From 9 to 13 September 2026, Vienna turns, for one weekend, into a full-fledged international art destination. Three distinct events run in parallel: Astoria Artshow, curated by and PARALLEL Vienna. Each has its own profile, ranging from established positions to experimental discoveries by a new generation. Together, they complement each other and turn Vienna, in the second week of September, into a lively point on the international art calendar.
PARALLEL Vienna: art as a total experience
PARALLEL Vienna opens first, on Wednesday 9 September, across four historic buildings on the Otto Wagner Areal. The fair has run since 2013 and has pursued an experimental approach from the start, taking the usual structures of an art fair and reworking them in architecturally distinctive, temporarily used spaces.
This year, its 14th edition, more than 130 exhibitors activate the venue, coming from nine countries. They include galleries, independent art projects, institutions and the ARTIST STATEMENTS section, presenting solo shows by thirty selected emerging artists. New for 2026 is a cluster of 17 galleries housed in an impressive Jugendstil theater. The entire upper floor of the former kitchen building will also get a new section dedicated to editions and photography. The ground floor of that same building will host a special exhibition devoted to Eat Art, functioning simultaneously as an exhibition, a working kitchen and a social meeting place.
Artistic director Stefan Bidner described PARALLEL Vienna as the elephant in Vienna’s art circus, a fitting way to capture both its scale and its playfulness.
Astoria Artshow: preview of a new Viennese art fair
Alongside PARALLEL Vienna, Astoria Artshow runs from 10 to 13 September, which we covered separately. It’s the preview edition of a new Viennese art fair, housed directly in the historic Astoria Garage. Seventy Austrian and international galleries will each present one highlight from their program, in a space designed by the architecture studio Kuehn Malvezzi.
curated by: galleries as exhibition space
The third event, curated by, begins on 11 September and runs through 17 October. This year it takes on the theme LOVE. Rather than a single central venue, it invites visitors directly into selected galleries across the whole of Vienna. Participating galleries will each open different exhibitions, curated by internationally invited curators responding to the theme of love. Admission is free, making curated by widely accessible and underscoring the festival’s democratic character.
Festival directors Attilia Fattori Franchini and Christina Linher noted that curated by has, over the years, built an international reputation precisely through the quality of its program and the distinctiveness of its format: a gallery-led festival that gives international curators the time, space and resources to build new connections.
Three fairs, three different logics
What’s interesting is how these three events complement each other precisely through their differences. PARALLEL Vienna is built on the temporary use of historic spaces and experimentation. Astoria Artshow, by contrast, tests an entirely new, more commercial fair format in a space that until now served only as a garage. curated by drops the idea of a single central venue altogether, scattering its program across the city, directly into existing galleries. Rather than competing, the three form something like a map of the different ways contemporary art can be presented in a city today.
Where and when
PARALLEL Vienna: 9–13 September, Otto Wagner Areal, Baumgartnerhöhe 1. Admission €25 (regular), €20 (reduced).
Astoria Artshow: 10–13 September, Astoria Garage, Trautsongasse 4. Admission €15 (regular), €10 (reduced).
curated by: 11 September – 17 October, selected galleries across Vienna. Free admission.
A combined ticket for Astoria Artshow and PARALLEL Vienna costs €30.
