An archive is a place of memory. It is a place where we learn from women artists of the past—artists who faced difficulties in their own times, yet refused to give up.
Today, when fundamental rights over our bodies, voices, and choices are once again under pressure, it is crucial that we remain focused and remember that we are not alone. The existence of VBKÖ—as a living archive, one of the oldest associations of women artists in Vienna and Austria, with international connections—is in itself an act of courage and inspiration.
VBKÖ continuously brings us back together, reminding us to stay curious about the achievements of those who came before us, while also documenting the present through its work with members and artists from around the world. Its programs create space for growth, exchange, and solidarity.
On March 14, VBKÖ reopens its renovated space—an invitation to step inside the archive, to listen, to see, and to meet the people who sustain and shape it.
Guests: Georgia Holz & Veronika Hösch, VBKÖ archive group
Georgia Holz is an art historian and freelance curator, author, and editor. She is a Senior Scientist at the Department of Art History at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, and from 2018–25 she was Senior Scientist at the Department of Site-Specific Art. Her previous curatorial positions include the Generali Foundation and Kunsthalle Wien. Her curatorial interests focus on making visible the “unknown and unseen,” such as feminist art history and the questioning of hegemonic narratives. She is currently researching artistic methods and speculative strategies in working with archives. Georgia is a member of the VBKÖ archive team.
Veronika Hösch is an artist based in Vienna, working within queer-feminist collectives. Hösch studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Their practice explores labour, classism, productivity, friendship, and failure through video, performance, objects, and installation. Understanding archives as active, cross-generational sites of agency and embodied knowledge, Hösch is currently researching Cruising as… – Intimate Networking, investigating archives, queer-feminist networking, and friendship as un*learning and performative practices of consent, foregrounding invisible labour and self-empowerment. Hösch is a member of the VBKÖ archive group and has received the Austrian State Scholarship for Media Art (2025).
With this episode, Ženergija continues the radio series VBKÖ: When Archives Speak—a residency project that turns listening to archival work into a shared, living practice.
More info: https://cba.fro.at/podcast/zenergija
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