The Association
The legal entity is the “Verein zur Schaffung offener Kultur- und Werkstättenhäuser” (Association for the Creation of Open Culture and Workshop Houses). A 6-member board heads the association and decides the strategic direction of WUK. At the annual general assembly of the members fundamental decisions are made and every two years a new board is elected. The current 550 WUK members all have voting rights. WUK’s Guiding Principles, the statutes of the association as well as a list of the current board members can be downloaded in the infocolumn to the right.
WUK Cultural Productions
WUK Cultural Productions consists of four programmatic areas: WUK Theatre, WUK Culture for Kids, WUK Music and visual art in the Kunsthalle Exnergasse. For more information please go to the sites WUK theatre/dance, children, music and arts.
WUK Education and Counselling
Since 1982 WUK Education and Counselling initiates and conducts innovative labour market political projects for disadvantaged youth and young adults. The educational and counselling facilities – now with numerous locations in Vienna – assist ca. 2000 women and men between the ages of 14 and 25 every year with their entry into the labour market. On the WUK Education and Counselling webpages you will find more detailed information about the services.
Self-Management
In WUK terminology, the words “autonomy” and “self-management” have to do with all WUK structures and activities outside of the WUK association and WUK Cultural Productions. Around 130 house groups, initiatives and individuals work in the seven autonomous sectors: Sociopolitical Initiatives, Children and Youth, Intercultural Initiatives, dancetheatreperformance WUK, Workshops, Visual Art and Music. They have in common a basic democratic decision-making structure and the organisation of internal issues via monthly plenary meetings. The WUK Forum is a coordination, discussion and advisory committee for the seven sectors and the WUK board members. The seven autonomous sectors and the associated groups and initiatives are described in detail under Self-Management.
How it all began
“It is evident that there is a lack of cultural spaces, which promote an everyday culture as a life practice and investigate social models that support community-oriented conduct. In an open cultural and workshops house the association sees the opportunity to widely remedy this deficiency and to create in the TGM such a social model.”
Excerpt from a letter about the intentions behind WUK’s foundation – Helmut Fielhauser, Walter Hnat, Christine Leinfellner, 1980
History
This early industrial complex was initially built in 1855 as a locomotive factory; from 1884 to 1980 it was home to the “Technological Trades Museum” (TGM), an institutional connection between research, exhibitions and training for technical professionals.
In 1979/1980 the building was abandoned and in a state of decay. In addition to diverse commercial and municipal plans there was always a concrete interest in an “alternative” function. In the sociopolitical context of the evicted Arena, the spectacular youth protests in neighbouring countries, alternative work and culture theoreticians, zero growth in the economy and the tinkling of broken windows on the Kärntnerstraße,social workers, artists, teachers, architects, feminist groups, students and pensioners come together under the motto “Save the TGM” to discuss the content and material requirements for the creation of an alternative, autonomous cultural enterprise.
In 1979 the WUK association “Verein zur Schaffung offener Kultur und Werkstättenhäuser” (Association for the Creation of Open Culture and Workshop Houses) was founded. Continuous political work, numerous actions and intense publicity work paved the way for the realisation of a critical understanding of culture encompassing all areas of life in the form of an open culture house.
In 1981 activists from the association squatted the former TGM premises. Mayor Gratz promises the temporary use of the building to the WUK association. Official recognition is followed by the first subsidy from the City of Vienna.
WUK groups and the “Autonomous Women’s Centre” association move their weekly meetings from the Amerlinghaus to the TGM, the first cleaning and restoration measures of the desolate building, flea markets and the opening party on 3 October 1981.
This was followed by plenary meetings in unheated rooms, constant recruitment of new groups, cleaning and construction weeks, pivotal discussions, “WUK is not a hotel”, “Who’s waiting for the bosses?”, children’s house opening party, anti-fascist, solidaric, pedagogic, without a muzzle, a bit cheeky and not too stuffy, peace and spring celebrations, action encounters: “Living, loving and breathing between concrete walls”. 10 February 1982: General assembly, election of a 12-person board, chairman Walter Hnat: “For the right to participate in cultural life for all and against all that tries to stop this!”
Idea
“As past efforts and experiences in numerous countries – including Austria – have proven, open culture houses need to be cultivated as an alternative to the (more or less) hermetically sealed “temples of muses”. Their concept of culture shall no longer be borne from “fine art enrichment” rather from social interest, and thereby it should manifest in the conscious interconnection of diverse activities, contrary to common field-specific attractions. As opposed to the present alienation, the content as well as the design and communication will be based on real life. Likewise, all cultural processes, including art, have to prove themselves as active and activating work processes (in a significant number of cases they have to be made possible in the first place!), and thus such culture houses must equally be open workshop houses. The cultural is organically connected with other social activities.”
Excerpt from The 8 Point Programme, 1979.
“The WUK is an open cultural space, a space for lived interaction between art, politics and social issues. Here an expanded notion of culture manifests, which transcends the everyday meaning of the word.
The WUK unites the overlapping synergetic models of a sociocultural centre and an international centre of art and culture:
As a sociocultural centre it focuses on advancing processes of emancipation, independence and help to self-help, district-based cultural work, as well as self-management, self-organisation and autonomy.
As a centre of art and culture it concentrates on promoting the production and presentation of innovative, experimental, interdisciplinary, critical art and culture on a local, regional and international level.”
Excerpt from WUK Guiding Principles, 1994.