The EIT Culture and Creativity South East & Alps Co-Location Centre is partnering with the Vienna Business Agency to connect local creative companies with a wider European network. This collaboration expands opportunities for the creative sector while fostering innovation throughout the region.
As one of the first cities in Europe, Vienna recognized the importance and dynamic growth of the creative industries as a development potential for the city. Since 2005, the Vienna Business Agency creates a vital network for creative Viennese companies, supports their establishment, growth and access to targeted guidance.
The creative sector is a key contributor to Vienna’s cultural identity and economy – from music, fashion and architecture to design, multimedia and the art market. In 2021, 37% of all creative enterprises in Austria had their headquarters in the capital city, generating an annual turnover of EUR 12 billion – surpassing the individual revenues from the construction and hospitality sectors in Vienna.
The creative industries provide valuable impulses for future topics of the Viennese economy, with recent focus areas being the development of spaces for creative uses and the connection between design and circular economy. Collaborations with renowned partners such as Vienna Design Week and Vienna Art Week, as well as pilot formats such as Biofabrique Vienna in partnership with Atelier LUMA, play a key role in showcasing and amplifying Vienna’s creative landscape.
Culture & Technology: A key focus for Digital Vienna
The focus area of “Culture & Technology” is becoming increasingly significant in light of digital transformation, offering new opportunities for innovation at the intersection of culture and business.
With the “Content Vienna” competition, the Vienna Business Agency supports media and creative professionals in developing digital projects. Recent winning projects explored the use of artificial intelligence and participation through digital technologies, with notable works including Lucy Dreams, a pop band with a virtual, AI-driven band member, and Rebecca Merlic’s “Kissaten Vienna,” on the fusion of Austrian and Japanese coffee house cultures. Merlic will also be one of the representatives of the creative industries in the Austrian Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka.
The initiative to fund digital cultural works in Vienna was further reinforced by the “Culture & Technology: Focus Museum” competition in 2023, which fostered collaborations between tech-driven creative companies and cultural institutions like the Austrian Film Museum, the Museum of Applied Arts and the Museum of Science and Technology, alongside partners such as Museum Booster. As one of the competition’s winners, Vienna’s Uhrenmuseum has been able to develop and realize its innovative concept of an augmented reality escape game in October 2024. With AI, 3D models and interactive stations, visitors are taken on a journey through the history of time measurement, bringing the museum experience to life in a completely new way.
In 2024, the “Culture & Technology: Focus Festivals” competition highlighted the integration of innovative digital applications in festivals, providing technology-driven creative companies with increased visibility and helping festivals position themselves internationally. The five winning projects, supported with up to 100,000 euros for concept realization, include both renowned festivals such as Wien Modern and Vienna Shorts, as well as up-and-coming formats like Favorite Fall Festival in the 10th district of Vienna.
Elevating creative producers and community engagement
To strengthen Vienna’s role as a cultural and creative hub, the Vienna Business Agency will continue to support creative producers to emphasize their important role in maintaining our quality of life and the social development of the city.
With their work, they tap the creative potential of community engagement in the city and thus not only raise their own profile, but also that of Vienna as a creative location.
Picture: Wien Tourismus/Christian Stemper
