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The exhibit on the “case” of Forum Design celebrates an exceptional cultural event and investigates the intricacies of local politics it got caught up in.

What was the reality behind the myth? In 1980, Helmuth Gsöllpointner initiated Forum Design in Linz, a major cultural project that made a big splash on the international design scene. The professor at the Linz Art University attracted many top international experts to the city. Their presence, the extraordinary exhibition architecture including Christopher Alexander’s famous Linz Café, and a momentous publication entitled Design ist unsichtbar (design is invisible) made Forum Design a milestone in design history. Nevertheless, local political infighting and bitter disputes soon erupted; then, sponsors’ withdrew from the project and public subsidies were cut off. The upshot was a complete financial meltdown and criminal proceedings that resulted in the conviction of some of the project’s principals. THE “CASE” OF FORUM DESIGN rehashed these events and reunited some of the protagonists. More than 7,800 visitors attended the exhibit conceived as an archive. The aim of this exhibit and its accompanying catalog was to show how cultural impact comes to be and what a legacy lies dormant here, waiting for Linz to reactivate it.


WHAT // Exhibition
WHEN // October 15, 2009-February 28, 2010
WHERE // State Gallery Linz

IDEA / CONCEPT // Martin Hochleitner, Gabriele Hofer

Gallery