Start of New Location for Qwien in Vienna-Margareten

Qwien moves into the new residence: Since 2009, the Viennese institution has been present in the Wieden district as an archive and library and has made a name for itself as a center of expertise for queer history. Now follows the next evolutionary step. On Wednesday, Qwien opens its new location in Vienna-Margareten as a cultural center, venturing into entirely new dimensions. "We just want to be present in the cultural life of the city," says Andreas Brunner.

The 62-year-old historian, alongside Hannes Sulzenbacher from the Jewish Museum, is one of the two co-directors of Qwien 2.0, which has significantly expanded its previous mission as an archive that preserved, for example, estates of celebrities and documents on Nazi persecution. It continues to see itself as a research location including a library - with over 10,000 books and 500 queer magazine titles from over 50 countries, the third largest of its kind in Europe.

"Had No More Storage Space"

With around 900 square meters of usable space in the future, the previous size has been practically tripled, and the number of staff has also been practically doubled to eight full-time equivalents. "We will be open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday until 8 p.m. Otherwise, it wouldn't be feasible," Brunner expressed confidently in an APA interview. The move from Wieden was inevitable: "We were simply at the limit there. We had no more storage space and could only work in a limited capacity."

This is no longer an issue at the new location at Ramperstorffergasse 39. "Our rolling shelf is three-quarters empty. It was clear from the start that we would plan in a dimension so that we wouldn't have to ask about capacities again in five years," Brunner said, laughing confidently: "I won't experience in my professional life that the place is full."

The evolution into a cultural center was not a spontaneous idea but the provisional endpoint of a development, as Qwien had cultural events in the program from the beginning - albeit externally, in cooperation with partners like the Vienna Museum or the Film Archive. "We always wanted to do queer cultural mediation," Brunner emphasizes.

This is now possible, as there is a large and a smaller, multifunctional room available for exhibitions and mediation formats. "It was also about having our own showroom and presenting topics for which there is otherwise no place," Brunner highlighted the importance of Qwien for the queer community, despite all the openness to the general public. The co-director does not want to completely rule out future collaborations: "We have 150 square meters of exhibition space in the main room, which may be too little for one or the other topic."

"A Queer Millennium in 27 Incredible Objects"

In doing so, they dare to make a curatorial splash right at the start with the exhibition "Making History. A Queer Millennium in 27 Incredible Objects". After all, the institution, which still sees itself as a distinctly queer historical house, is about a real falsification of history.

Thus, an exhibition about queer history would ultimately always be a parade of repressive testimonies, which the state apparatus preserved, whereas the authentic documents were mostly destroyed either deliberately or due to a lack of awareness. "This is exactly what we play with in our opening exhibition. Because we do not have the authentic, auratic exhibits ourselves, we had them made," Brunner outlined the impetus to show 27 objects that could have existed. If history does not exist, you simply make it yourself.

Thus, 27 objects are found in 27 niches of the flexibly usable exhibition architecture. The spectrum ranges from the supposed dedication to a lover in a historical book, to the small Baroque angel with the face of Tonio, the partner of Burgtheater director Raoul Aslan (1945-1948), from the photo album of the now-demolished queer venue to the beer mug with kissing boys on the lid.

Two exhibitions of this dimension are planned annually in the main room, whereby the idea of a permanent exhibition would not have occurred due to a lack of objects, Brunner makes clear: "Moreover, the concept of the permanent exhibition is being questioned museologically. Do you want to create a historical image that remains for many years?" Added to this is the museum's strategic aspect: "At some point, with a permanent exhibition, I will have exhausted the interested Viennese audience and only have tourists as guests."

Therefore, the concept of changing exhibitions, which should always have a historical aspect despite all openness to art. "Modern queer art will not be a theme for us because we do not see ourselves as a pure art museum. The queer historical approach always remains," the Qwien chief clearly drew the line.

Smaller Multifunctional Room

In addition, there is a smaller multifunctional room with temporary stage elements, which can be used for everything from lectures to readings to discussion events. "The room serves as an interface between the community and the public - but also as a think tank for the community," Brunner outlined the character of this location, where topics can find space that may be less interesting to the general public. This area can also be used for exhibitions. Thus, on June 17, a photo exhibition on Sabine Schwaighofer's oeuvre opens here under the title "Homo/e Diaries. self portraits & other stories".

Queer City Walks Continue

The queer city walks, which have been an important element from the start to make Qwien popular in the federal capital, will also continue. "It has always been Qwien's concern never to be at home in an ivory tower," Brunner made clear. The fact that on Thursday Robert Styblos' ORF documentary "Austria Under the Rainbow" is shown before it premieres on ORF 2 on June 15 at night, fits into this vein.

Discussions About Framework Budget

This program, as colorful as it is broad, hopes to be maintained in the coming years, Brunner expressed confidently. Currently, discussions are being held with the two main funding municipal departments, 7 (Culture) and 13 (Education and Youth), about the framework budget for the next few years. What is already certain is that the lease agreement on Ramperstorffergasse will run for 30 years. Plenty of time, therefore, to add a central chapter to the atlas of queer history.

"Rautenklause" Nearby

In the same street where Qwien is opening a new location on Wednesday, the "Rautenklause," a basement venue of the Identitarian Movement, is located a few houses away. The cultural center is not pleased about the neighbors, "but it is part of urban life that you have to share the neighborhood," said Hannes Sulzenbacher, co-director of Qwien, to APA. It is good that the city is taking a stand against the right.

Sulzenbacher assumes that the two initiatives will coexist "in mutual ignorance." The center has taken security measures to protect people and the collection - Qwien is a library, archive, and research center - regardless of the neighbors. These include an alarm system and video surveillance at the entrance. "We have to wait and see what comes our way, but the classic measures should suffice," said Sulzenbacher.

The city of Vienna also stated that they want to send a political signal and "make queer life visible," said a spokesperson for Culture City Councillor Veronica Kaup-Hasler (SPÖ).

The new neighbors did not meet with enthusiasm from the Identitarians either. Activist Martin Sellner told APA that they want to "hold their ground," and the cultural center is "irrelevant" to the Identitarians.

In recent years, there have been several demonstrations in the area, both by left-wing and right-wing groups: In 2022 and 2023, antifascist groups marched through the street where the Identitarian venue is located. According to reports, trash cans were set on fire, and there were repeated acts of vandalism on the facade of the multi-party house where the basement venue is located. Also in 2023, representatives of the Identitarians were among the participants in a demonstration against a drag queen reading at the Türkis-Rosa-Lila-Villa. Should there be future riots in the vicinity of the Identitarians and the queer center, the constitutional protection would take action.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.