Artistic perspectives on a climate-social city

What will a climate-social city of the future look like? How can we overcome both global warming and social coldness together? In light of the climate crisis and growing social inequality, the exhibition "climate-social city" presents 15 artistic perspectives on a climate-just society. From April 3 to 30, 2025, the artworks will be displayed at public locations and in shop windows throughout the city center of Linz. They raise climate-social questions and make societal statements and future visions in urban everyday life visible and tangible.

Curator Marianne Lechner (University of Art and Design Linz) invites you to “take on other perspectives, dream of new futures, discuss with us – and actively shape the future!”

The exhibition will open on April 3, 2025, at 6:30pm in the foyer of the Old Linz City Hall. Marianne Lechner gives a first walking tour through the exhibition at 4pm. In addition, weekly walks and artistic interventions will take place in April. On April 10, 2025, a panel discussion will take place, where experts and artists will discuss possibilities for creating a climate-social city. Registration for the events during the exhibition is available via the website klimasozial.at.

For the exhibition, a panel of experts from the fields of art, environment, and social issues selected 15 contributions from over 100 submissions that were both thematically and artistically compelling. “We are excited by the many impulses from art and warmly invite all residents and visitors of Linz to see the exhibition,” says jury member Marianne Lechner from the University of Art and Design Linz.

The exhibition is part of the project "Climate-social Linz", an interdisciplinary research initiative by BOKU University, in collaboration with the University of Art and Design Linz, ATTAC Linz, Volkshilfe Upper Austria, BRG Hamerlingstraße, BEIGEWUM, and the Poverty Conference. Based on the book "Climate-social politics – shaping a just and emission-free society," the project, funded by the City of Linz's Climate Fund, highlights the connections between the climate crisis and social crisis, focusing on perspectives from affected communities.

Program Overview: 

April 3, 4pm | Opening tour of the exhibition with curator Marianne Lechner (University of Art and Design Linz)

April 3, 6:30pm | Exhibition opening, Old City Hall Linz, with drinks & small buffet (vegan & vegetarian)

April 8, 5:30pm | Walking tour in conversation: Art for a climate-social city with Hermann Rainer (Linz on Foot & Climate Alliance Upper Austria) & Lisa Lorenz (BOKU), starting at Old City Hall

April 10, 6pm | Panel discussion: “Perspectives on a climate-social city”; moderated by Clara Moder (arbeit plus & Poverty Conference), at Wissensturm (VHS Linz)

April 11, 4pm | Golfclub Asphalt Linz – Open meeting at Lüfteneggerstraße with Lisa Puchner (in case of bad weather on April 14 at 4pm)

 

For more dates, registration forms, and information about the exhibition and project, visit klimasozial.at.