OPEN CALL: Salzburger Kunstverein Annual Exhibition 2025/26
A vacuum is not an empty space. The 2025 Annual Exhibition of the Salzburger Kunstverein is dedicated to the figure of the vacuum—both in its physical and conceptual forms. It encompasses a spectrum that spans from scientific foundations to cultural translations and possible aesthetic practices.
From the ancient idea of horror vacui to the first vacuum experiments in 17th-century technical physics to modern quantum mechanics, our understanding of “emptiness” has radically shifted. What was once feared as an absolute void is now understood by quantum physics as a space teeming with particle fluctuations and potential. The vacuum has always been both a scientific phenomenon and a conceptual tool.
In this tradition, magazin53a invites contributions that reactivate the vacuum as a conceptual instrument to address questions of space, presence and absence, participation, and social relations—an exploration of what is hidden, repressed, or not yet realized. It may be crucial to note that, physically, a vacuum is defined as a space of reduced density where the pressure is lower than atmospheric pressure. Here, the vacuum becomes a point of departure for sociopolitical reflection.
At the same time, the term “vacuum” draws attention to something absent—something that paradoxically only exists because it is perceived as absent within a reference system. This dual coding of space directs focus toward thresholds of perception and transitional states. Absence resonates with virtuality and simulation, with notions of indeterminacy and possibility.
The key insight is that a vacuum never means “nothing”—it always implies “something,” even if that something is not immediately visible. The vacuum is filled with potential, with relationships and unrealized possibilities. In this context, artistic works may reconstruct forgotten histories, activate repressed memories, or give space to marginalized perspectives. They might employ strategies of omission, interruption, and intentional voids.
The Open Call invites participants to approach the concept of the vacuum as an aesthetic method:
As a methodological stance that productively destabilizes the boundaries between visibility and invisibility, between presence and absence—
—or:
A vacuum signifies the absence or displacement of space
A vacuum enables the occupation or appropriation of space
A vacuum results from transformation
A vacuum is a possibility
A vacuum is a nothing that exists in relation to something
To apply, please submit the following materials:
- – A digital portfolio in a single PDF file including a CV and contact information (address, phone number)
- – Additionally, submit one to a maximum of three specific works that respond to this Open Call, each with a description of no more than 200 words
- – Please send your application materials by email to lederer@salzburger-kunstverein.at.
- Larger files can be sent via Dropbox, WeTransfer, or compressed. The date of the email submission is binding and final.
A floor plan of the exhibition space (Great Hall) is available on the Salzburger Kunstverein website
All artistic media are welcome.
Submission deadline: September 15, 2025
magazin53a is part of the Association for the Promotion of Fine Arts in Salzburg and engages with the artistic and cultural offerings in both the city and the region. This includes museums, art associations, galleries, and various events. Its diverse reporting generates attention for exhibitions and projects and fosters a comprehensive discourse on the art and cultural landscape of Salzburg and beyond. With a feuilletonistic approach, the magazine creates a wide public for the contemporary art scene and serves as a platform linking institutions and discourses. Especially young writers are involved in shaping a new form of art criticism.
Art needs space. And Salzburg (in theory) has plenty of it. The address 53a, an unused vacant property, becomes both the program and the symbol for a gap in the region’s cultural reporting that deserves to be filled.
Participation Requirements:
1) To participate, applicants must have been a member of the Salzburger Kunstverein for at least two consecutive years (2024, 2025).
2) By applying, applicants grant the Salzburger Kunstverein the right to publish images of the submitted works in its print materials, on its website, and via social media and digital communications.
3) By submitting an application, the applicant agrees to the participation and exhibition conditions.
Annual Members’ Exhibition of the Salzburger Kunstverein 2025
Vacuum (working title)
December 13, 2025 – February 1, 2026
Opening: Friday, December 12, 2025, 8 pm
Curated by magazin53a
We look forward to receiving your application!