Featuring portrayals of femininity and masculinity that diverge from existing norms and conventional notions, queer life realities, and questions of social class as well as the thematisation of physical and physical disabilities, the film projects submitted to and supported through the Gender/Queer/Diversity Call make clear the sheer breadth of this thematic field.

The Iceland-born opera and stage director Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson recently teamed up with third-year acting students at the Max Reinhardt Seminar to tackle one of the greatest theatrical tragedies of all time: Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In this interview with mdw Magazine, he speaks about the joys of working with a new generation of actors, aspirations for his role as a visiting instructor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar, and just why Shakespeare’s analyses of power and people manage to outlast every era.

Diplomatic relations between Austria and Tunisia have already existed for 300 years, and the signing of the cooperation agreement between the mdw and Fondation Hasdrubal in 2023 made a strong contribution to these relations’ reinforcement and to the continuation of an important (inter)cultural dialogue.

Music reflects the environment from which it comes. 19th-century symphonies from the German-speaking region, for instance, are characterised by highly structured forms, rich harmony, and a continuity of musical traditions. 20th-century music from Latin America, on the other hand, grew out of an entirely different reality: vast, untamed landscapes, rapidly growing cities, political conflicts, and identities fed by indigenous, African, and European heritage.

It’s typically reasons like the desire to step outside of one’s comfort zone, to learn new things, to broaden one’s professional horizon, and to engage in exchange with others at the international level that motivate participation in mobility activities.

It’s packed—more than packed. The Joseph Haydn-Saal is filled to the last seat, with people sitting on the floor, perched on windowsills, and leaning against the walls despite the live video feed in the foyer and the hot summer temperatures. The programme that’s brought everyone here consists of welcoming addresses, a programmatic introduction, and a keynote, all revolving around questions of gender, performance, and the performative. It’s the official inauguration of the International Research Center – Gender and Performativity (ICGP).

For nearly two years, now, the mdw has been working together with seven European partner universities on the European Universities Alliance IN.TUNE – Innovative Universities in Music and Art in Europe. The objective has been to develop common offerings as well as strategies in the areas of Joint Education Provision & Mobility, Research & Innovation, Societal Engagement, and Alliance Governance and Cooperation.

Art bears within it the potential to cast off the old, conceive of the new, and recontextualise the familiar. At the same time, however, arts and cultural institutions as well as arts universities are facing criticism to the effect that they stabilise existing power relations and elites.

It’s now official: the isaScience conference is history, having made way for the isaResearch Summer School as a new format for research within the framework of isa.

16–18 October 2025 will see the Department of Cultural Management and Gender Studies (IKM) celebrate 50 years of existence. Reason enough to pop the corks, recall our department’s beginnings, reflect upon developments since then, and conceive of perspectives for the future!