of Louise Bourgeois, Heinz Gappmayr, Sol Lewitt, Rosemarie Trockel, as well as many contemporary young artists in the Austrian and international scene. Books are used as instruments to design poetic visions and to expand concept art. The artists’ books in this exhibition initiate dialogues about gender roles and socio-political questions. At the same time, books are a form of cultural memory and commemoration. Young artists experiment with the medium of the book and transcend traditional boundaries of image, text, and material–against the backdrop of the digital world. In the exhibition, visitors can take different positions to leaf through and read books with the help of a specially developed, expansive display. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalog.

CURATOR: Bärbel Vischer, Curator, MAK Contemporary Art Collection

With the publication Turning Pages. Artists’ Books of the Present, the MAK is part of the interdisciplinary Creative Europe project AbeX.






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Sun, 5.10.2025
10 am-6 pm 
TABLEAU – Objects for Kitchen and Culture hosted by Popchop × MAK
Tableau is a new format conceived by Popchop and curated in collaboration with the MAK and Matthias Zykan on the theme of tableware and food culture. Collectors, artists, vintage shops, and labels present their best pieces, curiosities, and special design objects made of glass, cast iron, enamel, ceramics, stone, plastic, and electronics. Some of the pieces on display are available for purchase. A public call and application process also create the opportunity to participate via wildcard, ensuring a diverse and lively mix.

Admission with a valid museum ticket 
Location: MAK Columned Main Hall + in front of the MAK main entrance

11 am + 4 pm
MAKtour Tableware
Guided tour of the MAK
Fee for guided tour: € 5.50

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VIENNA DESIGN WEEK 2025
26.9.–5.10.2025