steirischerherbst festival gmbh jobs and careers

About steirischerherbst festival gmbh

Useful disruption and productive conflict have always been part of steirischer herbst—an institution that has sparked dialogue time and again throughout its history. Every autumn since its founding half a century ago, the festival has provided a platform for new productions, provoking and shaping public debates in various forms across disciplines and media. Reinventing itself many times over, steirischer herbst has always redefined the terms of the conversation about what culture might mean in a changing contemporaneity, as seen in Graz, Austria’s second most populous city. steirischer herbst was founded in the pivotal year of 1968, in opposition to the resurgence of nationalist cultural initiatives gaining traction at the time. This founding moment drew upon a tradition of international modernism in music, theater, and visual art—which the Nazis had labeled “degenerate” three decades before—and the belief that it could (still) provide a bulwark against the deep-seated remnants of the totalitarian mentality in the world. steirischer herbst would appear on the scene with the unexpected force of an earthquake, cutting across the wholesome idea of a cultural “autumn harvest” in a region very proud of its wine and fruit. It would enchant, confound, and shock audiences out of their complacency, in the seemingly placid former retirement-capital of the Habsburg monarchy. Indeed, part of what has made steirischer herbst unique over the course of its history is its engagement with Styria and the city of Graz. The festival emerged through the initiative of the local scenes and continues to play an important role establishing networks to this day. It has also regularly featured work that delves into Graz’s uneven present and its complex, sometimes troubling past. Activating many if not most of the city’s cultural spaces, the festival rendered the city and the region legible as a text, with new chapters appearing every year.