WUK (Workshop and Culture House)

WUK (Pronounced “Vook”)

WUK (an acronym that translates to “Workshop and Culture House”) was created around the same time as ARENA. Here activists and artists peacefully occupied a former locomotive factory with the aim of “[promoting] an everyday culture as a life practice and [investigating] social models that support community-oriented conduct” as initially stated by members of WUK at its inception in 1980.[1] A charming Viennese architect, two generations my senior, shared the story of WUK with me. Her name is Eleonore Klein.  

I sat across from Eleonore in a traditional Viennese coffee house directly across the street from WUK. 

For more than an hour, I sat there soaking up her stories about community development, politics and architecture. With passion and humour, she told a story of perseverance, dedication, and creativity. She explained that WUK provided spaces for the arts and socially engaged groups to meet and work. They also offered a training program for disadvantaged youth and recent immigrants who helped rebuild WUK’s physical environment. 

At a time when multi-culturalism was rising in Austria and with it socio-political tension, WUK provided a safe space for cultural expression and collaboration. Now a vibrant cultural hub, WUK is thriving. The day I visited, I spoke to an artist who was exhibiting in a gallery space and then I purchased some delicious food at the local, organic market on site. 

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[1] http://www.wuk.at/WUK/Das_WUK/Organisation