Angewandte Festival 2026

From July 1 through 4, the Angewandte Festival will once again feature exhibitions throughout the university. You can find an overview of the entire program here.

Our department is currently exhibiting the latest theses and various semester projects.

Hours of Operation:

  • Wednesday, July 1, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
  • Thursday, July 2, from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
  • Friday, July 3, from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
  • Saturday, July 4, from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Yes, No

Swiss poster culture has a distinctive tradition of typographically dominant “Yes” and “No” posters. This tradition stems from direct democracy, in which citizens vote “Yes” or “No” on political decisions. In the run-up to such referendums, poster campaigns accompany the process and shape public spaces with their prominent “Yes”/“No” typography. This “Swiss” peculiarity served as the starting point for the course taught by Astrid Seme and the resulting poster exhibition, in which the students themselves take a programmatic stance. The resulting spectrum ranges from “Yes to doing a handstand in the water” to “No to the AfD’s election platform.”

The Booxhibition
The idea of a book, the book as an idea. The idea of a book and the book as an idea.

The Idea of the Book: We all have an “idea” of the book. “Idea” as the term was originally used in Greek, meaning “appearance,” “form,” “shape,” and later also “model,” “project,” “concept”—in other words, an abstraction, a derivation from a thing. We assume we know what a book is—or rather, what it is not.

The Book as an Idea: Designers often bring their ideas to life in book form. “Ideas” in the newer, contemporary sense. “Idea” is translated as “original thought,” “insight,” or “concept.” They use the book not only as a stage, but also instinctively as a breeding ground, a nurturing environment, a process, a method, and a vehicle for communicating ideas, both in traditional and experimental ways.

The exhibition *The Booxhibition* encourages us to question our assumptions about what a book should be, to deepen our understanding of design practices, and to broaden our social perspectives. Using a wide variety of methods, the designers explored and engaged with the theme artistically and theoretically in twelve workshops. The exhibition is an invitation to designers and book lovers to discover why this medium is—or should be—close to their hearts.

Holistic Design of a Democracy Movement
Making Democracy Visible and Tangible

What does a democracy movement look like? How does it communicate? And how can a space for dialogue be designed?

Students developed a holistic design for a democracy movement aimed at promoting dialogue, information sharing, and democratic awareness. Serving as an interface between democracy, art, and society, instructors at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, in collaboration with other institutions, are organizing lectures, conferences, and platforms for dialogue. In addition, a permanent space for exchange is being established at the Academy.

The exhibition showcases a variety of design approaches—from naming and logo development to print and online media, and even spatial concepts.