museum in progress

"... the museum only makes sense as a pioneer." (Alexander Dorner)

museum in progress is concerned with the changing ways in which art is brought before the public and has developed innovative models for co-operation between business, art and media. The art association, founded in 1990 by Prof. Kathrin Messner and Josef Ortner († 2009), organises exhibitions in media such as newspapers, magazines, billboards, the facades of buildings, TV and the internet and thereby integrates art into everyday life. The museum of the 21st century exists as a flexible structure and establishes the form in which it appears directly in media space. Through co-operation with media organisations such as DER STANDARD (Austrian newspaper), gewista (a billboard advertising company) and ORF Kultur (cultural department of Austrian national TV and radio) museum in progress presents art projects in print media, on billboards and the facades of buildings and appears extremely frequently in public space.

"The new type of art institute cannot merely be an art museum as it has been until now, but no museum at all. The new type will be more like a power station, a producer of new energy." (Alexander Dorner, 1893–1957)

museum in progress is a private art association with the aim of developing innovative forms of presentation for contemporary art. Since 1990 a variety of media exhibition spaces making contemporary art accessible to a wide public have been opened with the "museum in progress" imprint. The work of museum in progress is media-specific, context-dependent and temporary. This applies both to individual projects and to the whole structure. An indispensable precondition for the activities of museum in progress is the independence of the artistic decision, protected by binding contracts with numerous partners. museum in progress addresses the public both on behalf of international contemporary art and open discourse in society. museum in progress therefore acts independently of political influence.