Florentina Holzinger to Perform in Vienna and Prinzendorf
Satellite Event of the Austrian Contribution to the Venice Biennale 2026
Vienna / Prinzendorf
With Pfingstspiel, Florentina Holzinger realizes a new, multi-hour performance as the official satellite event accompanying her Austrian contribution to the Venice Biennale 2026. The production is created as a co-production of the Nitsch Foundation in cooperation with the nitsch museum and VERBUND, as well as the Wiener Festwochen | Freie Republik Wien, More Spirit Please together with KÖR -Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Wien. The premiere will take place on May 23, 2026, in Vienna and Prinzendorf. Tickets will be available from February 26 via the Wiener Festwochen.
The extraordinary day-long performance unfolds in two parts: A prologue at the Wiener Eislauf-Verein takes shape as an oratorio for bodies and machines. This is followed by a collective bus journey to Schloss Prinzendorf — the site where Hermann Nitsch developed his Orgien Mysterien Theater over several decades. Pfingstspiel draws on the symbolism of Pentecost as well as on the idea of art as a communal, physical experience.
Two years after her internationally acclaimed operatic performance SANCTA, a co-production with the Wiener Festwochen, Holzinger once again engages with religious imagery, body politics, and questions of community. Pfingstspiel positions itself as a performative invocation — an exploration of transformation, memory, and collective practice.
“For me, it feels very fitting to create a Pentecost étude in Nitsch’s Prinzendorf. Even in his works, technological civilization repeatedly inscribed itself: machines built by humans that at the same time seem almost autonomous, nearly ‘robotic’ in carrying out their warlike processes. In this place, we want to evoke memories and continue and retell the stories that were created there,” says Florentina Holzinger.
“For the Nitsch Foundation, this project represents a conscious opening of Schloss Prinzendorf to leading positions in contemporary performance art and a consistent continuation of Hermann Nitsch’s artistic legacy. Since his passing, I have been working together with my nephew Paul Breitenfelder to carry forward his work in his spirit and to anchor Schloss Prinzendorf as a place of artistic freedom in the present. A key milestone was the posthumous performance of the second version of the 6-Day Play. Numerous performances have been realized here in recent years that further develop this path. All the more, I am delighted that this year the internationally celebrated performance artist Florentina Holzinger will present her work in Prinzendorf,” says Rita Nitsch.
Paul Breitenfelder, Board Director of the Nitsch Foundation, adds: “It is our ambition to further establish Prinzendorf as an internationally recognized site for performance art. Pfingstspiel powerfully underscores this direction.”
Christoph Mayer, Managing Director of the nitsch museum, points to the art historical dimension: “Like few other artists, Florentina Holzinger stands for a radical, physical practice in the tradition of Viennese Actionism. Her work in Prinzendorf connects international contemporary art with one of the defining sites of Austrian performance history.”
On behalf of the Wiener Festwochen | Freie Republik Wien, dramaturge Iris Raffetseder states: “Pfingstspiel expands Florentina Holzinger’s Biennale contribution through a powerful intervention between public space and a historically charged site. For the Wiener Festwochen, it is a key program highlight of their anniversary edition.”
VERBUND emphasizes: “VERBUND assumes social responsibility and supports social, sporting, and cultural projects. We are pleased to support a performance by Florentina Holzinger at the Wiener Festwochen 2026. Her engagement with the transformative power of water and the female body connects central themes of her work with VERBUND’s values.”
Pfingstspiel takes place on May 23, 2026, at 3:30 pm.
Duration: approx. 9 hours (including bus transfers).
Meeting point: Wiener Eislauf-Verein, Lothringerstraße 22, 1030 Vienna.
Tickets will be available from February 26 at festwochen.at.
Price: 120 Euros. SOLD OUT!
Admission from 18 years.
Due to limited capacity, early booking is recommended (first come, first served). A contingent of free counting tickets for the Vienna prologue will be released in April; these grant access exclusively to the prologue in Vienna and do not include Prinzendorf. The ticket price includes the bus shuttle from Vienna to Prinzendorf and back. Tickets cannot be purchased on site. Arrival in Prinzendorf by private car is not recommended.
A project by Florentina Holzinger / More Spirit Please
Co-production: Nitsch Foundation and Wiener Festwochen | Freie Republik Wien
In cooperation with the nitsch museum and VERBUND
The prologue in Vienna is funded by KÖR – Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Wien and made possible with the friendly support of Hotel InterContinental Vienna and Wiener Eislauf-Verein.
The initiative for this collaboration was taken by Dominika Li, who accompanied the project in an advisory capacity.
Press contact:
Elke Weilharter | SKYunlimited
elke.weilharter@skyunlimited.at
+43 699 1644 80000
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The Wiener Festwochen | Freie Republik Wien is Europe’s most important cross-over festival with radical socio-political significance, which will take place from May 15th to June 21st, 2026. |
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The nitsch museum in Mistelbach is one of the largest monographic museums in Austria and understands itself as a place of contemplation and sensuality. |
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VERBUND is Austria’s leading energy company and one of the largest producers of electricity from renewable energies in Europe. |
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Raiffeisen-Holding NÖ-Wien is one of the largest private investment holding companies in Austria. It focuses on investments in the banking, food and beverage, media and infrastructure sectors, as well as new investments in health, energy, entrepreneurship and regional responsibility. |
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For over four decades, TECTO Immobiliengruppe has been buying and developing high-quality real estate with a focus on the Austrian market. |
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Dr. Nikolaus Redtenbacher, plastic facial surgeon and specialist in ear, nose and throat medicine with over 20 years of experience in rhinoplasty and plastic facial surgery. |
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Chef Max Stiegl doesn’t like to be restricted. He cooks everything he can find in Burgenland. |
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With its prime location in the city center, directly adjacent to Vienna’s Stadtpark, the Hotel InterContinental Vienna offers the perfect starting point for a stay in the Danube metropolis. |
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“Pfingstspiel” made possible by Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Wien (Public Art Vienna).Since 2004, KÖR has been enlivening the public space of the city of Vienna with permanent or temporary artistic projects. |
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Hermann Nitsch is a member of the copyright collecting agency Bildrecht GmbH.
All film and photo shootings must be arranged and approved in advance. Because the shootings are supervised by the Press Department of the Foundation, we kindly request appropriate notice for commercial shootings and press work not related to any urgent reporting needs.
e: office@nitsch-foundation.com
t: +43 1 513 55 30
