The
panel brings together artists, curators, and scholars to examine what contemporary archives can and should do — with and beyond
documentation. The focus is on how curatorial settings as well as performative and ephemeral artistic practices can challenge
archival conventions, how the ephemeral can be archived, and what remains of a performance that was never meant to last.
Drawing on concrete experiences from exhibition-making, curatorial practice, and archival research, the panel addresses
these questions with urgency: at a moment when the future of cultural memory is being actively negotiated across institutions
and disciplines: Who decides what an archive remembers – and what it forgets? How can historical materials be used as ‘living
resources’ instead of remaining static data? What must a diverse, artistically influenced archive do – and be – in order to
remain relevant for present and future generations?
Welcome:
Ulrike Kuch, Rector of the University
of Applied Arts Vienna
Panel:
Nora-Swantje Almes, Curator, Austrian Pavilion 2026
Seaworld
Venice and Curator Live Program at Gropius Bau, Berlin
Jakob Lena Knebl,
Ashley
Hans Scheirl, Artists, Austrian Pavilion 2022
Soft machine and Her Angry Body PartsMartin
Reinhart, Researcher, Art & Science, Art x Science School for Transformation, University of Applied Arts Vienna
Dagmar Schink, Managing Director, VALIE EXPORT Center Linz, University of Arts Linz
Moderation:
Beatrice Jaschke, Co-Director, /ecm study programme, exhibition theory & practice, University of Applied
Arts Vienna
In the presence of
students of the University of Applied Arts Vienna
Biennale Sessions 2026
