The Graz Kulturjahr 2020 project kicks off an unique initiative in the Styrian capital city of Graz: in 2020 Graz is all about the urban future and Graz becomes the hub for an in-depth scrutiny of the pressing questions of our time and the future of our cities.

The city is now investing five million euros of subsidies to mount 94 arts and science projects dealing with the following themes: Environment and Climate, Digital Life-Worlds, Urbanism, Social Interaction, Tomorrow’s Work.

Unique in the cultural landscape: Themed around the idea of “how we want to live”, throughout the year all seventeen districts of the city form the stage for the Graz Kulturjahr 2020.

Culture!Development!City!

… our three keys to 2020 in Graz.

Firstly, Graz is taking the concept of “Culture” seriously and implementing it in its original sense: our aim is to shape our living environment and to harness it for new and seemingly unusual ideas.

Secondly, “Development” is a perennial issue facing urban spaces. Since the turn of the millennium, Graz has become a dynamic hub of knowledge and business. The impetus from the city’s year as Cultural Capital in 2003 has played a major role in this respect. The aim now is to recalibrate the urban development potential inherent in culture.

Thirdly, Graz, like any other “City”, is a place where new ideas develop faster, with greater diversity and potency. The impact of what people think and do here, the visible trends, goes far beyond the city’s borders.

“How we want to live” is the motto of the Year of Culture!

I warmly invite you to be a part of this living experience!

It was the residents of Graz themselves who shaped the Graz Year of Culture 2020, and as a result it represents the current assessments, observations, expertises and wishes with regard to the future of our city—and indeed cities! After all, like many other European cities, Graz is facing similar, urgent questions of urban living in which specific local conditions and global developments are mutually dependent.

The calendar of events is rich and varied, the contributions informative, stimulating and entertaining. They stem from fields of scientific research including town planning, architecture, life sciences or robotics and venture deep into the universe of the various genres of art: theatre, the visual arts or electronic music. Some of the projects focus on very specific economic sectors such as waste management and public utilities, small trades businesses, high technology, the creative industries or forestry. Many of the projects on the programme run for a period of several weeks or months: we encounter them in public space, we can visit them as exhibitions in museums, they invite us to take part in workshops or to listen in on university lectures. The Graz Kulturjahr 2020 projects often aim to make direct contact with the residents of Graz, with many being developed with local citizen participation. The ninety-four projects are developed by hundreds of active participants who, in addition, often cooperate closely with nurseries, schools, neighbourhood centres and communities.

We invite you to take a look at what’s happening in your neighbourhood, in your district. I am sure that there will be something for you, something that catches your interest and gets you excited and hope you enjoy the various events.