Friday 18th & Saturday 19th July 2025
5pm—7.30pm
Two art-science walk-swims along two different sections of the Donaukanal, in partnership with Schwimmverein Donaukanal. Join artist-researcher Lili Carr and members of the SVDK for a multisensory deep dive into the material histories of the Danube’s ‘Vienna Arm’. All are welcome!
Meeting point Friday: swim stop Sophiengarten
Meeting point Saturday: swim stop Alsergarten
In English, with German translation.
Please note this is a walk and a swim - please bring bathing gear and, if possible, a dry bag!
The Donaukanal was once the ‘Vienna Arm’ of the Danube supporting fishing, farming, bathing and various water-dependent industries. Yet these riparian livelihood activities were uncertain and precarious, their duration and scope regulated by the course and force of the river. Today, the ‘Vienna Arm’ is decoupled into two distinct bodies of water — two concrete canals. One flows above ground; a collecting basin into which Vienna’s streams and other waters flow. The other flows underground; a sewer whose contents are treated at Simmering before discharge into the Danube. The Donaukanal is the artery of the city: absolutely everything and everyone flows through it.
Contact: info@hybridwaters.net