MUSA - Museum Start Gallery Artothek
Felderstrasse 6-8
1082 Wien
www.musa.at

Unique Exhibitions, Programs, and Support for the Local Art Community from the Department for Cultural Affairs of the City of Vienna.

The MUSA Gallery, located on the Rathausplatz next to the Vienna Rathaus, or City Hall, features a collection of artwork and objects owned by the Department for Cultural Affairs of the City of Vienna. All artwork is contemporary, created since 1945, and directly related to Vienna or created by artists hailing from the city. It's also an important addition to the art community, providing services and opportunities that are quite unusual and set it far apart from other gallery spaces.

MUSA includes the Start Gallery, which is dedicated to helping launch the careers of young artists just making their entry in the art world. It provides much needed publicity in the early stage of these artists' careers and the wonderful opportunity of having gallery space to display their work and get public and professional attention and feedback. It's a unique and extremely important fixture and opportunity for the artistic community.

The concept of the Artothek is an "experimental lab", through which citizens of Vienna are allowed to temporarily borrow pieces of artwork to display in their own homes. There is a very small loan charge and the idea is simply to promote the art and artists, and to provide further enjoyment through display of the pieces acquired by the Department for Cultural Affairs.

MUSA also plays host to exhibitions. Most recently, artist Christian Wachter opened Abpopa/Aurora, a large scale installation in the gallery. The project's subject is the Aurora, the Russian armored cruiser from which Bolsheviks fired on the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, signaling the start of the Russian Revolution. The ship holds an important place in Russian culture and history and remains docked in the Neva River in Saint Petersburg today, open to the public as a museum of the October Revolution. Wachter has collected an impressive amount of Aurora-related memorabilia, including a rare model of the ship and a photo of an Aurora themed chocolate bar wrapper done as a large print.

He's also made a series of images of the ship and the city of Saint Petersburg in various times, displayed in oval shaped frames designed to look like portholes. Other creative photographic works are inspired by the ship, location, and overlapping notions of history and time. The exhibit and majority of the works are done in vivid, bold shades of blue and red; blue for the sea, sky, and navy, red for blood and revolution. It's a thrilling collection and beautifully done exhibit, highlighting a monumental period of history and its continued influence on the present.

Entry to MUSA is always free.