The Kafkaesque in the Arts

To mark the 100th anniversary of Franz Kafka's death, the Archiv der Zeitgenossen is dedicating an academic conference to the author with an extensive supporting program. In 20 contributions, international speakers from various research disciplines will discuss Kafka's influence on the arts (music, film, theatre, comics, painting, etc.).

Ernst Krenek also engaged with Kafka's work: he set texts by Kafka to music twice - "Five Songs", op. 82 (1938) and "Six Motets", op. 169 (1959) - and wrote the novella "The Three Overcoats of Anton K." during his emigration, which not only has a Kafkaesque feel, but also has a direct reference to Kafka in the German version.

As part of the conference, the audiovisual composition "Untitled [Krenek]" by Kollektiv F.A.T. will be shown in the Kino im Kesselhaus as a supporting film to Orson Welles' Kafka adaptation "The Trial", a poetic approach to the life and work of Ernst Krenek, which spans a dreamlike, unreal world of images and sounds within which preserved video material of Krenek and fragments of Krenek's music fluctuate. The project was selected for the Ernst-Krenek-Institute-Private-Foundation's grant "Ernst Fall" in 2021.

The conference of the Archiv der Zeitgenossen takes place in cooperation with the Ernst-Krenek-Institute-Private-Foundation, the Zentrum für Angewandte Musikforschung (Universität für Weiterbildung Krems), Kino im Kesselhaus and the Österreichische Franz Kafka-Gesellschaft.

Speeches
Date: May 15 and 16, 2024
Location: Campus Krems

Film screening 
Supporting film: „Untitled [Krenek]“ by Kollektiv F.A.T. (2022)
Main film: „The Trial“ by Orson Welles (DE/FR/IT 1962)
Date and time: May 16, 2024, starting from 6 p.m.
Location: Kino im Kesselhaus

Guided tour in the Franz Kafka Memorial rooms
Date and time: May 17, 2024, 10:45 to 12:30 a.m.
Location: Franz Kafka Memorial, Kierling/Klosterneuburg

Detailed program (German only)

Registration until May 5, 2024 necessary via the online registration form