The internationally active curator trio from New Delhi, Raqs Media Collective, was asked to survey the historical art collections of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna from an external perspective and to mediate a thematic reorientation in dialogue with contemporary art. Hungry for Time is taking the current decolonialism discourse into account, thereby opening up a new way of perceiving the art collection of the Paintings Gallery, the Graphic Collection and the Plaster Cast Collection.
The exhibition Thicket of Ideas – Thicket of Times in the Exhibit Gallery is envisaged as a parallel exhibition to the collection presentation Hungry for Time. It show works by students from all institutes of the Academy that take a critical look on works from the historical art collections from a decolonial perspective. The engagement with the artworks of these collections was inspired by questions articulated by the Raqs Media Collective with regard to their exhibition.