Austrian artist Annelies Senfter is presenting a powerful exhibition that explores the collective memory and silence surrounding Holocaust-era rescue efforts in East Tyrol through her acclaimed work series "Protocol of Silence." The exhibition, titled ACTA, is currently on display at the Neue Galerie Innsbruck and focuses specifically on those who helped victims escape and the victims themselves during the Nazi period in East Tyrol's Oberland region.
Senfter, who was born in 1980 and grew up in Leisach, East Tyrol, now lives in Salzburg where she completed her studies at the University Mozarteum in 2017. Her artistic work combines movements of searching, sensing, and weaving into a lyrical unity that addresses both collective remembering and the silence that often surrounds difficult historical periods within communities. The exhibition centers on the theme of how communities remember and sometimes choose to forget traumatic historical events.
The artist's approach involves carefully placing the past into a new context with the goal of promoting respectful coexistence in the present while creating a foundation for future remembrance. Senfter's visual attention to often initially inconspicuous signs and traces in everyday life, to the temporality behind the present, and to history and memory derives from photographic thinking, which is fundamental to many of her works even when they involve extensions and derivations of the photographic medium.
Senfter's artistic practice encompasses not only photography but also text, spatial installations, and site- and context-specific works. Her methodology involves careful approaches to historical themes and individuals, combined with in-depth research that forms an integral part of her creative process. In recent years, she has exhibited her works in renowned institutions and has received numerous scholarships, nominations, and awards for her contributions to contemporary art.
The ACTA exhibition is part of the annual program "Chronopolitical Explorations" curated by Bettina Siegele, who will also guide visitors through the opening ceremony in Innsbruck on November 20 at 7 PM. The exhibition will be open to the public from November 21 through February 1, with specific visiting hours on Wednesdays through Fridays from 12 PM to 5 PM, and Saturdays from 11 AM to 3 PM.
Several special events are planned throughout the exhibition's run to enhance visitor engagement. On November 29, there will be an "Art & Coffee" exhibition tour, followed by a guided tour with curator Siegele on December 17. The exhibition will conclude with a closing matinee on February 1, which will include a book presentation featuring Annelies Senfter herself.
This exhibition represents Senfter's ongoing commitment to addressing historical trauma through contemporary art, using her unique artistic vision to bridge the gap between past and present while honoring the memory of those who risked their lives to help others during one of history's darkest periods.
