Statement Claudia Schmied, Austrian Federal Minister for Education, the Arts and Culture
Linz 2009 European Capital of CultureIt is a privilege and an honour for Austria and for Linz in particular to have been entrusted with the task of playing host to Europe as “Linz 2009 European Capital of Culture”. This is the second time for Austria to be honoured in this way and the positive experiences of “Graz 2003” will stand us in good stead.
Linz was ideally qualified in many respects as a candidate for the role of European Capital of Culture, given its development away from an industrial city to a city of high tech and media art that played a key role in the decision making process.
The Culture Capital programme of Linz, a city that was at one stage fingered for cultural capital of the Third Reich, is shaped to a significant degree by the way it confronts the dark chapters in the city’s past. This is a key concern also shared by Austria’s Federal Government. The perception of Linz as a city of culture shows up most clearly the historical evolution and the changes in generally prevailing attitudes that have taken place here. Today Linz’s ambitious programme is living proof of the fact that art has assumed an open, democratic and participatory character here.
Austria’s Federal Government extends its full support to the project so that Linz09 may demonstrate on behalf of our entire nation that no medium is better suited than art to project values such as freedom, tolerance and openness on a European scale.
