Fire of sorrow: In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni

Memorial event

11. November 2020
On the evening of November 2, 2020, the unfathomable happened in Vienna’s first district. In memory of the dead, with sympathy and grief for the painful loss, with compassion for the physical and emotional wounds, which so many had to so suffer, we will light a fire at the main building of our university, on Oskar-Kokoschka-Platz – a fire of sorrow, of pain, of rage, of hope, and of love. In the coming days, this fire will mark a place where members of the Angewandte, in particular, can pause for a moment in silent commemoration.
From here we will circle the Ringstraße around the first district, and therewith the sites of horror, and send a sign with a burning light. A sign of remembrance, a sign of affection, a sign of unity.  

In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni
We enter the circle at night and are consumed by fire. 

Just like this phrase, which has no beginning and no end, we walk in a circle. We walk and give the body a memory. We walk together although we experience time and space individually. We walk and share our sorrow. We walk and share a beginning. 

On behalf of the Rectorate
Gerald Bast, Bernhard Kernegger, Barbara Putz-Plecko, Eva Maria Stadler und Maria Zettler

On behalf of the Senate
Anja Jonkhans 

Hufak // Hochschüler_innenschaft der Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien

The fire on Oskar Kokoschka Platz will burn from Friday, November 13 to Tuesday, November 17, from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm. In this time, we will hold a vigil at the fire. 

We kindly ask all students and staff who would like to join to register in the Doodle calendar (link in the official E-Mail from the rectorate from the 11.11.) for a time slot of one hour respectively. Between Friday and Tuesday, we invite all members of the university to light a torche at the fire and to walk around the Ringstraße and send a sign. Torches for this procession can be found at the entrance area on Oskar Kokoschka Platz. Due to the current COVID-19 regulations, we will walk at different times, alone or in small groups over a number of days, but nevertheless we walk this path together in silence.

In compliance with the current COVID-19 regulations, we ask you all to wear a face mask at all times, to avoid forming large groups, and to maintain safe distance.