Testimonials Visiting Curators Vienna 2025
The Visiting Curators Vienna program run by Verein K was a truly significant experience both in my curatorial research and in my development as a human being. Verein K is a perfect mix of high professionalism and deep sense of hospitality, which is very rare and precious in the contemporary art field. The residency was extremely well structured in terms of daily schedule and overall rhythm. The meetings with artists – alternated with meetings with fellow curators from the city and with visits to institutions – gave a sustainable pace to the 10 days residency and allowed us to have access to an exhaustive knowledge of the artistic scene in Vienna. Free time for independent explorations of the city was also ensured throughout the all program. Verein K was able to create very interesting matches between us curators and the invited artists for the studio visits. I really appreciated the possibility of experiencing individual, collective or two-persons studio visits. Moving as one group was very enriching: Verein K was also able to create a solid cluster of curatos, mixing different positionings, research stances, experiences and ages which made our profiles extremely complementary and often triggered thought-provoking discussion. I left Vienna with the feeling that I found (both in Verein K and in the curators of my group) new allies for future projects to come.
–Simone Frangi, Italy
It’s hard to imagine a better introduction to the Viennese art scene than the Visning Curators program of Verein K. Socially, intellectually and emotionally, Dejan and Jelena provided an experience that can hardly be described as anything but exceptional. I was especially impressed by the level of attention and care that was put into facilitating meetings that very not only interesting, but highly relevant for each of the visiting curators. Verden K’s dedication to fostering genuine connections between the Viennese art scene and the visiting curators left me not only appreciative, but excited. It’s rare to come across curatorial residencies that take their mission as seriously, and that manage to execute it so seamlessly.
Upon the conclusion of the program, I felt inspired and vitalized, and renewed in my conviction of the potential of art to bring people closer. Thanks to the wonderful pairings provided by Verein K in relation to my own curatorial interests, I’m also certain that several of the meetings I conducted over my ten days in Vienna will manifest further collaborations and conversations for the time to come. In hindsight, finding the words to express my gratitude to the Visiting Curator’s program, I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity, and will carry it with me as an example of an outstanding incubator for establishing international connections.
– Una Mathiesen Gjerde, Norway
The Verein K Visiting Curators programme is rooted in generosity and inclusivity. Through an abundantly packed schedule of group and individual studio visits, critical sessions, museum and gallery trips, and a warm social programme, a collegiate group of curators is invited to explore Vienna through the perspectives of a diverse network of artists.
Alongside meetings with artists already on the visiting curators’ radar, Verein K introduces additional practitioners selected in response to the curators’ interests and research areas. Reflecting the exceptionally high-standard of Vienna-based artistic practices, Verein K develops a dynamic and responsive programme that builds upon, and stimulates, the curators’ existing knowledge and expectations.
The programme of studio visits foregrounds artists living and working in diaspora, with various artists integrated in, and also operating beyond, Vienna’s cultural infrastructure. Through this approach, visiting curators become embedded in a broad artistic community that extends outwards from the concentrated dynamics of a Central European capital, echoing shared concerns and methodologies across multiple backgrounds and stories.
A highlight of the programme is the shared participation over ten days with a respected group of international curators. Daily conversations, collective navigation of the city, and continual interaction encourage critical exchange, a familiarity with Vienna’s artistic landscape, and invitations for future collaboration.
– Michael Hill, Ireland
The International Visiting Curators Programme 2025 in Vienna was a special experience, which I’m really grateful for. Together with the three other international curators, it was a great pleasure to explore the art scene through peer exchange, by meeting a wide variety of artists, talking to local curators and directors, seeing and discussing numerous exhibitions, and getting to know the gallery scene.
The intensive programme was so well compiled and multifaceted planned, that the intensive schedule was not only a pleasure, but also provided a quite interesting and well balanced overview of the art scene in Vienna.
The numerous encounters with and insights into Vienna’s art scene have been very enriching for me, and the warm hospitality of Jelena and Dejan Kaludjerović from Verein K in particular made my stay in Vienna something very special, so that the International Visiting Curators Programme 2025 will have a lasting impact on me, for which I’m really grateful.
– Julia Katharina Thiemann, Germany
Verein K is an independent arts and cultural organization from Vienna, founded in January 2018. Verein K focuses on projects in the field of contemporary art and culture connecting diverse cultural and social interests: critical approaches to contemporary art, creating curatorial platforms as well as enabling innovative cultural practices including diverse social groups.