Programme
Four-Dimensional Programme Structure
Listening – Seeing – Technology – Public Good / Ecology Each dimension integrates youth participation, Austrian–Chinese co-creation, and contemporary technology.
- Auditory Arts: Joint performances by Austrian, Chinese, and European musicians, including classical, folk, and contemporary genres. Selected programs are explicitly curated as Austria–China co-productions.
- Visual Arts – The Image of the Horse: Oil painting, Chinese ink painting, installation art, and digital media, including a Xu Beihong section as a historical dialogue point.
- Technological Arts – The Horse of the Future: AI-generated art, VR/AR installations, and workshops that combine classical Austrian and Chinese artistic references as prompts for future-oriented creation.
- Public Good & Ecology – The Ecological Horse: Lectures, charity auctions, and ecological art projects linking cultural exchange with shared responsibility for biodiversity and sustainability.
Strings, Voices and Tales – Bridging China and Mozart
Sunday, February 22, 3:00–4:00 PM
A special musical and literary program awaits visitors at the Mozart House Vienna: two young musicians from China will perform traditional Chinese pieces on the Erhu and Hulusi, while also building a bridge to Vienna by interpreting selected works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The internationally renowned Erhu master Zhou Wei, one of the most outstanding virtuosos of his instrument, will present one of his own compositions and showcase the expressive range of the Erhu in all its facets.
The program will be guided by Dr. Margareta Grießler-Hermann, the City of Vienna’s China expert, who will lead the audience through the event and read selected fairy tales, legends and stories from China and Austria – including the Chinese story “The Seven Brothers.”
An hour filled with music, stories, and encounters that brings together the richness and beauty of both traditions.
Admission: 2:45 PM, February 22, 2026
Venue: Mozarthaus Vienna, Domgasse 5, 1010 Vienna
Participation is based on voluntary donations. Seats reservations are recommended.
Colors, Cultures, Life Paths
An Artistic Journey with Edda Mally
Tuesday, February 24, 1:00–5:00 PM
The Austrian artist Edda Mally offers a focused insight into her internationally shaped career: from her artistic training in Vienna to studies and scholarships in Rome and Ravenna, as well as further education in stage design and at the International Association of Colour Consultants (IACC).
Since the late 1960s, her travels and exhibitions have taken her to South Africa, Southwest Africa, China, and Tibet. A particular highlight of her work was the year 1980, when she presented her art in Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanning—a cultural event that also attracted significant political attention.
The Austrian Federal President at the time Dr. Rudolf Kirchschläger honored these exhibitions with the words: “The language of artists knows no boundaries. Artists who have the opportunity to bring their works into the world thereby support foreign policy in a special way. […] I therefore welcome the invitation extended to Professor Edda Mally […] to present the testimony of her high art in Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanning.”
This lecture traces a life shaped by cultural encounters, artistic curiosity, and global interconnectedness.
Time: 1:00–5:00 PM, February 24, 2026
Venue: Alte Kapelle, Universitätscampus (AAKH),
Spitalgasse 2, Hof 1, Eingang 2.8, 1090 Wien
Free of charge
Reading & Conversation – Liang Hong: China in a Village
Tuesday, February 24, 6:00–7:30 PM
A village, a river, a stretch of earth — and the quiet stories held within them. In her acclaimed work China in a Village, writer and literary scholar Liang Hong returns to Liangzhuang, the place of her childhood. What she finds is a landscape transformed: a rural world that becomes a mirror of China’s sweeping social changes. With delicate precision, deep empathy, and a voice both intimate and far‑reaching, she traces the lives, memories, and shifting realities of a community caught between past and present.
For this event, Dr. Margareta Grießler-Hermann, the City of Vienna’s China expert, will read selected passages and guide the audience through the evening. Her reading opens a space in which the people and questions at the heart of Liang Hong’s work come vividly to life.
Liang Hong will join the program online, offering reflections on her research, her literary approach, and the significance of her home village as a microcosm of a nation in transition.
An evening where literature, lived history, and personal remembrance intertwine — quiet, resonant, and full of human depth.
Time: 6:00–7:30 PM, February 24, 2026
Venue: Alte Kapelle, Universitätscampus (AAKH),
Spitalgasse 2, Hof 1, Eingang 2.8, 1090 Wien
Free of charge
Grand Exhibition & Concert
Thursday, February 26, 4:00–9:00 PM
The highlight of the festival will take place on February 26, 2026, featuring an exhibition, as well as a concert performed by Chinese and Austrian musicians.
Over 100 artists from China, Austria and other countries, interpret in their own way the qualities of the horse as a shared symbol of cultural exchange, dialogue, and artistic imagination that spans over a century as moves into the Future of Arts. Among the exhibiting artists are Xiaoyang Xu, grandson of the great modernizer of Chinese painting Xu Beihong, the Austrian animal painter Margit König, and Peter Mahler, third cousin once removed of Gustav Mahler. A work from the estate of the late Austrian artist Fritz Martinz will also be presented.
The concert unites international and local soundscapes, spanning a musical arc from traditional Chinese folk music and choral works to contemporary and classical pieces. Traditional instruments meet vocal diversity, young musical talents meet established ensembles —a multifaceted dialogue between cultures, generations, and styles.
Participants:
Erhu Ensemble led by Master Zhou Wei,
Hulusi Ensemble,
mdw Talent Lab Ensemble,
Redtenbach Choir,
Mozart Boys’ Choir,
Ensemble Junge Seestimmen,
Ensemble Diözesan,
Shirin Asgari (Solo Vocal),
Martina Weixelbraun (Solo Vocal) with Jörg Ziegelbauer (Piano).
Host: Alessa Däger (from W24)
Exhibition Admission: 4:00 PM, February 26, 2026
Concert: 7:00–9:00 PM on February 26, 2026
Venue: HOFBURG Vienna, Heldenplatz, 1010 Vienna
Tickets:
€30.00 for adults
€10.00 for students under 26 years of age
Free for children and adolescents up to 18 years old
Travelling Exhibition at the Vienna Justice Center (Wien Mitte) – with Guided Tours
To make art easily accessible to the public, the exhibition will be presented throughout the Year of the Horse at several publicly accessible locations across Vienna.
Exhibition Period:
February 27 – April 30 2026
Venue:
Vienna Justice Center (Justizzentrum Wien Mitte) Marxergasse 1a, 1030 Vienna
Guided Tours on:
Friday, March 6, 2026, 4:00 PM
Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 4:00 PM
Friday, April 10, 2026, 4:00 PM
Tuesday, April 23, 2026, 4:00 PM
For inquiries regarding guided tours, please contact us
Travelling Exhibition at the Margareten District Office with Opening Reception
To make art easily accessible to the public, the exhibition will be presented throughout the Year of the Horse at several publicly accessible locations across Vienna.
Exhibition Period:
May 05 – May 29, 2026
Opening Reception: May 5, 2026, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Venue:
Margareten District Office, Schönbrunner Straße 54, 1050 Vienna
Travelling Exhibition at “Kunstforum Weinviertel”
(Mistelbach) with Opening Reception
To make art easily accessible to the public, the exhibition will be presented throughout the Year of the Horse at several publicly accessible locations across Vienna.
Exhibition Period:
June 11 – August 28 2026
Venue:
Kunstforum Weinviertel
Oberhoferstrasse 15
2130 Mistelbach
Opening Reception: June 11, 4:30 PM
Registration
Travelling Exhibition at the Schönbrunn Zoo
To make art easily accessible to the public, the exhibition will be presented throughout the Year of the Horse at several publicly accessible locations across Vienna.
Exhibition Period:
September 2026
Venue:
Schönbrunn Zoo, 1130 Vienna
Additional information to be released soon.