Award ceremony & Performance: Fri, 20.11.2026, 7pm
Duration of the exhibition: Sat, 21.11. – Sat, 28.11.2026
H13 Prize winner: Magdalena Forster
Guest curator: Marijana Schneider
When does a noise become a tone? When does a sound trigger a response? And when does it become a shared experience? These questions lie at the heart of Cow Notes, the new performance project by Magdalena Forster, which was awarded the H13 Prize 2026. In Cow Notes, different sound sources share a common space: found metal bowls and wooden organ pipes. Some are played intentionally, while others resonate through movement or collision. Every touch sets off a reaction and can trigger further ones, eventually resulting in cacophony.
In their statement, the members of the 2026 H13 jury write: "Forster transforms the Kunstraum into a space of multilayered experiences. Sound, body, and material entwine in a cacophonous interplay. The overarching idea is an acoustic dialogue between human and nonhuman agents." → Statement by the H13 Jury 2026
As part of the H13 award ceremony on Friday, 20.11.2026, at 7pm, Forster and performer Martina De Domenicis will activate the installation. Afterwards, visitors are invited to use the objects themselves for their own acoustic experiments.
Magdalena Forster is a Vienna-based artist, choreographer, and performer. Her work is shaped by material-driven processes, the logic of tactile interaction, handcraft practices, and her previous professional experience in body-centered care work. Forster takes an interest in collaboration, the dynamics of score-based and live performances, and site-specific works informed by sound research. She works with the body, objects, voice, and space, viewing them as an acoustic workshop.
Her most recent work Echo Body (2025) was selected for the ImPulsTanz [8:tension] Series 2026. Hearth (2025) and Bile (2023) were realized in co-production with Tanzquartier Wien and supported by the Cultural Department of the City of Vienna and the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport. Her works have been presented at numerous festivals and in many institutions, among others: Tanzquartier Wien, Galerie Simian in coproduction with Dansehallerne Copenhagen, Systema Marseille, Kunstraum Niederoesterreich, Kunsthaus Zürich, AIL Vienna, Neuer Wiener Kunstverein, Festival der Regionen, Perspektiven Festival Attersee, BRUX / Freies Theater Innsbruck, Lothringer 13 Halle Munich, and Sonic Territories Festival.