In a way that is virtually unparalleled by any other institution, the MAK stands for the fruitful combination of the past
with the future, something which can be clearly sensed and experienced when visiting its extensive collection, large exhibition
halls, themed special exhibitions and discourse-centered program of events. Bringing together applied arts, design, architecture,
and contemporary art is one of the museum’s core competencies, in light of which it becomes apparent just what contribution
the interplay of these areas is capable of making to overall cultural development.
The MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art is one of the most important museums of its kind worldwide. Founded
as the Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry in 1863, today’s museum—with its unique collection of applied arts
and as a first-class address for contemporary art—can boast an incomparable identity. Originally established as an exemplary
source collection, today’s MAK Collection continues to stand for an extraordinary union of applied art, design, contemporary
art and architecture.
The spacious halls of the Permanent Collection in the magnificent Ringstraße building by Heinrich von Ferstel were later redesigned by contemporary artists in order to
present selected highlights from the MAK Collection. In a unique interplay of artistic heritage and contemporary interventions,
the historical holdings have been staged in a way that invites close examination of the individual exhibits.
With the MAK DESIGN LAB, the museum has undertaken in 2014 a redesign of the former MAK Study Collection, and the design concept of the LAB has been
consciously chosen as a contrast to the MAK Permanent Collection. The MAK DESIGN LAB expands our understanding of design—a
term that is traditionally grounded in the 20th and 21st centuries—by including previous centuries, thereby enabling a better
evaluation of the concept of design today.
In temporary exhibitions, the MAK presents various artistic stances from the fields of applied arts, design, architecture,
contemporary art, and new media, with the mutual relationships between them being a consistently emphasized theme. The institution’s
multifaceted mission allows for varied approaches, opening up new perspectives from which to regard historical relationships
and offering frequent glimpses at artistically and societally relevant developments that are just beginning to appear on the
horizon. Sofas by Franz West invite visitors to sit down, take a break and perhaps page through today’s papers; this can also be said
of the seating elements by Hermann Czech in the MAK’s central, neo-Renaissance Columned Main Hall. Culinary delights can be
found at the restaurant Salonplafond. With its interior design by architect Michael Embacher, the restaurant is another great opportunity for a break—try its
outdoor dining area in the MAK Garden for a particularly relaxing experience. Immediately adjacent is the MAK Design Shop, whose range of offerings includes gifts both extraordinary and practical as well as publications, design objects and artists’
editions. On selected Tuesdays, young designers present their newest products here when the Shop serves as an After Work Meeting Point for design aficionados.
In the MAK Reading Room, likewise located in the Stubenring building, user-friendly opening hours and free admission even afford visitors weekend
access to books from Austria’s largest art library, home to an archive of societal and cultural knowledge that is constantly
being updated.
The large exhibition halls were built between 1906 and 1909 according to plans by architect Ludwig Baumann; with a total floor
space of 2,700 m2, they are among Austria’s largest such facilities. The exhibition halls are connected with the Stubenring building by a glass
wing designed by Sepp Müller in 1991, and they can also be accessed separately via their own entrance on Weiskirchnerstraße.
Stepping through the latter, one is impressed by the generosity of the magnificent late-historicist entrance foyer, behind
which lie the exhibition halls and the MAK Lecture Hall. Two levels play host to regularly changing temporary exhibitions
covering a wide range of approaches to the diverse themes encompassed by the MAK’s mission. The MAK is also present in the public sphere, leaving its visible mark on the city’s urban order. Directly in front of the
Stubenring building is the Tor zum Ring [Gate to the Ring] constructed by James Wines/SITE in 1992, which physically shifts a piece of the building's outer wall into
the urban space, leaving behind a new point of access to the museum. A counterpart to this is Walter Pichler’s artistic and
architectural intervention Tor zum Garten [Gate to the Garden] (1990), which opens the museum to its garden on the other side. Also in the MAK Garden is the MAK Terrace
Plateau, constructed between 1991 and 1993 after a design by Peter Noever; it is oriented toward the Wien River and provides
the museum with a further architectonic axis. James Turrell’s light sculpture MAKlite causes intense, variously colored light to pulse in the windows of the MAK, thus communicating the complex situations generated
within the museum to the urban environment outside. Permanently installed since 2004, this installation releases the building’s
brick façade from its urban uniformity.
Somewhat further afield, at the intersection of Franz-Josefs-Kai and Schottenring, one sees the Wiener Trio by Philip Johnson, conceived for the exhibition Turning Point (1996). And the bridge next to the MAK (the Stubenbrücke) has
been home to Franz West’s Four Lemurheads since 2001. The Stadtpark, one of the city’s green oases, lies just adjacent to the MAK and beckons refreshingly to museum
visitors. The park has played host to Donald Judd’s sculpture Stage Set since 1996; this public artwork, as well, was created specifically for an exhibition at the MAK.
The MAK, which defines itself as a laboratory of societal knowledge, is a place of collecting, research, preservation, education,
and interactive learning, as well as a site of human encounters, interaction, and intercreativity. Thanks not least to its
international branches and cross-border activities, the museum is also a forum of intercultural and artistic exchange as well
as of fruitful dialog with designers, artists, and architects.
The History of the MAK Collection - from the Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry to today’s MAK
The MAK is home to an unparalleled collection of applied arts, design, architecture, and contemporary art which has developed
in the course of 150 years.
