DAS WEISSE HAUS

The recipient of the Erste Bank Art Award 2026 is Ana de Almeida!

The Erste Bank Art Award is a long-standing partnership project of DAS WEISSE HAUS and Erste Bank Sponsoring Programme .sparkasse . For its eleventh edition in 2026, the award is presented in collaboration with the Austrian Cultural Forum Budapest .

We are delighted to announce that the Erste Bank Art Award 2026 has been awarded to Ana de Almeida in recognition of her outstanding artistic practice.

The Erste Bank Art Award is endowed with 5.000 euros and includes an exhibition at DAS WEISSE HAUS as well as a residency and the site-adapted version of the same exhibition in the respective host country.

First launched in 2016, the Erste Bank Art Award is dedicated to artists who have taken part in the program of Kunstverein das weisse haus and is awarded through a two-stage jury process.

The opening of the exhibition at DAS WEISSE HAUS in Vienna will be on September 15, 2026!
More info coming soon!
Finalists 2026 �Nicoleta Auersperg, Lisa Großkopf, Lena Rosa Händle, Allegra Kortlang, Lila-Zoé Krauß, Hanna Kučera, Anna Paul, Christina Werner, Anita Witek

Jury Members �Georgia Holz (Freelance Curator, Author, and Lecturer at University of Applied Arts Vienna) �Fabian Ortner (Director of the Austrian Cultural Forum Budapest)
Nevena Janković .jankovic (BLOCKFREI Collective | Leadership of DAS WEISSE HAUS)
Eva Kovač .kova.c (BLOCKFREI Collective | Leadership of DAS WEISSE HAUS)

Image credits:
Ana de Almeida, 2026 – © Igor Tyshenko

Outgoing Artist-in-Residency: Jelena Micić

Residency Period�April 21 – June 01, 2026�a cooperation with Hot Spring Project Studio

STUDIO DAS WEISSE HAUS is delighted to announce that the artist Jelena Micić .ljubomir.micic is participating in an international Artist-in-Residency program at Hot Spring Project Studio (HSPS) in Taiwan.

During the residency in both Taipei and Kaohsiung, Micić will develop, expand, and install their large-scale work Bojna polja (Color/Battle Fields), a site-responsive installation composed of porous plastic nets. The artist’s physical presence is essential to adapt and finalize the piece for the upcoming Drifting Feast exhibition at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts (KMFA). This final exhibition, curated by Shang-Lin Wu (HSPS) and supported by Eva Kovač (DAS WEISSE HAUS), underscores the vibrant cultural exchange.

This AiR program takes place in the framework of the project Drifting Feast and it is supported by the Austrian Office Taipei, the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan, the Department of Culture of the City of Vienna (MA 7), the Federal Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media, and Sport, Republic of Austria (BMWKMS), and Erste Bank Sponsoring Programme.

Jelena Micić (Vienna/Knjaževac) is an artist, curator, organizer, and a former co-director of the WIENWOCHE Festival (until 2025). Their artistic practice focuses on the politics of materials and the socio-economic dimensions of (color)systems, while their curatorial work engages with labor organizing and unionization struggles among non-citizens, migrating people, and so-called third-country nationals. Micić is currently pursuing a doctorate at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

Photocredits:�1 – Jelena Micić, Wien Museum – © Ina Aydogan
2,3 – Residency studio, 2026 – © Shang-Lin Wu
4,5 – Installation detail, Bojna polja (Color/Battle Fields), Jelena Micić, 2016-2026 (ongoing) – © Courtesy of the artist

Video of the Month – April 2026

A film by Lena Kalleitner

Code of Conflict
2:57, looped, 2024

Duration: 01.04. – 30.04.2026

curated by Pia Wamsler

Code of Conflict is a video animation by Lena Kalleitner that explores the complex relationship between power, technology, and warfare. Set within a sterile, cold, chrome-like environment with a dystopian undertone, the work juxtaposes abstract digital code with the exposed human body as a site of vulnerability. The naked figure underscores how human lives are deeply entangled with technological systems that shape contemporary conflict. The work reflects on how technological warfare unfolds through layered political, economic, and computational structures, revealing that systems often perceived as autonomous are sustained by human decisions and material infrastructures. It critiques the concentration of interpretative and decision-making power in the hands of a small group of influential figures—tech moguls, financiers, and political elites—whose actions reverberate across social and geopolitical landscapes. By foregrounding bodily exposure within a technological environment, the animation challenges narratives of control and self-sufficiency, emphasizing how vulnerability, agency, and responsibility emerge through deeply connected systems of violence.

Lena Kalleitner is a media artist based in Vienna. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Media Technology from the University of Applied Sciences Sankt Pölten and is currently studying Digital Art at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Originally from the field of 3D Design and Animation, her practice focuses on creating multidimensional artworks, such as media installations and mixed-media experiences. While her artistic work is still strongly influenced by her experience in 3D, she also incorporates methods such as coding/web scraping/OSINT in her works, constantly driven by a focus on political and socio-economic issues.

Text: Lena Kalleitner

Lead image: video still, Code of Conflict, Lena Kalleitner – © Courtesy of the artist