Before Summer Break

Before Summer Break – June 24

Before Vienna’s independent art scene disappears into its annual summer break—leaving everyone to their never ending reading lists, residencies, or beers in the park with friends—we’re delighted to bring everyone together for one last summery gathering.
Join us on June 24 for Before Summer Break! In its well-loved tradition, Bears in the Park opens its doors to the public for a diverse and joyful evening of art.

Experience a photography exhibition by Márton Zalka exploring the topologies of Simmering; witness a performance by ZAK I zentrum für antidisziplinäre kunst; enjoy dance works by Flora Boros and Verena Herterich and a drumming session by Sambattac; immerse yourself in a wonderfully weird toilet performance by Simone Lorenzo Benini and Miriam Buzáková; and celebrate into the night with a concert by GIGGIDALESSIO.

We look forward to sharing this exciting performance parcours with you!

Doors open: 7 PM
Entry: Free

Location:
Bears in the Park
Eyzinggasse 12/2 (corner Otto-Herschmanngasse)
1110 Vienna

Works

Márton Zalka – TRAGEN – Temporal Topologies in Simmering

“I am thinking of a bag of mozzarella pinched between my ring and pinky finger while carrying an armful of groceries to the cashier.

All I wanted to buy was a mozzarella for dinner when I entered the store, so I didn’t really take a basket or a trolley with me. This lack of precise foresight, however, is now allowing my arms to feel the edges and silhouette of my purchases. My body, instead of being pulled off-balance by a basket or being rendered an accessory to a trolley, now holds their weight, centered. I feel the cold butter on my belly, I smell the fresh croissant from the bag. Things that sustain me are organized in a way that does not represent their order of importance or any preconceived logic; their temporal topology is forged in an idiosyncratic union of shifting attentions, needs, and the space they inhabit.
Simmering has come to be in a similar manner, as one collects groceries in their arms.
The exhibition Tragen is a delightful invitation to have a familiar moment of reflection on these overlaps and boundaries.”

SambAttac

SambAttac is the loud voice of Attac Austria. Bringing enthusiasm and joie de vivre to demonstrations, protests, and festivals, the group combines Afro-Brazilian rhythms with political engagement and collective energy. Their performances encourage intellectual debate, critical thinking, and the creation of the world we want to live in—here, now, and tomorrow.

Artistic Director: Stefan Eibel

ZAK – zentrum für antidisziplinäre Kunst – ALLES RAUS BARZAAR

The Zentrum für Antidisziplinäre Kunst rolls out its sound machine and unveils selected treasures from five years of artistic production. Whether it’s a keyring from the iconic Tête-à-Tête, cigarettes produced in Knochenarbeit, or the final remaining copies of Muldengold Magazine—there is something for everyone (for the right price, of course).

Participants: Jessica Comis, Anouk Fumi, Aurelia van Kempen, Muamer Osmanovic, Eva Sommer

Miriam Buzáková & Simone Lorenzo Benini – Holy Pis

In a famous song, the renowned Italian singer-songwriter declares: “Nothing grows from diamonds; from manure, flowers are born.” Inspired by this prophetic idea, the artists occupy the toilets of Bears in the Park—the collective site where bowels and bladders are emptied—to celebrate the fertility of this proposition and explore its poetic potential.

Flóra Boros

Flóra desexualizes choreographies one hair flip at a time, eroding gestures of seduction through repetition and subtle shifts in perspective. Exploring how we stare, sexualize, and objectify bodies, she invites the audience to experience the ace gaze as a queer mode of looking back.

Flóra Boros & Verena Herterich – glossy eyes rolling

glossy eyes rolling is the first collaboration between Flóra Boros and Verena Herterich. Bringing together their choreographic practices of deconstructing the sexualized gaze and the objectification of their female-read bodies, they throw back looks, letting eyes linger, roll on, and wander.
Moving along the fine lines between poses, socially constructed movement patterns, and hypersexualized dances, their bodies talk back. In doing so, they become both strategy and celebration—a joyful act of emancipation.

Supported by SONNTAGSLOCH and Im_flieger.

GIGGIDALESSIO – ANGST

GIGGIDALESSIO is a Vienna-based interdisciplinary duo composed of Stefano D’Alessio and Luigi Guerrieri. Working at the intersection of live electronics, embodied technology, performance, and text, their practice combines gestural sound-making, new media, voice, and physical presence.
Their concert-performances and research projects reflect on contemporary culture with a self-ironic twist, creating engaging experiences that move between sound, body, and critical reflection.

Premio Vienna

Premio Vienna Artists Sharing

Join us for the sharing of Premio Vienna residency artists Elena Rivoltini and Antonio Perticara on May 17th.

Premio Vienna is an international residency programme organised by the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Italian Cultural Institute in Vienna, and Angewandte Performance Laboratory (APL), in collaboration with Bears in the Park. Over six months, the programme supports emerging Italian artists working in performance and related contemporary practices.

At the end of this period of research and development, Elena and Antonio will present their current work-in-progress at Bears in the Park. The public is warmly invited to attend.

Sunday, May 17, 5pm
at Bears in the Park
Eyzinggasse 12/2, 1110 Wien (Corner Otto-Herschmanngasse)
Free entry

Premio Vienna Artists

Antonio Perticara
Bruno 
Performance (approx. 30’)

Antonio’s personal story intersects with that of the greatest wrestler in history, his childhood hero Bruno Sammartino. Bruno is a pataphysical story that questions and plays with the logics of infotainment and propaganda.

Antonio Perticara is a visual and performance artist. Drawing on conspiracism, communicative guerrilla tactics and entertainment, his practice attempts to hijack and reassemble dominant narratives to imagine personal and collective counter-histories.

Elena Rivoltini
Incanto

Incanto is a foraging séance for voice, somatic surrealism and hand-gathered Viennese wild herbs. Emerging from in and canto (singing), Incanto unfolds as a speculative psalmody that rewrites personal archives and herbaria, staging the mouth as a porous threshold between inside and outside bodies.

Elena Rivoltini is a performer, sound artist, forager and curator whose practice engages voice, archives and embodied methodologies. Her works weave somatic speculation, poetics of listening and edible ecologies. She is the founder of Archive of Voices, a project on anarchival poetics and the hauntology of voices, and curator of CASASTUDIO, a Milan-based space for alternative pedagogies and radical softness. She has collaborated with Santarcangelo Festival, Venice Biennale of Music and Theater, Triennale Milano, Centrale Fies, Kunsthal 44Møen, LAC Lugano, Teatro do Bairro Alto Lisboa and Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles.

 

photo: Paola Lesslhumer

Associated Artists 2026

Associated Artists 2026

Next to our Huggy Bears Supporting program, our residency program, our public events, and our artists in residence throughout the year, we are glad to announce a new branch in our growing tree of art: Associated Artists.

Continuing and expanding our curatorial and political approach, we are now launching a new supporting strategy. We have invited two Vienna-based artists, Luigi Guerrieri and Stefano D’Alessio, to become the first Bears in the Park Associated Artists. Our aim at Bears in the Park has always been to provide long-term support to artists. With this new format of ongoing collaboration, we believe we are contributing a meaningful and sustainable framework to the Viennese art scene—one that supports continuity, artistic development, and shared growth.

As Associated Artists, Luigi and Stefano will engage in projects in close dialogue with Bears in the Park, shaping a relationship that unfolds over time rather than within a single production cycle. While they are also active as individual artists, they have embarked on a shared path with a collaborative project. For this, we offer them the time and space to develop and nurture this new work.

The Project

GIGGIDALESSIO is an interdisciplinary, multilingual duo composed of Stefano D’Alessio and Luigi Guerrieri, working with live electronics, embodied technology, performance and text. Their work combines gestural sound-making, new media, voice and physical presence to create engaging concert-performances and research projects that reflect contemporary culture phenomena with a self-ironic twist. Our first and latest project is ANGST a concert-performance about fear: existential fear, nonsensical fear, political fear, “red-scare”, the fear of the other, the fear of / love for clichés, the fear of admitting who we are, what we like, and what we don’t. AAAAHHHHH!!!

Associated Artists Bios

Luigi Guerrieri is a performance artist with a background in Anthropology. His works question deeply rooted cultural concepts mixing text, irony, physical improvisation, voice, obsessive repetitions and Auto-ethnography. When not on the stage, Luigi writes, takes care of his kids, works sporadically as a cook and posts short videos on Social Media.

Stefano D’Alessio is a media artist, performer, composer and educator at various universities across Europe. He creates audio-visual compositions, performances, and interactive installations, exploring how the internet shapes human behavior and body. His practice centers on human–machine interaction, where sound, light, image, and physical presence perform as a single organism.

Foto Credit Luigi: Rosa Knecht

Foto Credit Stefano: Francesca Centonze

 

10 years of Huggy Bears

10 Years of Huggy Bears

Hard to believe: in 2026, the Huggy Bears supporting program celebrates its 10th anniversary. Over the past ten years, more than 40 emerging solo artists and collectives have been supported from their first project ideas through to their first major premiere on a Viennese stage. Many of them continue to shape the city’s independent dance and performance scene to this day. A good reason to celebrate!

Huggy Bears invites you to a special anniversary evening: several former Huggy Bears return to share short contributions of 5–10 minutes each. Conceived as an open mic format, the program promises surprises, reunions, and a great variety of artistic contributions.

When:
March 14, 2026 | from 20:00

Where:
Bears in the Park
Eyzinggasse 12/2
1110 Vienna

Other Info:
Entry free
The event takes place in collaboration with brut Wien and the imagetanz festival 2026.

10 years! What to expect:

Conributions by former Huggy Bears

  • Evandro Pedroni
  • François-Eloi Lavignac
  • Jannis Neumann
  • Maria Shurkhal
  • Ariadne Randall
  • Malika Fankha
  • Frida Robles
  • Sara Lanner
  • Miriam Budzáková & Simone Lorenzo Benini
  • Gudrun Schmidinger

Specials:

The band “Kitchen” will join us for musical intermissions.

Fabian Faltin will be a fantastic host for us.

And Martin Schwab will delight us with edible cocktails.

Handle with Care 2026

Handle with Care 2026 Part II

We are excited to announce Part 2 of our new Huggy Bears at Handle with Care 2026.

All Huggy Bears will share their work-in-progress on two weekends in March. On March 14 & 15 it is Daria Nosik’s and Sunggu Hong’s turn.
Handle with Care is a format created by brut Wien that supports artists in the first phases of their creative production. As part of the imagetanz festival 2026, it offers space to share work-in-progress in an open and supportive setting. Each artist presents an initial version of their project for 20 minutes and then opens the space for questions and feedback from the audience. It is also a great opportunity to get to know our Supporting Programm Artists and their projects.

When:
March 14, 2026 | 18:00–20:00
March 15, 2026 | 16:00–18:00

Where:
Bears in the Park
Eyzinggasse 12/2
1110 Vienna

Tickets & Registration:
Registration required via the brut website.
Pay-as-you-wish.

The Works

Daria Nosik – DOG
DOG is a performance experiment on reversed evolution. It revolves around a person who, driven by the desire to be fashionable, trendy and perfect, returns to an animal state. The performance examines not only how systems drill and shape a person, but also how we voluntarily submit to social norms via trend culture and the pressure of digital perfection. DOG is not a tragedy but a grotesque farce that reflects the fears of our age.

Sunggu Hong – Raised by the Chronic; Beyond, the Moth
To grow up means not only to receive attention, care and love but also discipline, conflicts, resentment and hostility. And yet, it results in the possibility to live together. Sunggu Hong’s performance Raised by the Chronic; Beyond, the Moth is a research-based project about fear and the complex relationships between humans and non-humans from a decolonial point of view. It challenges the lines between those two and the concept of how we live together, asking: ‘Who raises whom – and how?’

More information about the program on the brut website.

And for more information about the artists visit our website here.

Handle with Care

Handle with Care 2026 Part I

We are excited to announce the first public sharings of our new Huggy Bears at Handle with Care.
Handle with Care is a format created by brut Wien that supports artists in the first phases of their creative production. As part of the imagetanz festival 2026, it offers space to share work-in-progress in an open and supportive setting. Each artist presents an initial version of their project for 20 minutes and then opens the space for questions and feedback from the audience. It is also a great opportunity to get to know our Supporting Programm Artists and their projects.
All Huggy Bears will share their work-in-progress on two weekends in March. First are Els van Houtert and Katarína Krupičková.

When:
March 7, 2026 | 18:00–20:00
March 8, 2026 | 16:00–18:00

Where:
Bears in the Park
Eyzinggasse 12/2
1110 Vienna

Tickets & Registration:
Registration required via the brut website.
Pay-as-you-wish.

The Works

Katarína Krupičková with Moa Kilz – To Beauty Behold
To Beauty Behold addresses grief, loss and acceptance. In this moving performance, Katarína Krupičková embarks on a journey of self-search following the death of a close childhood friend in their home country. Using art, dance, music, spoken word and moments of celebration, Krupičková tries to find a language to understand grief. Movement and body become symbols of remembering both a time lost and its healing effect.

Els van Houtert – Bathroom as Stage – Stage as Bathroom
In Bathroom as Stage – Stage as Bathroom, Els van Houtert examines how intimate, vulnerable bathroom rituals change when performed in front of an audience. Repurposing water, ceramics, mirrors, sound and movement, routine bathroom moves are translated into a shared experience.
The result can be described as a sensual installation performance in which the highly private space that is one’s home becomes refuge and stage at the same time. Starting with the history of the bathroom as a gender-coded, ethically charged and usually hidden space in the domestic realm, the performance explores its role as a space where the concept of a public image can be simultaneously dissolved and emphasised.

More information about the program on the brut website.

And for more information about the artists visit our website here.

Huggy Bears Days 2025

Huggy Bears Days 2025

The time has come for this year’s Huggy Bears Days!

This November, four projects will celebrate their premieres after nine months of artistic development within the Huggy Bears Supporting Program.
François-Eloi Lavignac, Laureen Drexler & Giorgia Scisciola, Maria Mam & Flora Renhardt, and Miriam Budzáková & Simone Lorenzo Benini have each created distinct performances that will light up the stages of WUK performing arts and studio brut.

Performance Schedule

6 & 7 November — WUK performing arts
19:00 — sk8r grrrl by and with Maria Mam & Flora Renhardt
20:30 — Sandpit by and with Miriam Budzáková & Simone Lorenzo Benini
Information and Tickets: WUK website.

12–14 November — studio brut
19:00 — Fifth position by and with François-Eloi Lavignac
20:30 — PIERRE by and with Laureen Drexler & Giorgia Scisciola
Tickets and Information: brut website.

About the Huggy Bears Supporting Program

Since its founding in 2016, Huggy Bears has been a pillar of innovative performance art in Vienna, supporting emerging artists as they explore new forms and ideas. Each year, the programme provides three to four individuals or collectives with comprehensive guidance — from production and administration to dramaturgy and technical support. Through a combination of feedback sessions, shared presentations, and mentoring, these artists develop their initial ideas into unique, fully realized performances.

At the end of this nine-month journey, the artists present their works for the first time on a major stage — a celebration of experimentation, collaboration, and growth.

In 2025, the Huggy Bears Days will take place as a cooperation between brut Wien and WUK performing arts. This year, the participating artists have also received support from a project fund by the Bundesministerium für Wohnen, Kunst, Kultur, Medien und Sport (BMWKMS). The programme is operated by Bears in the Park, led by Philippe Riéra and Charlotte Bastam, and supported by the City of Vienna’s Department of Cultural Affairs (MA7). Dedicated to nurturing the Vienna performance scene, Bears in the Park offers mentoring, rehearsal spaces, and regular opportunities for exchange. Each autumn, the initiative publishes an open call for the next round of Huggy Bears artists.

If you are interested in becoming a Huggy Bear yourself, check out our current Open Call (deadline November 3 2025).

Sound Open Call 2026

Sound Artists and Musicians Residency Program – Open Call 2026

Residency Program from January – December 2026

Bears in the Park, a dynamic art space dedicated to fostering innovation across various art forms, is pleased to announce an open call for week(s) long residencies for sound artists and musicians based in Vienna.

Eligibility: We are particularly interested in sound artists and musicians working within the realms of:

• Contemporary and experimental music

• Electronic and avant-garde compositions

• Unconventional and innovative popular music

Details

 Duration: Residencies can last from two weeks up to several months, depending on the nature of the project btw January and December 2026.

 Studio Access: Artists will have full access to our 35m² studio, equipped with the following:

◦    2 x MR624m Studio Monitors (6.5”)

◦    2 x LS Stinger 8G Active Speakers

◦    MAKi 1402VL Set Pro (Mixer)

 Location: Bears in the Park is located in Simmering, Vienna, just a 4-minute walk from Gasometer metro station.

Costs: The residency is for free. We cover the rent, energy, cleaning and internet costs. Unfortunatley we cannot cover anything extra, like per diems or rent. This residency is designed for artists based in Vienna.

Opportunities for Public Presentation: There are also potential opportunities to present your work through concerts or other public events throughout the year.

For pictures of the studio, please go here.

  Application

  • CV and/or Artist Bio
  • Project Description: A brief description (max 1 A4 page) of your project, including your artistic vision and objectives.
  •  Audio/Video Samples: Examples of your previous work (audio or video).
  •  Duration & Frequency: The desired duration of your residency and period.
  • Motivation Letter: A letter of motivation detailing why you are interested in this residency and how it will contribute to your artistic development.

Selection Process: Applications will be reviewed by a jury consisting of:

•  Philippe Riéra (Artistic Director Bears in the Park)

•  Stefano D`Alessio (Media Composer)

To Apply: Please send your application by 7. November 2025 to:

Email:  philipperiera.2016@gmail.com
Subject Line: [sound and music Residency Application 2026 – Your Name]

Please mind that our working language is usually English but that we also accept applications in German.

Applicants will be notified of the jury’s decision latest by mid of December.

About Bears in the Park:

As a Kulturankerzentrum (supported by the City of Vienna) our mission is to bridge the local community, district, and the city through new, experimental forms of artistic expression. We offer a range of activities including mentoring programs, residencies, and public events.

More information about our activities you may find here or on our Instagram page.

 

Huggy Bears Supporting Program Open Call 2026

Huggy Bears Supporting Program – OPEN CALL 2026

Bears in the Park is seeking innovative Vienna-based artists and collectives to join the next round of the “Huggy Bears Supporting Program.” This program is designed for emerging artists who have already been working with dance or performance art. The aim is to create a special transdisciplinary learning environment, fostering shared knowledge and collaboration.

The program runs from March 2026 until November 2026, offering participants project support, including administrative, technical, financial, and artistic help. Regular feedback sessions with the group and the Bears in the Park team will create an intensive learning atmosphere. Along the way, participants will showcase their working process at various events. Collaborations with brut, WUK.performingarts, and ImPulsTanz are part of the program, which culminates in a final premiere at WUK.performingarts and studio brut. (For reference, this year’s Huggy Bears days are from November 6-7 at WUK.performingarts and from November 12-14 at studio brut).

From research to rehearsal to performance, the different phases of creation will be met with care, curiosity, and professional guidance. Each year, 3-4 projects (either individual artists or collectives) are selected. The program’s goal is to place these artists on Vienna’s performance art map and help them build connections with audiences and other professionals.

The program is led by Philippe Riéra and Charlotte Bastam. To learn more about the team, past Huggy Bears artists, and the activities of Bears in the Park, visit our website or Instagram.

 

The Supporting Program includes:

  • Monthly feedback sessions with Bears in the Park staff and fellow Huggy Bears participants.
  • Dramaturgy and coaching support upon request.
  • Opportunities to showcase work-in-progress, such as during “Handle with Care” at brut Wien’s imagetanz festival in March/April 2026.
  • Prioritized access to studio space for the entire program period (24/7 availability).
  • Networking opportunities with Vienna’s performance art scene and programmers.
  • Exclusive workshops on production, outreach, sound, video, and lighting.
  • Free workshops and free tickets to join the ImPulsTanz Festival 2025.
  • Giving a workshop and having a sharing opportunity at Soho Studio, Vienna (to be confirmed).
  • Consults and support with administrative and production issues.
  • Financial support (BMKKWS, Federal Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport).

 

Who can apply?

We invite performers, dancers, and creatives working in time-based art forms to apply. Applicants should keep in mind that their projects should be designed for premiers on the stages of brut and WUK.performingarts.

It is essential that the project leader is based in Vienna, as attending feedback sessions, workshops, and events is mandatory. We place a lot of importance on building a supportive group, so both giving and receiving feedback are key parts of the program. Therefore, attending meetings and participating in all aspects of the program is essential.

How to apply:

Applicants should outline how they plan to use the supporting program for their proposed project. This should include not only the project’s content but also ideas on how to bring it to life.[1]

Application requirements (first round):

  • CV and/or artist bio for each team member.
  • Project description (maximum 1 page).
  • Portfolio with only relevant material (photos, video links, etc.) of previous and current work. Maximum 4 pages.
  • Motivation letter explaining why you want to join the program and how you plan to use its resources.

Please note, that we only accept one submission per person/group!

Please submit all materials combined in one single PDF (!), labeled with your surname, by November 3, 2025, to charlotte@bearsinthepark.org.

Second round: Successful applicants will be invited for an interview between December 1-5, 2025. The jury includes the Philippe Riéra and Charlotte Bastam from Bears in the Park.  For the interviews and 2nd round choreographer and performance artist and former Huggy Bear Sara Lanner will join the jury. Selected participants will be announced in early January 2026.

[1] Please, note that our working language is English, and sufficient proficiency is required for feedback sessions and general communication. However, projects with German as their main language are welcome as well.

 

DE/SEMBLE

DE/SEMBLE x Bears in the Park

On October 11th we invite you to a very special event at Bears in the Park!
In collaboration with the exciting DE/SEMBLE festival (Oct 9-12), we bring together new and experimental jazz music with performance art. Join us for an evening of fantastic artists from both realms, as we also launch a new partnership that expands our horizons into fresh artistic endeavors.

DE/SEMBLE is a Vienna-based festival dedicated to expanding and redefining jazz and adventurous music. Renowned for its diverse lineup, the festival presents internationally established artists alongside emerging voices. Its mission is to break away from traditional connotations of jazz, cultivating an inclusive and forward-looking musical landscape.

Music
Helene Glüxam weaves the raw depth of the double bass with the fragility of her voice into intimate, genre-blurring soundscapes that echo with nature, experimentation, and emotional intensity.
Los Sara Fontan ignite the stage with an ever-evolving collision of violin, percussion, and electronics, where improvisation, raw physicality, and fearless experimentation transform sound into visceral, boundless landscapes.

Performance
Daphna Horenczyk reanimates her beloved yet obnoxious character Cutey—first introduced in her solo work RAGE—as she fumbles through the challenges of navigating today’s confusing and hypersensitive times.
giggidalessio is a NO-CONCEPT duo. Their concept? Fun, randomness, serious irony, and the firm refusal to have a concept at all. They blend performance, music, obsessive repetitions, and new media. After years of fantasizing about a music-performance duo, ANGST is their first project to bring this vision to life.

Further Info


Saturday, October 11th 2025, from 7pm
Bears in the Park, Eyzinggasse 12/2, 1110 Vienna
Entrance: Pay what you can
Please note: Our premises are not fully wheelchair accessible.

For more information about the artists and the full program of the rest of the festival, please visit the DE/SEMBLE website: https://www.de-semble.at/