VBKÖ, Vereinigung bildender Künstler*innen Österreichs (Austrian Association of Wom*n Artists), invites you to send in a proposal for our annual program running from March 2027 to February 2028.

Across the world we are witnessing the resurgence of authoritarianism, fascism, militarization, colonial violence, and the intensification of extractive capitalism. At the same time, care is increasingly privatized, solidarity criminalized, and difference turned into a threat. We are told there are no alternatives.

As María Galindo reminds us, feminism is not a project about women’s rights alone but a project of social transformation, while Sara Ahmed suggests that feminist work often begins with refusal: refusing the world as it is.

Following these feminist, queer, anti-racist, anti-colonial, and anti-authoritarian traditions, we believe that another way of living and practicing is not something waiting ahead of us. It is something we rehearse together through the ways we organize, create, care, listen, remember, and struggle. At a moment when inequalities deepen through the ongoing extraction of land, bodies and labor, feminist practice becomes a way of exposing these structures while imagining how practices could be otherwise. 

We aim to put together a program of different practices that nurture communal care and build a platform for collective rehearsals that imagine alternative futures and other ways of living together.

We are looking for proposals that allow for tenderness, that are not afraid of ugly feelings, and different truths. We welcome projects that explore how contemporary queer and feminist perspectives resonate across artistic, social, and political movements.

We welcome proposals for exhibition formats that bring together multiple artists, collectives, or collaborative practices. We encourage proposals that activate the exhibition through public programming, including screenings, performances, workshops, lectures, and other events. Please note that we do not support solo exhibitions, individual presentations, or projects centered on the work of a single artist.

Although VBKÖ started as a feminist association in 1910, its history is also marked by violence, exclusion, and discrimination towards individuals and communities based on religion, class, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity. Acknowledging the weight of our own histories, VBKÖ has been transforming and actively fighting against any form of discrimination, including trans-exclusionary radical feminism. Therefore, we stand together with our artistic communities to mutually exchange different ways of knowledge and practice.

What We Offer  

• Budget: VBKÖ supports each selected project with a total budget of EUR 4,000, which includes both artist fees and production costs. This budget may be allocated to fees, materials, labor, production, transport, and other project-related expenses.
  * If participants are based outside Vienna, any additional travel, accommodation, shipping, or related costs must be included within the proposed project budget or covered through external funding.VBKÖ can provide invitation and support letters to assist applicants in securing additional funding to cover project expenses beyond the allocated budget.

• Spaces and the shared kitchen (please see the attached room layout).  
• Graphic design of online promotional material, press announcements, and photo documentation
• Technical support for setting up (up to 10 hours)
  *Please note that installing and de-installing must be done/arranged by the selected groups.
• Technical equipment (please see the attached technical list).
• The regular opening hours are Fridays and Saturdays, from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. If the exhibition is to be open outside these hours, the selected groups are responsible for arranging and staffing the additional opening times.
• Possible duration of the program: 4 to 6 weeks (The project should happen between March 2027 and February 2028)

The selection process

The shortlist will be compiled by the VBKÖ team, and the final proposals will be selected by the VBKÖ board, with an external jury member who has extensive international experience in contemporary art, activism, and community building.

Please take note of the requirements; incomplete applications will not be considered. If necessary, we would ask you to meet with the Jury to present the proposal. The selected proposals will be announced at the beginning of October 2026.

What we require from you

• A description of the program (max. 2 pages, including images if any). Proposals can be written in English or German. Please include preferred dates/duration. 
• A CV and biography from all participants involved in the proposal (max. 1 page for each).  
• A financial plan: We encourage you to make your plan based on Fair Pay 
• Technical requirements 
• Three high-resolution images of work or sketches for the exhibition (if you want to send video files in addition, please include the links in your proposal)
• A contact person’s information (email,  & mobile number, and main residence) 

Please send all your written materials via a single PDF (max 5MB) and submit the high-res images within the email or through a download link (please label images with artist’s name, work title, year, proposal title) to opencall@vbkoe.org with the Subject: Open Call + your proposal title. 

Deadline: September 10, 2026, 23:59

If you have any questions, please contact info@vbkoe.org.