In the Press

“In her second steirischer herbst, Russian curator Ekaterina Degot has truly come into her own as the new director of the festival.”
Die Presse

“There is no way around Europe’s oldest avant-garde festival. The whole city becomes a stage for art actions in the public space.”
Falter

”What is fascinating about this year’s festival theme (...) is how perfectly it seems to apply to current conditions, while spanning an extensive artistic horizon, both historically and geographically as well as politically and aesthetically.”
Junge Welt

“Celebrating on the edge of the abyss! This image also proves that Degot has understood Styria.”
Theater der Zeit

“Rarely has an exhibition title epitomized the zeitgeist as aptly as this year’s steirischer herbst.”
taz

“(The festival’s) real success is that it isn’t afraid to get dirty in the process of tidying up.”
Artforum

“This installment of steirischer herbst is all about pleasure and joy in troubled times. And what place could be better suited for this than Graz, where you can savor the demise of the West with a glass of Sturm in your hand?”
HART Magazine

“The fact that this abyss is dangerously close and may already be a reality surrounding us, is demonstrated by Artur Żmijewski’s Plan B installation in a vacant store in Girardigasse in Graz.”
Kleine Zeitung

“The 2019 steirischer herbst is a good year and in the words of Müller-Guttenbrunn: ‘Life consists of bad times and beautiful moments.’”
Kunstforum International

“steirischer herbst is an excellent example of a contemporary art festival with a strong and determined curatorial vision.”
Delo

“Accomplished combinations on the opening weekend of steirischer herbst: political satire, participatory performance, and cultural Greek gifts in the name of architecture.”
Der Standard

“This festival in Graz is full of sharp surprises, and given that it is a largely publicly funded project, its willingness to bite the hand that feeds makes it one to pay attention to, and to engage with rigorously.”
Hyperallergic

“The Grand Hotel Abyss is home to a cast of strange and varied characters, each sheltering from the raging incoherence of today’s world. Whether this lavish destination is a plush cover for paralysis or a temporary abode that opens to glimpses of something new is the knife-edged tension that the theme for this edition of the festival creates.”
e-flux Criticism

“steirischer herbst continues to formulate an intelligent and at times provocative commentary on the current state of affairs, more needed than ever regarding the political climate in Austria and elsewhere.”
Spike