Kunsthaus Graz

The Kunsthaus has been called a baby hippo, sea slug, porcupine, a whale and a "friendly alien" — this last name having been coined by its architects, Sir Peter Cook and Colin Fournier. In any case, it is a biomorphic, undefinable something, a hybrid, both alien and familiar at the same time, and which Fournier said "has the charm of a friendly stray bastard of highly questionable pedigree." Built when Graz was named Cultural Capital of Europe 2003, the Kunsthaus Graz was once housed in a modern, mid-19th-century department store. The listed façade and its cast-iron structure on the upper storey were preserved. The blue shimmering "bubble" of the new building floats above the glazed ground floor. Conceived as a multi-disciplinary venue for exhibitions, projects and performing arts, the Kunsthaus Graz shows modern and contemporary art, collaborates with institutional partners worldwide and connects with local initiatives and institutions. The Kunsthaus does not have a collection of its own but—as part of the Universalmuseum Joanneum—regularly presents artworks from the museum´s departments in its international exhibitions.