Safety Curtain

The jury (Daniel Birnbaum, Bice Curiger and Hans-Ulrich Obrist) selected the artist El Anatsui for the twenty-eighth "Iron Curtain" at the Vienna State Opera. His work "XOHANAMI" can be seen by the audience before and after the performances and during the intermissions from September 30, 2025 to the end of June 2026. Anatsui's title "XOHANAMI" means "Receive our song" in Ewe and establishes a connection between the local audience and the artist's cultural roots.

"Eiserner Vorhang" is a series of exhibitions conceived by museum in progress and realized in cooperation with the Vienna State Opera and the Bundestheater-Holding. Since 1998, the project has transformed the iron curtain of the main stage into an exhibition space for contemporary art. The large pictures (176 m²) are fixed to the fire protection wall with magnets.

This year's "Iron Curtain" and the ongoing work of the non-profit organization museum in progress have been generously supported by El Anatsui through the creation of two limited editions. These woodcuts were developed by the artist from two individual wooden figures from the sculptural installation on which XOHANAMI is based, at Chavanne & Pechmann's print studio in Apetlon.

The "Iron Curtain" 2025/26 by El Anatsui is made possible by the iSi Group, with the kind support of the Goodman Gallery.
Further support: Hotel Altstadt, ART for ART, Bildrecht, Schloss Gobelsburg and SO/ Vienna. Media partners: Bloomberg Connects, Die Furche and Die Presse.