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James Dean haunted Times Square. For a novice actor in the fifties this was the place to go. The Actors Studio, directed by Lee Strasberg, was in its heyday and just a block away, New York City, USA, 1955. From the contact sheet. © Dennis Stock/Magnum Photos
James Dean haunted Times Square. For a novice actor in the fifties this was the place to go. The Actors Studio, directed by Lee Strasberg, was in its heyday and just a block away, New York City, USA, 1955. From the contact sheet. © Dennis Stock/Magnum Photos
March 21, 2025

GRAND OPENING
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN

Grand Opening on March 21, 2025

FOTO ARSENAL WIEN—Vienna’s new exhibition space for international photography and lens-based media—will inaugurate its new home at the Arsenal on March 21, 2025.

In an exhibition space measuring around one thousand square meters, FOTO ARSENAL WIEN will showcase the full spectrum of the medium with up to ten exhibitions each year—a combination of young talents, up-and-coming photographers, and international stars.

7 p.m. Doors open
7.30 p.m. Opening speeches

Followed By
FM4 DJ sets and music
Dancing and drinks

Free admission
Registration is not required

Location
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN
Arsenalplatz, Objekt 19, Arsenal
1030 Vienna

Opening Weekend on March 22 and March 23, 2025

With guided tours and actvities
Free admission
Program details are available here

Opening exhibitions

Magnum. A World of Photography
22.3. — 1.6.2025

James Dean strolls across Times Square in the rain in a perfect blend of melancholy and coolness. With a cigarette in his mouth and a pensive gaze, the actor symbolizes youth and transience. The image also impressively demonstrates how photography transforms fleeting moments into timeless icons.

These photographic processes are the focus of the inaugural exhibition Magnum. A World of Photography at FOTO ARSENAL VIENNA, which provides insights into the undiscovered and secret working structures of the famous agency Magnum Photos. For the first time, items from the Magnum archives are contextualized using contemporary perspectives.

The exhibition includes over three hundred photographs and objects from seven decades of agency history.

Simon Lehner. Clean Thoughts. Clean Images
22.3. — 1.6.2025

Is there such a thing as “clean” and “pure” thoughts? What role do memories, family contexts, and everyday images play in this?

Using image archives that he has created himself with elements from his childhood, youth, and the world of media, Simon Lehner (b. 1996) examines the complexity of human emotions, identity, and ideals of masculinity as well as their impact on society. In several processing loops, he presents relief images, videos, and sculptures that combine photographs and digital processes. For Clean Thoughts / Clean Images, his first institutional solo exhibition, Lehner generates motifs that blur the boundaries between pop culture, art history, and autobiography, putting the dynamics of memories and the construction of identity into a new perspective.