ongoing

AGAINST THE PLAYBOOK Public Intimacy

exhibition
15/02 – 10/04/2026

Wed–Fri 11am–3pm, Sat 3pm–6pm

venue: philomena+, Heinestraße 40, 1020 Vienna 

 

For the multistage project AGAINST THE PLAYBOOK, curated by Aline Lenzhofer, Amal Al-Nakhala, Sedra Arab and Engy Mohsen developed Public Intimacy. 

Across texts, objects, and gestures, Public Intimacy traces solidarity as something enacted through small, vulnerable acts: a phrase, a shirt, a postcard, a sentence passed from one language to another. When words move across languages, they do not arrive unchanged. They carry histories, connotations, and affect; they are felt, trusted, or resisted differently depending on where and how they land.  

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ongoing

AGAINST THE PLAYBOOK | Engy Mohsen

residency

20/01 – 20/02/2026

A very warm welcome to Engy Mohsen, who is an artist, curator, and researcher working across self-published printed matter and collective, activist-driven constellations. 

During her stay in Vienna she works with Amal Al-Nakhala and Sedra Arab. In the context of the multistage project Against the Playbook they  reflect on the term SOLIDARITY and develop the installation Public Intimacy. 

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upcoming

AGAINST THE PLAYBOOK |
OHrGrüN/VerT d‘OreiLLe

performance, exhibition

19/04 – 26/04/2026

The artist and composer Myriam el Haïk works with language. Her performance OHrGrüN/VerT d‘OreiLLe in April 2026 deals with the play of words and sounds, mistranslations, and their poetic potential to create new meanings and imaginary worlds.  The performance is part of the Against the Playbook series and a collaboration project with Salam Music.

Performance: Sunday, 19/04/2026, at 3 pm.

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upcoming

EX-VOTO / Mothering Memories

exhibition 
08/05–23/05/2026

Paraffin sculptures that oscillate between body fragment and abstract form: The exhibition Ex-Voto / Mothering Memories, curated by Barbara Mahlknecht, brings the sculptural works of Ana de Almeida and Valeria Pechena into dialogue with Deniz Sözens‘ sound installation, exploring how displacement, pain, care, and longing can be transposed into material form and dissolved again.

Exhibition opening: Thursday, 07/05/2026, at 7 pm.

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philomena+

art & architecture platform

about us

philomena+ promotes the intersocietal and intercultural exchange between WANA (West Asia and North Africa) and Vienna, Austria. philomena+ curates exhibitions, public art projects, artist residencies, exchange programmes between art institutions in Austria and WANA, panel discussions, round tables and publication projects on pressing global issues. Rather than focusing on a type of art which centres around objects, philomena+ promotes art which focuses on individuals and life.

our mission

philomena+ aims to connect artists and architects from WANA with the local art community in Vienna, Austria.
It is a platform for artists, researchers and civil society for dialoguing, questioning, creating and building future collaborations.
In addition philomena+ seeks to work with artists and architects, who originate from WANA and have recently settled in Austria, offering a first point of contact and support to find their feet in the new environment.

our history

In 2016, motivated by an understanding that sees art as an outlet for different social groups and as a starting point for dialoging, art historians Christine Bruckbauer and Negar Hakim founded the philomena+ platform. “We see ourselves as cultural ambassadors who engage in an exchange of ideas, information, art and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding.”

programme

exhibitions

artist residencies

events

public art

publications

video clips

installation, performance

Sense of Touch ||: Ava Binta Giallo & Verena Schneider, Festival Gabes Cinema Fen

 

 

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We are philomena+