Fast Years

Ten years ago, the “City of Vienna Historical Museum” was renamed the “Wien Museum” and given a new, clearly-defined brand. This was the start of the organisation’s repositioning within the Viennese and the international museum landscape. The aim: greater presence in the city and a distinctive, contemporary profile – in terms of both content and design. This includes instantly recognisable posters in the streets as well as exhibitions that surprise time and again. It applies to the subject matter, the conceptual planning and in particular to the design. It has been a significant factor in making the “10 Years of the Wien Museum” a success story.

The new direction was not a break with the past, likewise where design was concerned. The architect of this building, Oswald Haerdtl, was a leading designer. His display cabinets, designed in 1959, are still in use today. For many years the graphic designer Tino Erben shaped the museum’s visual identity.  Legendary exhibitions such as “Dream and Reality” were produced by architects such as Hans Hollein, Gae Aulenti and Else Prochazka. Collaboration with top-class designers thus has a long tradition. 

Over the last ten years, the Wien Museum has put on around one hundred exhibitions. Yet the title of this exhibition refers not only to this rapid succession, but also to the fast pace of developments in exhibition design. For the museum has become a platform for a new design scene in Vienna and an important employer of the cultural industries. Typical for exhibition design today is that the designers come from a variety of backgrounds – be it architecture, graphics, product design or stage design.

The exhibition includes photos of every exhibition since 2003. In addition, selected themes highlight certain features of exhibition design that come up time and again. The Wien Museum works both with established agencies and newcomers. Hence there is no unified design scheme there to be found. But perhaps there is something that could be described as being “typically Wien Museum”. It is not about the spectacular at any price, but about optimising communication between content, exhibits and public.

The exhibition is being staged in conjunction with Vienna Design Week.

Curator:
Peter Stuiber

Exhibition design:
Robert Ruef

Graphics:
Christof Nardin/Bueronardin