ABOUT
Alexandra Fruhstorfer is a transdisciplinary designer and artistic researcher based in Vienna. In her work she questions prevalent political and cultural paradigms in the context of accelerated technological and ecological change.
Blending design research with speculative approaches, co-creative formats and performative practices Alexandra creates artefacts and experiences to open space for critical reflection and collaborative action. Using design as a strategic, yet playful tool she aims to enable more equitable imaginaries for our material culture in times of planetary crisis.
Alexandra graduated in Industrial Design from the University of Applied Arts Vienna in 2017. In 2019 her project Transitory Yarn was included in the MAK Design Lab at the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. She was awarded the MehrWert Design Prize in 2018 and 2022. In 2021 she was nominated for the Ralph Saltzman Prize at the Design Museum in London.
Over the last years Alexandra has spoken in different international conferences, conceived workshops and participated in exhibitions in venues like the Triennale di Milano, the Museum of Applied Arts Vienna, at MOMA Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Jerusalem Design Week.
Next to her independent practice she is a founding member of the art and design collective DTAFA.
EXHIBITIONS
2025
HAUS DES PAPIERS, BERLIN (DE)
Interplay
FREE UNIVERSITY OF BOLZANO, (IT)
Science Life
UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED ARTS, VIENNA (AT)
VISAP: Collective Care
FRAUENMUSEUM HITTISAU, (AT)
Stoffwechsel
2024
GRASSI MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS, LEIPZIG (DE)
ZUKÜNFTE. Material und Design von Morgen
CAMPUSVÄRE DESIGNFORUM, VORARLBERG (AT)
Design with a Purpose
REICH FÜR DIE INSEL, INNSBRUCK (AT)
Staub zu Staub
FORUM STADTPARK, GRAZ (AT)
How to Become and Island: THE BOOTCAMP
KLIMA BIENNALE, VIENNA (AT)
Design with a Purpose
UNIBZ, BOLZANO (IT)
Fashion for Future
NATIONALMUSEUM OF BOSNIA AND HERZIGOVINA, SARAJEVO (BIH)
EX SITU
2023
WUK / KUNSTHALLE EXNERGASSE, VIENNA (AT)
Open Floor
MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS, VIENNA (AT)
Critical Consumption
UNIBZ, BOLZANO (IT)
Fashion for Future
MILAN DESIGN WEEK, MILAN (IT)
Worth Partnership Program
KUNSTGEWERBEMUSEUM, DRESDEN (GE)
Plant Fever
MUSEUMSQUARTIER, VIENNA (AT)
How to Become and Island?
2022
VIENNA DESIGN WEEK, VIENNA
Stadtarbeit / Dare to Share and Wear, Mariahüf!
WIENWOCHE, VIENNA
Working Class Ecologies / How Many Layers?
NOVI SAD 2022, NOVI SAD (SRB)
European Capital of Culture
JERUSALEM DESIGN WEEK, JERUSALEM (ISR)
NOW
KREISLAUFKULTUR FESTIVAL, MQ VIENNA
Remanufacturing
AULA DER WISSENSCHAFTEN, VIENNA
Circular Economy Summit
2021
Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich (CH)
Plant Fever / Menu from the New Wild
MOMA Museum of Modern Art, New York (US)
Broken Nature / Transitory Yarn
CIS Tecnoloxía e Deseño, Ferrol (ESP)
The Archive of Vibrant Matter / Transitory Yarn
Suluv Gallery, Novi Sad (SRB)
May I introduce: Alien / Making Oddkin
Museum of Science and Technology, Belgrade
Exhibition Art & Science 2021 / Woodiana Oracle
Fabrikraum, Vienna
May I introduce: Alienexpress / Making Oddkin
Casa do Design, Porto Design Biennale
Museum of Vibrant Matter / Captivating the Fibresphere
Casa do Design, Porto Design Biennale
Ma(t)eralities / Transitory Yarn
2020
Le Grand-Hornu, Belgium
Plant Fever / Menu from the New Wild
Graz Kulturjahr 2020 / Lendhafen, Graz
das Zukunftsamt der Arbeit / Wer schafft die Arbeit?!
Angewandte Innovation Lab, Vienna
May I introduce: Alien / Making Oddkin
IDS show, Toronto
Edible Futures / Menu from the New Wild
2019
IDS show, Vancouver
Edible Futures / Menu from the New Wild
Dubai Design Week, Dubai
Nature Based Generations / Transitory Yarn
ongoing! Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna
MAK Design Lab Collection / Transitory Yarn
Agriculture and Food Museum, Ingenium Canada
Edible Futures / Menu from the New Wild
Triennale di Milano, Milan
Broken Nature / Transitory Yarn
Schloss Hollenegg for Design, Hollenegg
Ad Mensam / Menu from the New Wild
2018
Amerling Haus, Vienna
1070 Unseen
LAZNIA Centre for contemporary Art, Gdansk
Graphics go politics! / Chlorine Washed Chicken
Vienna Design Week, Vienna
1070 Unseen
AWARDED THE MEHRWERT DESIGNPRIZE
Maker Faire, Vienna
Transitory Yarn
MAK Museum of Contemporary Art, Vienna
Ästhetik der Veränderung / Everything is Shifting
2017
Kunstfabrik, Groß Siegharts
Transitory Yarn & Weftwarp
Dutch Design Week / Design Indaba, Eindhoven
Antenna Conference / Menu from the New Wild
Alte Post, Vienna
The Essence / Menu from the New Wild
Angewandte Innovation Lab, Vienna
How Will We Work / DeRIVE
Museum for Applied Arts, Vienna/Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein/Design Museum, Gent
Hello Robot / Uninvited Guests (Superflux)
Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna
Stadtfabrik (IDRV) / Transitory Yarn
2016
Alte Post, Vienna
The Essence / Transitory Yarn, Mechanics of Holes
2015
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
All of this belongs to you / Drone Aviary (Superflux)
World Food Expo / Cumulus, Milan
Design to feed the world / Rejam
2014
Künstlerhaus, Vienna
The Essence / DeRIVE, Rejam
Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, New York
How Things Don't Work: The Dreamspace of Victor Papanek / Table Manners, DeRIVE
Power Station of Arts, Shanghai
Design Shanghai / DeRIVE
2013
Künstlerhaus, Vienna
The Essence / Table Manners, Microbial Ventilation
2012
Künstlerhaus, Vienna
The Essence / Urine-Fertilizer Machine No.1
WORKSHOPS
2025
CARLA MITTERSTEIG, VIENNA (AT)
YEFECE project / Catching Microplastic
2024
CIRCULAR WEEK TIROL, INNSBRUCK (AT)
The Secret Life of ...
CENTER FOR THEORETICAL STUDY, CHARLES UNIVERSITY, PRAGUE (CZE)
A Flatshare from Elsewhere
MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS, VIENNA (AT)
Wiener NachbarSchaf
UNIBZ, BOLZANO (IT)
The P(Last)ic Supper, The Secret Life Of, Inside Dust
2023
UNIBZ, BOLZANO (IT)
What the Fuzz?!
KUNSTHALLE, VIENNA (AT)
Was tun nach der Arbeit?
TANGENTE ST. PÖLTEN, ST. PÖLTEN (AT)
Über Arbeit (-et)
2022
BERGEN SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BERGEN (NO)
4-day workshop / This is not Apparel
VIENNA DESIGN WEEK, VIENNA (AT)
Care and Repair
WIENWOCHE, VIENNA (AT)
Workshop Series / Working Class Ecologies, How Many Layers?
KREISLAUFKULTUR FESTIVAL, MQ VIENNA (AT)
Remanufacturing
ARTS AND SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED ARTS VIENNA (AT)
3-day workshop / Liquid Tools for River Fiction
2021
ARS ELECTRONICA, LINZ (AT)
Workshop / Diviners Wanted!
AUSTRIAN EMBASSY AND WE STAND AS ONE: CAMPAIGN AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING and VOICE OF THE FREE, MANILA
Workshop / Glimpses of the Future
CASA DO DESIGN, PORTO DESIGN BIENNALE, PORTO (PRT)
Workshop / Captivating the Fibresphere
2020
Plant Fever, CID Grand Hornu
Insta Live-Talk / Menu from the New Wild
Radio Helsinki, free Radio Graz
Interview / Wer schafft die Arbeit?!
postcoronal LAB, St. Pölten
Podcast Interview / Invasive Spezies - Aliens unter uns
Lendhafen, Graz
Podiumsdiskussion "Wie wollen wir arbeiten?" / Wer schafft die Arbeit?!
Angewandte Innovation Lab, Vienna
AILien Talks during Angewandte Festival
Reininghaus Gründe, Graz
3-day Workshop / Wer schafft die Arbeit?!
FH Campus 02, Graz
Kick-Off Presentation & Workshop / Wer schafft die Arbeit?!
2019
HTL Mödling, Lower Austria
Virtual Reality Workshop
2018
Vienna Design Week, Vienna
postcard workshops
AHS Rahlgasse, Vienna
3-day film and foto workshop supported by Canon,
How to ethically kill a turtle
Maker Faire, Vienna
interactive workshop / Transitory Yarn
EDUCATION
2011 - 2017
University of Applied Arts Vienna,
Industrial Design Mag. des.ind
Studio Fiona Raby (Dunne&Raby, UK) & Anab Jain (Superflux, UK)
2007 - 2009
Higher Technical School, Mödling
College for Interior Design and Furniture Construction
2006 - 2007
University of Vienna, Vienna
Political Science
PRESS FEATURES
.......
WORK EXPERIENCE
since 2012
working as independent designer and artist
2015
Superflux London
2012
ongoing WW Wohnwagon GmbH
2012 - 2015
Polka Products
2011 - 2014
University of Applied Arts Vienna, ID2, study assistant
TALKS AND TEACHING
2025
ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, VIENNA (AT)
Lectures 4 Future / The Struggle is Unreal! Experiential thought experiments to overcome the Imaginary Crisis
TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY, VIENNA (AT)
Lectures 4 Future / The Struggle is Real!
ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, VIENNA (AT)
Lectures 4 Future / How to Become an Island? Using Art as a Strategy in the Crisis
BOKU UNIVERSITY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND LIFE SCIENCES, VIENNA (AT)
Lectures 4 Future / The Struggle is Real!
2024
UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA, VIENNA (AT)
Talk / From Toxic Textile Troubles to Fabulous Fibre Futures
CIRCULAR WEEK, TIROL (AT)
Keynote / From Toxic Textile Troubles to Fabulous Fibre Futures
FUNDAZION NAIRS, SCUOL (CH)
How to Become an Island? The Bootcamp
FREE UNIVERSITY OF BOZEN, BOLZANO (IT)
Keynote / From Toxic Textile Troubles to Fabulous Fibre Futures
2023
HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION, TU VIENNA (AT)
Panel talk / Creative Thinking
CEFRES, PRAGUE (CZE)
Talk / Caring for the Habitat
CANSEE, CANADA (CA)
Talk / By Design, Not Disaster
SIEF CONGRESS, BRNO (CZE)
Talk / Living Uncertainty
FUTURE.LAB, TU VIENNA (AT)
Panel / Vages Terrain
DESIGN AUSTRIA, VIENNA (AT)
Panel / Design im Zeitalter der ökologischen Krise
FREE UNIVERSITY OF BOZEN, BOLZANO (IT)
Lecture / Design for a Planet in Trouble
UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED ARTS, VIENNA (AT)
Lecture / Design for a Planet in Trouble
2022
HERBSTSTRASSE, VIENNA (AT)
Lecture / Toxic Textiles and Fibre Futures
DESIGNSKOLEN KOLDING, KOLDING (DNK)
Talk / Design for a Planet in Trouble
WEISSRAUM, INNSBRUCK (AT)
Talk and Panel / Kreislaufdenken im Design
TAG.WERK SCHAU, GRAZ (AT)
Talk / New Work
JERUSALEM DESIGN WEEK, JERUSALEM (ISR)
Talk and Panel / Gaon’s Salon
NEW DESIGN UNIVERSITY, ST. PÖLTEN (AT)
Talk / Synapsentanz
MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS, VIENNA (AT)
Talk / Transitory Häkeln
AUSTRIAN EMBASSY, MANILA (PHL)
Talk / Women in Steam Career
2021
HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION, TU VIENNA (AT)
Panel talk / Design Thinking
VIENNA BIENNALE FOR CHANGE, VIENNA (AT)
Talk and Panel / Planet Matters
ARS ELECTRONICA FESTIVAL, LINZ (AT)
Panel / Follow the Current
FACULTY OF DESIGN AND ART, FREE UNIVERSITY OF BOLZANO (IT)
Talk / Unmake, for god’s sake!
2020
UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED ARTS, VIENNA (AT)
Talk / From experiential futures to more accessible futuring practices
HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION, TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY VIENNA (AT)
Talk / Creative Thinking
CID GRAND HORNU, PLANT FEVER (BEL)
Talk / Menu from the New Wild
RADIO HELSINKI, FREE RADIO GRAZ (AT)
Interview / Wer schafft die Arbeit?!
POSTCORONAL LAB, ST. PÖLTEN (AT)
Podcast / Invasive species - aliens among us
LENDHAFEN, GRAZ (AT)
Panel / “How do we want to work?”
ANGEWANDTE INNOVATION LAB, VIENNA (AT)
AILien Talks / Angewandte Festival
FH CAMPUS 02, GRAZ (AT)
Talk / Wer schafft die Arbeit?!
2019
UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED ARTS, VIENNA (AT)
Student and Diploma Crit
PECHA KUCHA NIGHT, VIENNA (AT)
Talk / Transdisciplinary Design
2018
SCHLOSS ECKARTSAU, LOWER AUSTRIA (AT)
100 years first republic / Opening Talk
2017
DUTCH DESIGN WEEK / DESIGN INDABA, EINDHOVEN (NLD)
Talk / Antenna Conference
MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS, VIENNA (AT)
Talk / Stadtfabrik
DESIGNAUSTRIA, VIENNA (AT)
Note / Graphics go politics!