STAGE Bregenz

STAGE Bre­genz 2025: Con­tem­po­rary Art with Inter­na­tional Appeal

The second edi­tion of the art fair from 20 to 23 March in the Fest­spiel­haus Bre­genz is underway

Bre­genz, 20 March 2025 – STAGE Bre­genz 2025 has opened: Fol­lo­wing last year’s suc­cessful pre­mière, the art fair is once again pre­sen­ting con­tem­po­rary works by emer­ging and estab­lished inter­na­tional artists on Lake Con­s­tance. Forty-eight gal­le­ries from eleven count­ries are exhi­bi­ting in the Fest­spiel­haus Bre­genz bet­ween 20 and 23 March. And a com­pre­hen­sive sup­porting pro­gramme with talks and per­for­mances is also on offer to visi­tors. The third edi­tion will take place bet­ween 26 February and 1 March 2026.

Inter­na­tional qua­lity meets regional diver­sity. After its suc­cessful start in 2024, STAGE Bre­genz is streng­thening its posi­tion as the lea­ding con­tem­po­rary art fair on Lake Con­s­tance. The second edi­tion, which has just opened, is pre­sen­ting even more gal­le­ries from a total of eleven nations. “The attrac­tive loca­tion at the point where four count­ries meet and the first-class line-up make the fair a unique expe­ri­ence in a non-urban set­ting – for gal­le­ries and visi­tors alike”, con­cluded Mana­ging Director Renger van den Heuvel at the press con­fe­rence in the Fest­spiel­haus Bre­genz on 20 March.

STAGE Bre­genz mobi­lises the art scene in the region. The net­work includes not only local cul­tural policy makers but also busi­nesses and cul­tural insti­tu­tions from Vor­arl­berg, Eas­tern Switz­er­land, Liech­ten­stein and Sou­thern Ger­many. “The fan­ta­stic sup­port of our part­ners makes the fair pos­sible”, says van den Heuvel, than­king fun­ding orga­ni­sa­tions and spon­sors. “STAGE Bre­genz is a model of cul­tural tog­e­ther­ness. It inter­con­nects and streng­thens the region and brings tog­e­ther the count­ries on Lake Con­s­tance in such a way that its impact goes far beyond the high-quality art fair that it has so quickly become”, says Man­fred Miglar, Exe­cu­tive Board Member of Raiff­eisen Lan­des­bank Vorarlberg.

Inter­na­tional class
Forty-eight pres­ti­gious gal­le­ries are appearing in the Fest­spiel­haus Bre­genz until Sunday 23 March, showing works by around 140 artists. Along­side the pre­sen­ta­tion on the work­shop stage, the main and side stages are playing host to two curated sec­tions. Gal­le­ries from eleven nations are repre­sented in the exhi­bi­tion. The core is formed by the four count­ries of the Lake Con­s­tance region, Aus­tria, Ger­many, Liech­ten­stein and Switz­er­land. Top-class gal­le­ries from Italy, France, Hun­gary, the Czech Repu­blic, Por­tugal, Romania and Columbia com­plete the field.

Sculp­ture as a reflec­tion of social tensions
Sculp­tural works from seven female artists are gathered on the main stage. Under the title “Ten­sions”, the Slove­nian curator Hana Ostan-Ožbolt-Haas is showing pieces that have been pre­do­mi­nantly created for the STAGE and that reflect upon cur­rent areas of both indi­vi­dual and societal con­flict. “We are expe­ri­en­cing a global ‘poly­crisis’, a state of per­ma­nent ten­sion, caused by geo­po­li­tical insta­bi­lity, envi­ron­mental cata­stro­phes and the rise of fascist regimes. Art is a reflec­tion of our society – it inten­si­fies and reveals things that often appear intan­gible”, she explains.

The artists come from count­ries that include Kosovo, Slo­vakia, the Czech Repu­blic and Hun­gary. The focus is very con­sciously chosen, as under­lined by the Vienna-based curator and author: “Many count­ries in Cen­tral and Eas­tern Europe are still under­re­pre­sented on the inter­na­tional art market. My aim with this sel­ec­tion is to offer, lite­rally, a stage to these artists – and thus, sym­bo­li­cally, to their count­ries of origin”. By pre­sen­ting these mostly monu­mental sculp­tures on the stage, “Ten­sions” creates an extra­or­di­nary atmo­sphere that tran­s­cends the classic fair format.

The stage as a space for art and orchestration
The show on the adja­cent side stage picks up on the thea­trical set­ting by tur­ning the spot­light onto space, art and the viewer. In a show entitled “Spec­tāre”, the Swiss curator Camille Regli brings tog­e­ther artistic posi­tions that address per­for­ma­ti­vity – through instal­la­tion, sound, film, pain­ting, sculp­ture, props and cha­rac­ters. “The Latin root ‘spec’ means ‘to observe’ – the act of loo­king is acti­vated. As we wander con­sciously through space, we become aware of the unsett­ling fee­ling that we are being staged”, says Camille Regli.

Ope­ra­ting as a mise-en-scène, the sec­tion is struc­tured by curtains and spot­lights, high­lighting the mecha­nisms that shape, acti­vate and orchest­rate space. This blurs the boun­da­ries bet­ween stage and per­for­mance, the observer and the observed: “‘Spec­tāre’ ques­tions our role as spec­ta­tors. By step­ping on the stage and crossing thres­holds, we posi­tion our­selves not only in front of but also within the works.” This orchestra­tion con­fronts the thea­trical space (black box) with the exhi­bi­tion space (white cube) and shows that no space is never truly neutral.

Sus­taina­bi­lity, dis­cus­sion and performance
As a member of the Gal­lery Cli­mate Coali­tion and of TUN. Green Deal Vor­arl­berg, STAGE Bre­genz pays close atten­tion to sus­taina­bi­lity. In coope­ra­tion with Magazin4, the STAGE Talks address issues curr­ently facing the art busi­ness. In the key­note dis­cus­sion on 22 March, the Danish socio­lo­gist Nikolaj Schultz – one of the most important cur­rent voices addres­sing the issue of sus­taina­bi­lity – talks with Thomas D. Trummer (Director of Kunst­haus Bre­genz) and the Bri­tish artist George Rouy about the trans­for­ma­tion of human exis­tence and the importance of theory and art in the ana­lysis of this development.

Fur­ther talks revolve around such sub­jects as the role of vol­un­teers in the cul­tural scene in Vor­arl­berg (22 March) and of inde­pen­dent spaces in the art system (21 March). “Where should art go?” – is the title of a round­table dis­cus­sion on 21 March at which experts invited by the Cul­ture Ser­vice of the Pro­vin­cial Capital of Bre­genz in coope­ra­tion with the Forum Vor/Nachlass and Bild­recht will address approa­ches to bequests made during artists’ life­times and acquired after their deaths.

The per­for­mance pro­gramme on the three days of the fair is orga­nised by an inter­na­tional team made up by Perrr­format (Zurich), Mar­lene A. Schenk (Kunst­verein Fried­richs­hafen) and Lukas Weithas (Dock 20 Lust­enau). The col­la­bo­ra­tively curated pro­gramme pres­ents works by Stina Fors, Hanna Kučera and Monika Emma­nu­elle Kazi, which occupy uncon­ven­tional loca­tions and spaces in the Fest­spiel­haus as a means of enab­ling us to expe­ri­ence it in a com­ple­tely new way.

Guest con­tri­bu­tions to STAGE
Kunst­haus Bre­genz is pre­sen­ting its latest acqui­si­tion, the video work “GT Gran­tu­rismo” by Gün­ther and Lore­dana Selichars. Else­where in the foyer, Zum­tobel is exhi­bi­ting the object “Star­brick” by the Danish studio Ólafur Elí­asson, which unites inno­va­tion with craftsper­son­ship. Visi­tors to the Park­studio will find exqui­site artis­anry by mem­bers of Werk­raum Bre­gen­zer­wald. And the same space is home to works which – almost as a pre­lude to the future – were col­la­bo­ra­tively created by the Dutch artist Eva Cre­bolder with the tile manu­fac­tu­rers KARAK.

Artistic diver­sity in the Lake Con­s­tance region
Beyond its regular ope­ning hours, STAGE invites visi­tors to explore the rich cul­tural variety on offer in the region where four count­ries meet. In par­allel with the fair, num­e­rous exhi­bi­tions are taking place in Bre­genz, Vor­arl­berg and the neigh­bou­ring count­ries. And the date for the next edi­tion has already been fixed: STAGE Bre­genz 2026 will take place bet­ween 26 February and 1 March.

Info: www.stage-bregenz.art and https://stage-bregenz.arcual.app/listings

 

Fact box: STAGE Bregenz
STAGE Bregenz is the leading contemporary art fair in the Lake Constance region. Launched in 2024, it takes place every spring in the Festspielhaus Bregenz. The fair combines international quality with a strong regional touch and cross-border networks. STAGE Bregenz is a meeting place and a platform for the many interactions between art, craft and architecture. The Founder and Managing Director of the sustainably positioned fair format is Renger van den Heuvel.

Hana Ostan-Ožbolt-Haas was born in Slovenia and is a Vienna-based freelance curator and author. She was the Director of the ULAY Foundation between 2019 and 2023. In recent years she has curated exhibitions for, among others, the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), the Curated by Festival (Vienna), HOW Art Museum (Shanghai) and Salzburger Kunstverein (Salzburg). As an author she writes for Artforum, Frieze and ArtReview.

Camille Regli from Switzerland is an independent curator. She is a Co-Founder and Co-Director of KRONE COURONNE, a centre for contemporary art in Biel/Bienne, and a member of the curatorial collective Collectif Détente. She has worked with institutions including the Kunsthaus Biel/Centre d’art Bienne, FMAC (Collection d’art contemporain Genève), Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, the Swiss Pavilion at the Biennale in Venice and the Centre d’art contemporain Genève.

  

STAGE Bregenz 2025
20 –23 March 2025 Festspielhaus Bregenz

Opening / 20 March 2025
Preview / from 14:00 (with invitation)
Vernissage / 17:00–20:00 (individual tickets available – € 75 for 2 people, € 40 for 1 person)

Fair days / 21–23 March 2025
21 March: 12:00–19:00
22 March: 11:00–19:00
23 March: 10:00–18:00
Day tickets: € 15 (local public transport included)
Tickets via https://tickets.visitbregenz.com

 

Patrons
Provincial Capital of Bregenz
Province of Vorarlberg
Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport
Government of the Principality of Liechtenstein – Ministry of Social Affairs and Culture

Main Partner
Raiffeisen Landesbank Vorarlberg

Sponsors
UNIQA
Zumtobel
Bildrecht

Green Energy Partner
Illwerke vkw

Partners
Kongresskultur Bregenz
Culture Service of the Provincial Capital of Bregenz
Stadtmarketing Bregenz
Convention Partner Vorarlberg

Programme Partners
Museum of Fine Arts Chur
Creative Institute Vorarlberg
DOCK 20 Lustenau
Forum Würth Rorschach
Hittisau Women’s Museum
IG Kultur Vorarlberg
Kunstforum Montafon
Kunstgiesserei St. Gallen
Kunsthaus Bregenz (KUB)
Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen
Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein
Kunstmuseum Ravensburg
Kunstmuseum St. Gallen
Kunstraum Dornbirn
Kunstraum Remise
Kunstverein Friedrichshafen
Künstlerhaus Palais Thurn und Taxis
Magazin4
Vorarlberger Architektur Institut (vai)
vorarlberg museum
Werkraum Bregenzerwald
Zeppelin Museum

Green Partner
MuseumsQuartier Wien

With the friendly support of
Casino Bregenz
Weingut Habsburg

Design Partner
Reiter Design

Bookshop
Buchhandlung Brunner

 

Edi­to­rial enquiries:
STAGE Bre­genz, Renger van den Heuvel, +43/660/5961401, renger@stage-bregenz.art
Pzwei. Press office, Mag­da­lena Venier, +43/5574/44715–29, magdalena.venier@pzwei.at