With a wall design for the new municipal building in Laxenburger Strasse (architecture: Pichler & Traupmann Architekten), the City of Vienna is continuing its long tradition of art in (municipal) buildings. The artist Johanna Kandl won the competition organized by KÖR Wien together with WIGEBA, Wiener Gemeindewohnungs Baugesellschaft m.b.H. With the design “Be a mensch”, the artist commemorates the work and legacy of Willi Resetarits (1948-2022). The quote stands for the musician and human rights activist, who knew better than almost anyone how to bring together the most diverse social and cultural groups. Borrowed from Yiddish into American English, the word “mensch” refers to a person of honesty and integrity.
Johanna Kandl takes up this appeal to humanity and the play with language as an expression of diversity and inclusion in her mural for the new municipal building at Laxenburger Straße 4/4A, which will be named after Willi Resetarits in the future.
KÖR Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Wien
KÖR Vienna brings contemporary art in all its facets into the public space of the city of Vienna. With the aim of anchoring art as a natural component in the center of society, the institution creates cultural spaces for action – concrete art locations as well as intellectual free spaces. The aim is to give art an active role in shaping the city and its pluralistic identity and to make public space visible as a place of cultural and political exchange.
Be a mensch: Johanna Kandl
26 Sep 2024 - 26 Sep 2026
KÖR Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Wien
Laxenburger Straße 4/4a, 1100 Wien, Österreich
Be a Mensch, Johanna Kandl, Photocredits © Hertha Hurnaus
