Aldo Giannotti's 'Freigang' Transforms MQ Art Box into a Walkable Corridor

Austrian artist Aldo Giannotti has created 'Freigang', an intervention at the MuseumsQuartier (MQ) in Vienna that, for the first time, allows the public to physically walk through the MQ Art Box—a transparent exhibition space previously only viewable from outside. The corridor, lined with black-and-white drawings addressing accessibility, participation, and institutional conventions, leads to the MQ Freiraum, where Giannotti's works are also part of the exhibition 'Vision und Widerstand. Wie das MuseumsQuartier Wien veränderte'. In an interview, Giannotti explains that the title 'Freigang' evokes both an open space and the German prison term for 'yard time' or 'leave permit', reflecting the ambiguity of institutional spaces becoming places of liberation. His drawings function as questions rather than answers, forming a 'light institutional critique' that invites reflection on architecture, institution, and audience. Giannotti also installed text works in the museum's restrooms asking visitors to imagine themselves twenty-five years younger or older, using mirrors as temporal projection tools. His practice, influenced by comics and artists like Andrea Pazienza, Francis Alÿs, and Dan Perjovschi, prioritizes line and idea over technical virtuosity. Upcoming projects include a children's theater piece at Dschungel Theater Wien where children aged 8–12 will run all institutional roles, and a potential solo show at Galerie Viktor Bucher in Vienna.