With its approximately 30,000 objects by about 4,500 artists, the museum provides a historic cross-section of Viennese art since 1945. Since 2007, the musa Wien, which grew out of the "Museum on Demand", has dedicated itself to contemporary Viennese art with great success. The musa Wien has been part of the Wien Museum since 2018.

Collection of Viennese art

The musa Wien has one of the largest collections of contemporary Austrian art. All disciplines of art – painting, graphics, sculpture, statuary art, photography, film, video, installation, "art on the building" (mosaic, graffiti, fresco) – are represented. A high-ranking panel recommends the purchase of Viennese artists or artworks with a reference to Vienna based on the principle of the greatest possible stylistic range and highest possible quality. Apart from key works by leading artists, the collection also has items that present interesting byways, unknown positions or singular, short-lived appearances of Austrian art.

Contemporary art can be found in many places in Vienna – like at the Albertina modern, the mumok – Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation Vienna, the Kunsthalle Wien, the Belvedere 21or the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna. But also in the public domain and even on the subway.

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The range of exhibitions at the musa Wien extends from retrospectives on highly respected artists to sensational presentations on individual decades in the history of Viennese art.

The collection is shown in changing exhibitions on an exhibition area of 600 m². An integrated starter gallery in the musa Wien enables young artists to enter the art market.

From self-service restaurant to showroom

The musa Wien is located in an office building of the City of Vienna, which was completed in 1916 as one of the first reinforced concrete structures under the direction of August Kirstein (a pupil of Friedrich von Schmidt). The building fulfills various purposes, including as a self-service restaurant of the Vienna Public Kitchen company. The adaptation of the rooms for the holding of exhibitions was carried out by the team from Kiskan Kaufmann Architekten. The 300 m² courtyard was spanned by a self-supporting glass roof – thus creating the central exhibition space.

musa Vienna on video

Artothek of the Viennese

The service facility known as the Artothek has been in existence since 1979: Everyone who lives in Vienna can borrow art (the objects change on a regular basis) for their own home for a small fee. The Artothek sees itself as an interface between the Viennese population, contemporary Viennese artists, and collectors.