A conference in celebration of the life and work of Marina Vishmidt
The conference What is Infrastructural Critique? will feature artists, critical theorists and collaborators with Marina, who will come together to think through Marina’s concept of infrastructural critique, a materialist approach to the infrastructures of contemporary art oriented towards aesthetics and political struggle in all of its interconnected modes and scales. Themes of discussion will include: infrastructural critique and ecology, infrastructural critique vs. institutional critique, art and political economy, art and logistics, the politics of abolition in contemporary art, infrastructural critique and music and the relationship of infrastructure to race.
With talks and presentations by
Marwa Arsanios, Hannah Black, Maria Bussmann, Helmut Draxler, Rose-Anne Gush, Danny Hayward, Angela Melitopoulos + Kerstin Schroedinger, Taylor Le Melle Mattin, Andreas Petrossiants, Natascha Sadr Haghighian, Robert Schlicht + Romana Schmalisch, Kerstin Stakemeier, Alberto Toscano
Marina was Professor of Art Theory at the Angewandte between October 2023 and April 2024.
The event will begin with a talk on the forthcoming book Infrastructural Critique: Contemporary Art Between Reproduction and Abolition, forthcoming with Verso in 2026.
The discussion will take place over three days from the evening of 29 to 31 October 2025. The event will begin with a talk on the forthcoming book Infrastructural Critique: Contemporary Art Between Reproduction and Abolition, forthcoming with Verso in 2026.
WED–FRI, October 29–31, 2025
Overview times of the conference
29.10, 18-20.00
30.10, 10.30-18.30
31.10, 10.30-18.30
Detailed schedule
Wednesday 29th
18-20.00
Welcome: Sofia Bempeza and Annette Krauss (dep. Art and Communication Practices)
Opening of the conference: Vice Rector Brigitte Felderer
Keynote: Danny Hayward ‘We are here and we are in it’,
moderated by Annette Krauss
Thursday 30th
10.30.-13.30
Welcome: Annette Krauss
Natascha Sadr Haghighian ‘flames to dust’
Rose-Anne Gush ‘Figures of Entropy as Anchors of Value’
Helmut Draxler ‘Institution, Infrastructure, or Critique? Reconstructing the lines of conflict’
Moderated by Sofia Bempeza
14.30-16.00
Taylor Le Melle
Marwa Arsanios ‘Reading Marina Vishmidt in Beirut: A conversation that did not happen yet had happened long ago’
Moderated by Nanna Heidenreich
16.30-18.00
Maria Bussmann ‘take a virtual tour: thoughts and images for Marina’
Angela Melitopoulos und Kerstin Schroedinger ‘Being Moved: Infrastructures of Denial’
Moderated by Rose-Anne Gush
Friday 31st
10.30-13.30
Welcome: Sofia Bempeza
Robert Schlicht und Romana Schmalisch ‘Talking the enemy’s language’
Hannah Black
Andreas Petrossiants
Moderated by Amanda Holmes
14.30-16.00
Kerstin Stakemeier ‘The Popular Front of Disalienation. On Infrastructural Sense/s’
Mattin ‘Noise in the Gaps’
Moderated by Alexi Kukuljevic
16.30-17.15
Alberto Toscano (online) ‘This World We Must End’
Moderated by Danny Hayward
17.15- 19.00
Summary discussion
Moderated by Annette Krauss and Sofia Bempeza
The conference is curated by Danny Hayward and Rose-Anne Gush, and organized by Sofia Bempeza, Rose-Anne Gush, Danny Hayward, Annette Krauss.
Moderations by: Alexi Kukuljevic, Amanda Holmes, Annette Krauss, Danny Hayward, Jenni Tischer, Nanna Heidenreich, Sofia Bempeza
Hosted by the department Art and Communication Practices, Institute of Studies in Art and Art Education, University of Applied Arts Vienna.
Thank you for your generous support!
Student assistants: Meret Caderas, James Elsey, Claudia Florentina Marija Jančić, Valentina Santner, Anna Schoissengeyer, Ronja Wolf,
Technicians and videographers: Fine Freiberg, Tatia Skhirtladze, Thomas Mitterböck, Maximilian Maitz,
Administration and Facility Management: Martina Dragschnitz, Alexandra Frank, Shirley Thurner,
and the departments of the Institute of the Study of Art and Art Education.
Registration
Register by 20 October: infrastructural_critique@uni-ak.ac.at
Universität für angewandte Kunst
Vordere Zollamtstraße 7, 1030 Wien
Auditorium, EG / Ground Floor
The auditorium is barrier-free and has an inductive hearing system. Further information: here.
Lectures and presentations will be available online after the event.