Festivalzentrum im Palais Attems

After years of roaming the city, in the festival’s fiftieth year steirischer herbst is declaring its headquarters as festival centre. With spectacular roofing over the courtyard, an installation in public space, a wide range of events, bar and restaurant, among other things.

Palais Attems is the home of the steirischer herbst offices, from where the festival has been conceived, planned and run since 1985. In 2017 we invite the public to “our place”, opening the doors of the baroque palais as the festival centre.

Between the palais and the Mursteg footbridge, the Graz-based architect group Studio Magic set up their “Transegrity” project. The separate elements of this space-embracing installation allude to the form of the “Czech hedgehog”, an anti-tank obstacle used the world over to mark temporary borders since the Second World War. The concept of avant-garde brings us full circle in terms of the fifty-year history of steirischer herbst: while avant-garde originally denoted the military advance guard, the term was later adopted by political and artistic movements to stress their radical stance towards prevailing norms. Studio Magic transform the obstacles into open gates on the ground, freeing them up and out of their anchors. The structure is broken up without losing its strength, inviting visitors to stay a while on the sunny side of Palais Attems. In this way, the installation spotlights the festival and its genuine conviction that borders are there to be questioned.

With temporary roofing, the courtyard becomes the central venue of the festival centre. Austrian architect Thomas Herzig has designed an inflatable structure of transparent plastic that rises majestically above the courtyard, at the same time affording an unobstructed view of the baroque façade. In good weather, the conical roof opens and closes like the calyx of a flower.

Join us to experience performances, concerts, discussions and informal afternoons in the courtyard, marvel at the exhibitions and installations on the ground floor and in the state rooms on the second floor – or just enjoy yourself in the bar and restaurant until late into the night. The doors of Palais Attems are open!

Künstlerin / Künstler / Gruppe: Thomas Herzig
Künstlerin / Künstler / Gruppe: Studio Magic
Mitwirkende / Mitwirkender: Manfred Goger
Mitwirkende / Mitwirkender: Veronica Kaup-Hasler
Mitwirkende / Mitwirkender: Lahsen Laley