Want to see some good stuff in one of the fanciest modern art museums in the world? Come with us to the Mumok in Vienna’s Museumsquartier and you won’t be disappointed.
The name “Mumok” comes from the full German name Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (Museum of modern art, Ludwig Foundation, Vienna). It is the largest museum for art since modernism in Central Europe. Since 2001, the museum has been housed in an astonishing stone-clad building in the heart of the Museumsquartier. The striking dark grey cuboid structure clad in basalt stone houses over 10,000 pieces of modern and contemporary art including works from Beuys, Johns, Lichtenstein, Picasso, Paik, Richter, Vostell, Warhol and many others. The basis were the works donated by the German industrialist and art collector Peter Ludwig and his wife Irene in 1981.
The collection consists of several blocks that correspond to the different stages in the museum's history, one of which the Mumok is particularly known for is the collection of Viennese Actionism, a short and violent movement in 20th century art that was part of of the developing performance arts including Fluxus, happening, action painting, body art and others.
The Mumok's reference library is open to the public and holds over 45,000 items that reflect the museum's collection. There is also broad range of educational programmes for both adults and children.
The museum is one of the few offering a full barrier-free access everywhere. Take the lift on the left of the main staircase to come to the entrance level. If you need assistance, ring the doorbell and the Mumok staff will help you further. From the entry hall onwards, modern luxuriously and vast lifts take you everywhere in the building.
The café at Mumok invites you to take a break after your museum visit. In addition to coffee, tea and drinks, the café offers Viennese confectionery and a selection of snacks and seasonal soups. The café can be accessed barrier-free via the museum lifts through doors in the 1st floor. It is such a pity that the café is only open from Friday till Sunday!
The museum shop sports bicycle lights, tote bags, toothbrushes, catalogues - tons of rather unnecessary accessory ranging from simple design to more extravagant accessories.
All the museum loos are barrier-free, too. There are ladies’ toilets next to the Mumok Café and the cloakroom, and gender-neutral toilets on Level –2 and Level 5 near the Mumok Lounge.
Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien
MuseumsQuartier, 1070 Vienna
https://www.mumok.at/en