Who was 1968?
Art, architecture, society

Who was 1968? presents at the Nordico a post-1968 archive of new departures, all of which had a lasting impact on the cultural climate in Linz and in the entire country – departures whose protagonists were themselves to become renowned mainstream actors later on, whose ideas have been shaping this country to the present day. Pictures, documents, sound tracks and videos reveal the texture of personal relationships, aesthetic and political attitudes and social constellations that enabled the different ​“scenes” both in Austria and across Europe to stay in touch. The spontaneous utopias of a radical break with the past and the first concrete projects and the ​“new texts” of the young associations and groups soon attracted international attention. Some of these associations morphed into institutions. Some petered out in the mainstream – and others led nowhere.

Who was where at that time, for what reason and in whose company? Who fought for what cause and against whom? Who came, who left? Where did people meet? How did they live together, how did they make love, how did they work, how did they dance? And what did that time sound like, how did it dress? A time when the wish entertained by many for a better and a more just world appeared on the verge of being realised? The exhibition showcases objects and materials from archives of activists of the time in Linz, many of which are shown in public for the first time, alongside a great number of works by artists and architects.

This is a joint project under the auspices of the Lentos Kunstmuseum, Nordico Stadtmuseum and Landesgalerie Linz des Oö. Landesmuseums.

Curators: Hedwig Saxenhuber, Georg Schöllhammer