WAM Museum Opens in Vienna Dedicated to Viennese Actionism

On March 15, 2024, the WAM (Wiener Aktionismus Museum) opened in Vienna, a new museum dedicated to Viennese Actionism, a radical art movement from the 1960s. Spanning 900 square meters over two floors, the museum was initiated by a group of collectors to fill a gap in the study of the movement. Its inaugural exhibition, "WHAT IS VIENNA ACTIONISM?", runs until January 31, 2025, and is curated by Eva Badura-Triska. The exhibition is divided into seven sections, allowing visitors to explore freely or chronologically. It features works by key artists Günter Brus, Otto Muehl, Hermann Nitsch, and Rudolf Schwarzkogler, including paintings, photography, collages, mixed media, and a video by Brus titled "Zerreißprobe (Stress Test)" from 1970. The museum's director is Julia Moebus-Puck. The core collection was acquired from the Sammlung Friedrichshof, and curator Marcello Farabegoli, formerly of that collection, is promoting Viennese Actionism abroad. He is preparing a Rudolf Schwarzkogler retrospective at the Museo Novecento in Florence with Eva Francioli and Sergio Risaliti, and is in talks for exhibitions in Mexico City and Japan linking Actionism with contemporary Mexican artists and Gutai. The movement, which began in June 1962 with the event "Die Blutorgel" featuring Muehl, Nitsch, and Adolf Frohner, is known for its use of blood, trash, and extreme performances, and has ties to Austrian Expressionism, Egon Schiele, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Sigmund Freud.