KREMS.- The Kunstmeile Krems is setting the tone for 2026 with one of its most ambitious and forward-looking programs to date. Spanning 21 new exhibitions across five major institutions, the coming year places a clear and confident emphasis on women artists, material experimentation, and landmark anniversaries—most notably the 25th birthday of the Karikaturmuseum Krems.

Stretching 1.6 kilometers through the historic twin towns of Krems and Stein, the Kunstmeile has long been a cultural backbone of Lower Austria. In 2026, it reinforces that role by foregrounding artistic voices that have too often been overlooked. Two-thirds of the year’s solo exhibitions are dedicated to women artists, signaling a decisive commitment to visibility, diversity, and historical reappraisal.

At the Landesgalerie Niederösterreich, exhibitions trace female artistic practices across generations and geographies. Highlights include a major retrospective honoring the 85th birthday of Inge Dick, a reassessment of progressive women of Viennese Modernism, and Austria’s first retrospective of Greta Schödl. Iranian-German artist Parastou Forouhar adds a contemporary political dimension with Written Room, a powerful spatial installation exploring language, identity, and memory.

Materiality and experimentation form another key thread throughout the program. The Kunsthalle Krems presents Austria’s first museum retrospective of British sculptor Phyllida Barlow, alongside works by Ligia Lewis that confront mortality and body politics. At Forum Frohner, visitors are invited to rethink their relationship with art through tactile exhibitions that quite literally ask when touching is allowed—and when it is not.

The Karikaturmuseum Krems celebrates its 25th anniversary with a yearlong program that underscores its unique position as Austria’s only museum devoted to satirical art. From a comprehensive exhibition of political cartoonist Oliver Schopf to a major summer showcase marking Gerhard Haderer’s 75th birthday, the museum balances sharp political commentary with humor and accessibility. Family audiences are also welcomed through playful presentations such as The NEINhorn, while the permanent Deix Archive remains a perennial draw.

Another milestone arrives with the centenary of Robert Rauschenberg, whose first monographic exhibition in Austria concludes an international celebration of the artist’s global influence. His legacy of combining everyday materials with painterly gestures resonates strongly with the Kunstmeile’s broader focus on material innovation.

Rounding out the year is the second edition of the Erich Grabner Prize for artistic graphic work, reaffirming Krems’s support for emerging and established talent alike.

Together, these exhibitions present more than a calendar of events—they offer a portrait of a cultural district actively reshaping how art history is told, who gets centered within it, and how audiences are invited to engage. In 2026, Kunstmeile Krems positions itself not only as a destination, but as a conversation—one rooted in the past, attentive to the present, and open to new futures.