{"id":57259,"date":"2023-02-27T13:30:07","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T12:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=57259"},"modified":"2026-02-26T08:24:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T07:24:43","slug":"mq-freiraum-salon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/mq-freiraum-salon\/","title":{"rendered":"MQ Freiraum"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/mqexhibitionsmall.jpg\" alt=\"Q21 sign\" class=\"wp-image-57258\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/mqexhibitionsmall.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/mqexhibitionsmall-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The MuseumsQuartier includes various museums that host art exhibitions. It also has its own indoor MQ Freiraum exhibition space that features art tackling contemporary themes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Intermittent exhibitions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Focus on video, photo &amp; art installations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strong on sociopolitical commentary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Current\/future exhibitions:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>The Material Show<\/em> group exhibition (Feb 26 to May 31, 2026)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>The Roots of Small Fires<\/em> by Milica \u017divkovi\u0107 (Feb 26 to May 31, 2026)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-attractions-c60335\/tickets-for-museum-quarter-vienna-guided-tour-p976631\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_MQ\" rel=\"sponsored\">tour of the MQ<\/a>*<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/vienna-museums\/mq\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"4030\">MuseumsQuartier overview<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Jump to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#current\">Current exhibition(s)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Art and commentary<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/freiraumexhibition1.jpg\" alt=\"Fabric based art installation\" class=\"wp-image-88936\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/freiraumexhibition1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/freiraumexhibition1-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(View of part of the 2026 THE MATERIAL SHOW exhibition in the MQ Freiraum \u00a9 LITTLE WARSAW, Marble Street, 2000, Courtesy Galerie Erna H\u00e9cey | MuseumsQuartier Wien, photo: Simon Veres)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vienna&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/vienna-museums\/mq\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"4030\">MuseumsQuartier (MQ) complex<\/a> might best be described as a home for modern &amp; contemporary art and culture. Not just a vehicle for displaying that art (see, for example the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/mq-art-box\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"34657\">MQ Art Box<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/leopold-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4014\">Leopold Museum<\/a>) or expressing that culture but also a place for both to come into being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several dozen culture-oriented initiatives, groups, businesses, agencies and similar work there. From bookshops and film festivals to games makers and an extensive artists-in-residence programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The MQ also has its own MQ Freiraum exhibition area, located within an outer tract that once formed part of the Imperial stables (back when contemporary art meant a nice portrait of an Archduke in a wig).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The exhibitions within feature all forms of visual arts but with a small bias toward installations and video art. Expect to see both established and up and coming artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Equally, those same exhibitions tend to tackle themes critical to today&#8217;s world and offer their own form of sociopolitical commentary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As such, you might drop in and discover everything from album posters to three-dimensional fabric art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what&#8217;s on at the moment or in the near future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"current\">Current\/next exhibition(s)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>The Material Show<\/em>: group exhibition around architectural materials with artistic takes on their source, history and importance (February 26th to May 31st, 2026)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>The Roots of Small Fires<\/em>: solo exhibition for Milica \u017divkovi\u0107 that interweaves the personal with SE Europe\u2019s history and culture (February 26th to May 31st, 2026)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><em>Ad:<\/em><br><\/div><div data-tiqets-widget=\"discovery\" data-cards-layout=\"horizontal\" data-slug-ids=\"exp206741,exp238032\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"DA_ConcTour\"><\/div><script defer src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Selected past exhibitions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Metabolica<\/em>: Thomas Feuerstein used a mix of art, science and engineering to present metabolic processes as visual and artistic elements in the wider context of the new bioeconomy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>all this<\/em>: a presentation of five decades of works in various media (including text) by herman de vries that focused on nature as an entity with agency and nature as a source of its own art<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Anatomy of an Endless Scene<\/em>: two video works by Huda Takriti tackled the interplay of power, time, historiography, and transmission<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Becoming Earth<\/em>: Ursula Biemann addressed issues around indigenous peoples in the Amazon, notably the impacts of oil and mining industries, unfettered trade and globalisation on their living space. Biemann also explored how indigenous knowledge and experience might help solve pressing challenges of the future<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/freiraumexhibition.jpg\" alt=\"Large photo and video displays\" class=\"wp-image-78615\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/freiraumexhibition.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/freiraumexhibition-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(View of Ursula Biemann&#8217;s 2024\/2025 <em>Becoming Earth<\/em> exhibition \u00a9 MuseumsQuartier; photo by Simon Veres)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Point Zero<\/em>: an installation by Rodrigo Braga used the symbolism of stones to reflect the (often contradictory) relationship between humanity and the environment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Resistance, Flood, Fire, Resistance<\/em>: photographs by Beate G\u00fctschow of natural disasters but after the mass media have long moved on<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>From a Tongue we are Losing<\/em>: photographs by Laure Winants exploring light and colour in the Arctic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/laia-abril-karolina-wojtas\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"66444\">Play and Punish<\/a>: photographs by Karolina Wojtas, asking questions of schools and education through surrealist images<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/laia-abril-karolina-wojtas\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"66444\">On Abortion<\/a>: photographs by Laia Abril exploring the consequences of restrictions on access to abortions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Schattenwinde<\/em>: photographs by Gundula Schulze Eldowy featuring her austere images of Germany taken across 1977-1990<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Me and mine<\/em>: photographs by Mari Katayama, who uses her own body to explore issues around society and concepts of beauty<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Crossing Lines. Politics of Images<\/em>: part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/foto-wien-festival\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"13836\">Foto Wien<\/a> festival, which had its 2023 HQ in the MQ. A timely examination of photos in political communication and image projection, touching on such topics as distribution &amp; social media, authenticity, and blurred lines of reality vis a vis propaganda.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>LandRush. Ventures into Global Agriculture<\/em>: video installation(s) created by Frauke Huber and Uwe H. Martin. A look at modern agriculture from various perspectives, exploring the consequences for climate change, biodiversity, soil quality and water resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>Oasis<\/em>: Karina Mendreczky and Katalin Kortmann J\u00e1ray created an installation consisting of an almost fae-like collection that flowed with themes around life, death and our relationship to nature. Built from sculptures, photos, fabrics, drawings, and audio.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/no-dancing-allowed-exhibition\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"48508\">No Dancing Allowed<\/a>: a collection of multimedia installations viewing dance as a social and emotional need. Dance as a metaphor for expression, particularly freedom of expression. And all in the context of COVID-related restrictions and those imposed by the culture and politics of modern society.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/overground-resistance-exhibition\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"36281\">Overground Resistance<\/a>: a selection of art as activism or activism as art. Pieces from various countries, created by those working in or with climate justice movements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/approximation-bilderbuch-mq\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"23364\">Approximation by Bilderbuch<\/a>: various artistic creations that came about through collaborations with or around the successful Austrian band Bilderbuch. A paeon to open minds, collaboration and rejecting the limits of your own metier. Unusually for Q21, this one needed an entrance ticket.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/japan-unlimited\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"19291\">Japan Unlimited<\/a>: contemporary Japanese art at the interface between Honne (your genuine feelings and emotions) and Tatemae (those you can display in public according to the unwritten rules of society).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get there<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow the travel tips at the end of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/vienna-museums\/mq\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"4030\">MuseumsQuartier page<\/a>. As you stand outside facing the main entrance, turn left and follow the outside wall until you see the signs for the exhibitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mqw.at\/mqfreiraum\">Website<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1i9IZX6LeUKth_5sm2EOO-SqQl8s\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The MuseumsQuartier includes various museums that host art exhibitions. It also has its own indoor MQ Freiraum exhibition space that features art tackling contemporary themes. Jump to: Art and commentary (View of part of the 2026 THE MATERIAL SHOW exhibition in the MQ Freiraum \u00a9 LITTLE WARSAW, Marble Street, 2000, Courtesy Galerie Erna H\u00e9cey | [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-57259","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-museums","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57259"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88938,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57259\/revisions\/88938"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}