Elevate 2026 presents: Vital Signs exhibition.

From neo-surrealist painting to hyper-real graphic design, from post-internet tableaux to neo-romantic photography: Vital Signs is a group exhibition in the urban space of Graz that presents a total of eleven positions of contemporary artistic practice to the public—on culture boards, in vacant spaces, on façades, and on streetlight poles.

The artists translate personal experience, subcultural and pop-cultural codes, and political attitudes into powerful works that engage with the festival theme. Moving deliberately between disciplines, the exhibition reveals the fragile and emotionally challenging state of our present.

Artistic positions addressing the festival theme by Anna Breit AT, Evelyn Plaschg AT, Florian Pfaffenberger AT, Gergo Kovacs HU, Kristýna Kulíková CZ, Nava Ebrahimi AT, Neven Allgeier AT/DE, Oliver Ressler AT, Omar El Sadek CZ, Philippe Gerlach DE and zweintopf AT are presented at the following public locations: Geidorfplatz, Franz-Graf-Allee, Lendplatz, Forum Stadtpark, and the BIX façade at Kunsthaus Graz. In Cooperation with “Universalmuseum Joanneum – Institut für Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Steiermark”.

The presentation of Oliver Ressler’s work Property Will Cost Us the Earth is part of Re-Imagine Europe: New Perspectives for Action.

Photo credit: Oliver Ressler’s work Property Will Cost Us the Earth at Parco Arte Vivente. Couresy of PAV.