Logo SHOWING STYRIA
Logo SHOWING STYRIA
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In 2021, the State of Styria launched SHOWING STYRIA, a forward-looking biennial exhibition format organised by the Universalmuseum Joanneum, which addresses contemporary social issues. As the 'regional exhibition,' the first edition encouraged visitors to reflect on the past, present, and future of Styria. The exhibition was showcased at the History Museum, the Folk Life Museum at Paulustor, the Kunsthaus Graz, and through an innovative mobile exhibition unit, the pavilion. The second edition of SHOWING STYRIA in 2023 focused on the "diversity of life." This time, the main venue was Herberstein Zoo, which became part of the Universalmuseum Joanneum in 2022. Once again, the exhibition was complemented by the pavilion.
In 2025, SHOWING STYRIA will commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first Prince of Eggenberg's decision to expand the family residence. This special exhibition will offer a new perspective on Schloss Eggenberg and its history. The UNESCO World Heritage Site will be at the heart of the event, with an innovative multimedia display that transports visitors to a bygone era.
Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg’s vision for his new residence was as grand as his ambitions: not just a palace, but a royal symbol of the family's rise to prominence. Construction of Schloss Eggenberg began in 1625 during a time of crisis, marked by war, famine, and social upheaval. The exhibition immerses visitors in this chaotic world, using Eggenberg as a mirror to reflect on our own era of uncertainty. The central feature is an interactive model of Schloss Eggenberg, with immersive projections decoding its architectural symbolism. The exhibition portrays the palace as a grand play set in a time of crisis, highlighting the ambition, failures, and successes of the Eggenberg family. The State Rooms and Planetary Room return to their original roles as stages for this narrative, featuring not just the princely family but also the servants, courtiers, and others who operated behind the scenes.
The 2025 anniversary offers new insights, with innovative designs across 24 exhibition rooms and precious international loans returning for the first time in over 300 years. The exhibition also revives the Eggenberg world with performances of lost court music, showcasing the evolution of the SHOWING STYRIA format and highlighting Schloss Eggenberg as a unique cultural monument.
THE EGGENBERGERS AND MONEY: The exhibition in the Coin Cabinet showcases rare coins and medals of the Eggenberg princes while exploring the history of money and the 17th-century economy, highlighting the financial backdrop to the rise and fall of the Eggenberger dynasty through three sections: the Eggenberg coinage, the diversity of 17th-century Holy Roman Empire coinage, and the Kipper and Wipper period's economic turmoil.
GRAZ 1699: The special exhibition at the Archaeology Museum immerses visitors in the vibrant atmosphere of 17th-century Graz through a digital reconstruction of Baroque Graz, complemented by archaeological finds from the city center, aiming to enhance appreciation of Graz's cultural heritage and align with the SHOWING STYRIA 2025 exhibition at Schloss Eggenberg, with the display continuing in 2026.
SHOWING STYRIA is expanding its three pavilions in 2025. As in previous years, these will provide new impetus and food for thought and reflect the themes of the show from a contemporary, artistic perspective. In the upcoming edition, the pavilions combine the supposedly bygone world of the Baroque with the current challenges of the present. They can be seen together at its preview in Vienna.
One pavilion will be on display at the Eggenberg site for the entire duration of the 2025 show, while the other two pavilions will take the show into the region and beyond. Günther Holler-Schuster will be responsible for the curatorial direction and will work with renowned artists to develop the displays in the pavilions. The architectural design was announced as an invited, anonymous realisation competition. On 5 April 2024, the jury, chaired by architect Birgit Schiretz, voted unanimously in favour of studio WG3's concept.
