At Vienna Contemporary, international collectors and patrons explored the evolving role of private collections and foundations within today’s art ecosystem, where the boundaries between personal collecting and public responsibility are becoming increasingly fluid.
As foundations take on greater roles in acquisition, exhibition and expanding access, urgent questions emerge around ethics, transparency and institutional accountability. The conversation examined how collecting practices can serve both private interests and the public good, and how responsibility is negotiated when artworks move from individual ownership into wider cultural circulation. At its core lies a redefinition of collecting itself, shifting the focus from possession to stewardship, access and long-term cultural engagement.
MIA Art Collection, represented in Vienna by its Founder Alejandra Castro Rioseco, reaffirmed its mission of fostering inclusion and equality for women through art as a catalyst for social change. She emphasized the shared responsibility across the private and public sectors—collectors, museums, foundations and governments—to build an art world where women are represented, supported and recognized. Inclusion is the goal, and meaningful change is essential. MIA contributes to this transformation through concrete action and invites all those still standing on the sidelines to take part in this collective effort.
