In collaboration with London-based design studio Superflux, the Weltmuseum Wien is presenting the immersive exhibition The Craftocene. For the first time, three major works by Superflux can be seen together: the multispecies banquet Refuge for Resurgence (2021), ongoing explorations into river intelligence Nobody Told Me Rivers Dream (2025), and a new commission created for Weltmuseum Wien, Relics of Abundance (2026).
Drawing on Superflux term ‘Craftocene’, the exhibition explores how craftsmanship, technology, and ecological intelligence can be combined to create new forms of coexistence. The exhibition challenges the Western concept of progress, as well as our current production and consumption practices, by engaging in a kind of archaeology of the future.
The works will be presented alongside exhibits from the Weltmuseum Wien collection. Juxtaposing these pieces with the speculative works of the Superflux studio encourages a fresh perspective on the stories of these objects and the lives of those who made them. The exhibition invites visitors to explore new forms of relationship between humans and the wider world, moving beyond an anthropocentric perspective.
Refuge for Resurgence (2021), first exhibited at the Venice Biennale of Architecture, imagines a time shaped by a reckoning with a hubristic past and the precarious climate it has produced. This takes the form of a multispecies banquet, where humans, animals, and plants gather to find new ways of living.
Relics of Abundance (2026) envisions our descendants sifting through the remains of our civilisation, decoding and resurrecting the artefacts we once worshipped: the sneaker, the Corbusier chair, the smartphone.
Nobody Told Me Rivers Dream (2025), first shown at London’s Design Museum, imagines an alternative path: one where technology fosters ecological awakening. Speculative handmade sensor-objects observe birdsong, tides, and skies. Combining these observations with an AI trained on weather lore, folklore, and Indigenous wisdom, they invite us to deepen our attention and let the river become our teacher.
The exhibition will feature a programme dedicated to the Klima Biennale Wien 2026.
Curated by Claudia Banz
Address
Weltmuseum Wien
Heldenplatz, 1010 Vienna
Google Maps
Opening times
Daily (except Monday)
10 am to 6 pm
Tuesday
10 am to 9 pm
Tickets
Adult €16
Reduced admission €12
Kids / Teens under 19 free
Founded by Anab Jain and Jon Ardern in 2009, Superflux is an award-winning design-studio. Their work has received critical acclaim for its ability to navigate the entangled wilderness of our technological, ecological, political, and cultural landscapes. Awards include Dezeen’s Design Studio of the Year (2021), the Royal Designers for Industry Award in Speculative Design (2022), and Dezeen’s Designer of the Year shortlist (2025).
‘The Craftocene is our chance to imagine different ways of living and to write a collective myth that we shape together. Given the need to find a solution to the excessive consumption of resources that characterises the Anthropocene, an initiative like this is more urgent than ever before.’
