On the evening of 9 April 2026, the opening of Werkschau 2026: The New Tradition at Schaumbad - Freies Atelierhaus Graz drew an unusually international crowd. Among the more than fifty artists and cultural workers gathered that night, 26 had travelled from Slovenia - representing Zavod Naključje 7, a Maribor-based arts organisation - while over 30 Austrian participants, including curators from both countries, were present on the Graz side. Together, they turned what might have been an ordinary vernissage into a vivid cross-border encounter.
The exhibition, curated by Miro Schober, brings together long-standing Schaumbad members alongside newer artistic voices in a presentation that celebrates community, experimentation and what the organisers describe as "playful ritual." It was perhaps precisely this spirit that set the tone for the evening's conversations.
Over drinks and in the midst of freshly hung works, the two communities mingled freely - comparing notes on studio culture, residency models and the particular challenges of running artist-led spaces in smaller Central European cities. Curators from both sides joined in, lending the discussions a degree of structure without losing the openness that characterises an evening like this. Talk moved between practical questions about funding and programming to broader ideas about what sustained artistic exchange between Maribor and Graz might actually look like.
For Zavod Naključje 7, whose work is rooted in fostering creative community and interdisciplinary practice, Schaumbad offered a recognisable - if distinct - counterpart. Both organisations operate outside the logic of institutional prestige, prioritising the studio, the collective and the experiment.
No formal agreement was reached on the night. But with Werkschau on view until 23 May - and further events including curator-led tours on 24 and 25 April, a finissage on 23 May, and an Art Brunch the following day - there is time yet for those conversations to deepen and perhaps take shape.
Graz and Maribor are less than an hour apart. On the evening of 9 April, that distance felt shorter than ever.