Praterateliers
On 10 June 2025 the Praterateliers in Leopoldstadt were reopened in the pavilions built for the 1873 World Exhibition. Today, they are among the only surviving buildings of the monumental structures erected at that time. Emperor Franz Josef himself approved their reuse as sculptors‘ studios for pragmatic reasons, as the construction of the Ringstrasse created high demand for architectural sculpture.
In addition to the important Anton Hanak in the early 20th century, Karl Prantl, Alfred Hrdlicka, Oswald Oberhuber and Bruno Gironcoli, among others, worked there after World War II. Today, the listed South Pavilion, which has been renovated with EU funds, is home to the international residence programme PART and, in addition to 16 studios for local and international artists, curators and researchers, also houses a multifunctional exhibition hall and the ‘Bar des Amateurs’.
To kick things off, in addition to insights into the studios, works by Czech sculptor Anna Hulačová were also on display under the title ‘hungry harvest,’ an installation of free-standing concrete sculptures depicting abstract figures and technical apparatus, among other things.