Museum year 2025

Don’t miss this shock artist!

The Linz Castle Museum: landmark and favorite museum

(Bild: Wenzel Markus/Markus Wenzel)

The Linz Castle Museum remains the driving force behind Landes Kultur GmbH. The large museum tanker with a total of 15 locations can look back on a successful 2024: it welcomed 324,548 visitors. The Marmorschlössl in Bad Ischl was a magnet for outposts. 2025 will be an exhibition year with big names and a shock artist!

The year-end closing is still in progress. However, Manfred Mandl-Kiblböck, the new commercial director of Landes Kultur GmbH, can already say this much: "We will close the year on a stable note, we were able to stick to the budget." The solid equity ratio of Landes Kultur GmbH, which stands at 60 percent, has also contributed to this. At around 26.5 million euros, the 2025 budget has risen slightly.

The Linz Palace Museum remains the driving force in terms of visitors with 81,219 admissions. The Mamorschlössl in Bad Ischl is at the top of the list of external locations, with 58,868 visitors. The exhibition by Ai Weiwei, as we reported, was not only a crowd-puller, but also showed that there is a need to see world art in the Kaiserpark, says Alfred Weidinger, Artistic Director.

From left: Manfred Mandl-Kiblböck, commercial director of Landes Kultur GmbH; Alfred Weidinger, artistic director

(Bild: Farbwerk, Liz Blur)

A trilogy of exhibitions in the most beautiful places
That's why we're following up here in 2025. The Styrian artist Erwin Wurm is one of the most internationally successful contemporary artists with his sculptures (keyword: Fat Car, Fat House, One-Minute-Sculptures). Landes Kultur GmbH is presenting a trilogy of exhibitions of his work, which can be seen at the Marmorschlössl (from May 17), the Francisco Carolinum (from June 6) and the Gmundner Keramik Manufaktur (from June 18).

In demand worldwide: Erwin Wurm

(Bild: Tuma Alexander/Starpix / A. Tuma)

Another well-known documenta participant is Peter Kogler. The neo-minimalist and media artist photographed art personalities such as Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1985. These photos will be exhibited at the Francisco Carolinum (from August 28).

Car sculpture and tattoos
Provocations and ingenious installations, presumably also involving a car, can be expected at Wolfgang Flatz's exhibition at the OK Centrum (from May 10). The Vorarlberg-born Flatz, also a documenta participant, is known for his radical body art, criticizing violence by staging it. He recently attracted attention with his satire of Adolf Hitler's "Pearl Speech" at the Burgtheater in Vienna.

Ten supposed Nazi flags "adorned" the Vienna Burgtheater in April 2024 - part of an action by Flatz

(Bild: REUTERS)

Wolfgang Flatz uses his own body as an art medium

(Bild: Wolfgang Flatz)

Construction projects are being tackled
However, 2025 will also be a year of construction projects and renovations. "We are restoring the historic palace," says Weidinger as the headline.

The arcades in the inner courtyard of Linz Palace will be opened up and restored to their historical state. The archaeology and prehistory focus will be rearranged and will be free to visit. This will give Linz a large free exhibition, similar to the World Museum in Vienna. The new depot building of the Biodiversity Center (formerly the Biology Center) enters the planning phase, the Sumerauerhof gets new windows.