The Austrian Cultural Forum New York (ACFNY) is one of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

's two cultural representation offices in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

; the other is in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

It is part of the worldwide network of Austrian Cultural Forums overseen by the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs.

History

ACFNY was founded as the Austrian Institute in 1942 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

by Austrian immigrants to the United States for the purpose of preserving and disseminating Austrian culture. One of the leading figures of that time was émigré

Irene Harand Irene Harand (6 September 1900 – 3 February 1975) was an Austrian human rights activist and campaigner against antisemitism. Harand was born a Roman Catholic in Vienna and was an early organiser of protests against Nazi Germany's persecutio ...

, who served as the Institute's Vice President. In 1963, it opened offices at its current location at 11 East 52nd Street in Manhattan, as the official cultural representation office of the Austrian federal government. In 2002, the institution, now called the Austrian Cultural Forum, moved into a new building at the location of its former townhouse. ACFNY is a division of the Austrian consulate in New York. Michael Haider, an Austrian diplomat, has been its director since October 2018. His predecessors include Christine Moser, Andreas Stadler, Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, Wolfgang Waldner, Peter Marboe, Fritz Cocron, and Wilhelm Schlag.

Building

A competition was held in 1992 to choose a design for ACFNY's new building.

Raimund Abraham Raimund Johann Abraham (July 23, 1933 – March 4, 2010) was an Austrian architect.

was the winning architect among 226 submissions. Completed in 2002, the building is situated on a plot in Manhattan that is only wideArchitectureWeek article from 2002
/ref> and deep. It is considered as an architectural anomaly because, despite its small footprint, it is 24 stories and tall. The building's facade is clad in glass and aluminum and gradually tapers to a narrow point as it slants upwards in accordance with zoning laws. It houses exhibition spaces, a theater, a library for books and audio recordings, offices, seminar and reception rooms, and apartments for the officers of the institution. The library is named in honor of

Frederic Morton Frederic Morton (October 5, 1924 – April 20, 2015) was an Austrian-born American writer. Life Born Fritz Mandelbaum in Vienna, Morton was the son of a blacksmith who specialized in forging (manufacturing) imperial medals. In the wake of the ...

and has a collection of more than 10,000 books specific to Austrian art and culture.

Activities

Since its founding, ACFNY has served as a place for cultural exchange between Austrians and Americans throughout the United States, with the exception of Washington D.C., which has its own cultural forum under the auspices of the Austrian Embassy. It introduces Austrian artists at venues across the country. In the ACFNY building, five floors are used as exhibition space for predominantly contemporary art. Some exhibits make use of and showcase the building's unique architecture. Concerts and performances are presented in the in-house auditorium and at other venues in New York. In addition to films, AFCNY offers talks, readings, and book presentations.

References

External links

* * {{Coord, 40, 45, 34, N, 73, 58, 31, W, region:US_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Austrian culture Buildings and structures in Manhattan Art museums and galleries in Manhattan Midtown Manhattan Cultural centers in New York City Libraries in Manhattan