Vienna Museum explores lives and demands of people with Down syndrome
Wednesday 21st October 2026 on 18:01 in
Austria
The Vienna Museum will open a multimedia exhibition on the lives, wishes and demands of young adults with Down syndrome on October 22, ORF reported. People with Down syndrome helped create the show, titled “Down syndrome. About us, with us.”
The exhibition explains the term “trisomy 21” in a wall text written in plain language: people with Down syndrome have three copies of chromosome 21. Photographer and co-curator Philipp Horak photographed workshop participants explaining the genetic condition themselves. The exhibition also depicts trisomy 21 as three socks, which are available in a textile version in the museum shop.
Sections cover education, work, housing and leisure. In an audio station, parents describe challenges in Austria’s education system, including the limited number of inclusive kindergartens and schools. Education often ends after the ninth grade, the exhibition says.
Videos show people with Down syndrome at work. Franziska works at the “konzept:greisslerei,” Florian at the reception desk of SK Rapid’s training centre, Flora at IKEA and Holly at an inclusive Montessori private school.
Texts in the exhibition describe barriers people with Down syndrome face. One section says children who want to attend mainstream schools often have to prove they can manage. Another says kindergartens and schools should be the ones to show that they can support them.
The sections on work and housing also set out what the exhibition’s contributors want: a job for everyone with Down syndrome, and the right to choose where and with whom to live. In Vienna, the Social Fund Vienna allocates places in supported housing, but waits can be long, leaving many adults living with their parents. The exhibition’s organisers say the city does not fund personal assistance that would enable people to live alone.
The exhibition will run in the museum’s Community Gallery until January 24, 2027. On November 12, the museum will host an information event called “Talent meets opportunity,” bringing together companies, advice centres and initiatives to discuss training and employment. ÖAMTC, IKEA, ÖBB and Wien Work are among the announced participants.