With his abstract “drawing boards”, Hasso Gehrmann in the 1950s took part in exhibitions at, among others, the Paris Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, Kunsthalle Mannheim and Società Dante Alighieri in Rome. After spectacular showings at international furniture fairs, “the world’s first fully automatic kitchen” developed by Gehrmann for the household appliances manufacturer Elektra Bregenz in the 1960s was acquired by Deutsches Museum in Munich. Many of his other inventions, as well as his philosophical concept of “Meta Art”, remained accessible for a small circle of connoisseurs only. On the occasion of Hasso Gehrmann’s 100^th birthday (1924 Weißenfels/D – 2008 Bregenz/A), vorarlberg museum is showing for the first time a comprehensive synopsis of his multidisciplinary work. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue.

Guided tours: Sat, 22 Feb, 15.00, Thu, 3 Jul, 18.00

Whenever there is a festive occasion in Vorarlberg, you can bet there’ll be at least one brass band. Hardly any reception, jubilee or bigger celebration in villages and towns is held without a brass band. On top of that, the brass bands also organize concerts and music events … In Vorarlberg, some 6,000 musicians play in 130 groups, meet regularly for practice sessions, prepare for competitions and perform on weekends at all kinds of occasions. The exhibition features stories about people who shaped brass music in Vorarlberg and today are still committed to helping keep this tradition alive. In co-operation with Vorarlberger Blasmusikverband, the regional brass music association that celebrates its 100^th anniversary in 2024.

Whether the request was for wedding photos, souvenir photos from First Communion or pictures of deceased people – in Bregenzerwald, Foto Studio Hiller in Bezau, formed in 1923, was the top choice in terms of photography. Kaspar Hiller and his children documented seven decades of life and change in the valley. The curator and photo artist Arno Gisinger uses the comprehensive photo collection to tell the Bregenzerwald’s history during those years.

In co-operation with Vorarlberg State Library and Bregenzerwald Archiv (Regio Bregenzerwald)

How did the people of Vorarlberg live in past centuries? On the occasion of the “ORF Long Night of Museums,” the museum on the second floor opens “windows into time” to provide insight into Vorarlberg’s history from the Stone Age to the present. The first part focuses on craftsmanship – including textiles as well as objects of wood, metal and clay. Visitors will discover that clay was used to manufacture not only receptacles but also children’s toys. How did they obtain the raw materials? What manufacturing processes were employed? What tools were used and what influence did inventions have on the lives of our ancestors?

The Vorarlberg artist Miriam Prantl created the light installation Colours/Lights/Lake for the staircase featuring a gentle play of colours that reflects different light atmospheres at Lake Constance. The railing is equipped with LED strip lights whose upward light movement corresponds to the programming of seven light boxes in the stairwell. Slowing down, calming down, contemplation – the effect of the colours and the light attune visitors for the exhibition.  

www.miriamprantl.com

Brigantium in the 1st Century A.D. 

A forum the size of a football pitch, an ancient Roman spa, the craft and trade quarter at the Tschermakgarten in Bregenz – the public and private buildings of Brigantium dating from the first century A.D. all fire up your imagination. Was Bregenz a city during the time of the Romans? There is a lot to suggest that it was, but no clear evidence to confirm this. Following the much praised exhibition Romans or ...?, Cosmopolitan City or ...? is all about living together in Brigantium. Who used this place? Who lived here? Did they have an administration as well as a fiscal and social system? How was the economic and religious life organised? Based on the most recent scientific findings and archaeological finds, the exhibition invites museum visitors to speculate in a well-informed manner about Brigantium, its residents and visitors.

Insights into the Collection

Our collection comprises close to 160,000 objects from the fields of archaeology, art, everyday culture and history. The exhibition showcases very important and, at first glance, also less important objects from the museum’s rich holdings in alphabetical order. It starts with the letter “A” for “angelica-mad,” showing engravings by the artist Angelika Kauffmann, and ends with the letter “Z” for “zahla” (to pay), which features the hoard of coins found at Sonderberg Castle. In between schnapps glasses, self-portraits by Edmund Kalb, pommels, the estates of Fritz Krcal and Kundeyt Surdum, priest’s vestments, herbariums …

Werner Schlegel (1908–1945) was a Nazi deeply fascinated by the antidemocratic and unrestrained brutality embraced as a means of achieving goals of racial realignment and purported racial purity – even including the use of what was then advanced technology. For example, during his campaign Hitler was the first politician to showcase an airplane to increase and intensify his presence. Savvy staging of political events electrified the crowds, juiced up their interest. Schlegel captured all this on camera.

In co-operation with Vorarlberg State Library

Franz Plunder, born in 1891 in Bregenz, was a trained and multiple award-winning sculptor who in 1923 made headlines when he crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a sailing boat, the “Sowitasgoht V”, which he built himself. From then on not only did he switch back and forth between the two professions of sculptor and boatbuilder, but also between the locations of Bregenz and the USA. An exhibition about a fascinating personality whose biography also comprises quite a few mysterious episodes. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue.

Guided tours: Sun, 6 Apr, 15.00, Sun, 25 May, 11.00: Family tour, Sun, 29 Jun, 11.00: Over 60s tour, Sun, 27 Jul, 15.00, Thu, 7 Aug, 18.00, Sun, 21 Sep, 15.00, Sun, 16 Nov, 15.00

A quilted fabric connects the cities of Vorarlberg, Lagos, St. Gallen, Vienna and Dakar; it testifies the lasting entanglement of textiles, trade, and terror. Documenting a quilted journey of encounters and collaborations, it recalls the heritage of colonialism and power, community and belonging. The fabric unravels threads of violence; it pursuits the longing for an otherwise, and strives to mend and weave new relations. As we experiment with different textile-making techniques like stitching, dyeing, printing or repairing, we search for the making of connections within and beyond the colonial heritage.

Participating artists: Anette Baldauf, Milou Gabriel, Sasha Huber, Janine Jembere, Susanna Delali Nuwordu, Abiona Esther Ojo, Jumoke Sanwo, Mariama Sow.

In co-operation with Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

At a dizzying height, a suspended portaledge (hanging tent system), used by extreme rock climbers to spend the night on a rock face, catches the attention of passers-by. With its installation, the internationally active artistic duo Bildstein | Glatz (A/CH) is referring to human aspirations to advance into ever more inaccessible areas. Who knows what this will be good for in the light of climate change? In the atrium, the duo known for their large-scale projects construct a “habitable” platform with a diameter of approximately 6 metres that is supported by wooden pillars around 16 meters high. A model of reality that symbolises the fragile balance between nature and human activity. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue.

Guided tours: Thu, 4 Sep, 18.00, Thu, 6 Nov, 18.00