Above All: Spanish Cultural Diplomacy at Bildraum 07
Art, diplomacy, and dialogue through Enar de Dios’s immersive work
August 27th, 2025
From August 21 to September 11, 2025, Bildraum 07 in Vienna presents Above All, an audiovisual essay and site-specific installation by Spanish artist Enar de Dios Rodríguez. Organized in collaboration with the Ars Electronica Festival 2025 and supported by the Spanish Embassy in Austria, the exhibition exemplifies cultural diplomacy in action—where contemporary art becomes a vehicle for dialogue, reflection, and international cooperation.
Winner of the Marianne von Willemer Prize for Digital Media 2024, Enar de Dios explores the complexities of power structures through immersive environments combining visual, material, and narrative elements. At Bildraum 07, her installation interrogates the vertical dimension: airspace. Once imagined as infinite and untouched, the sky is now shaped by toxic emissions, digital surveillance, and military presence.
The Spanish Embassy’s role in presenting Above All highlights how diplomacy extends beyond traditional spheres of politics and economy. By supporting cutting-edge artistic voices, embassies foster intercultural exchange and strengthen cultural ties. This collaboration situates Spain as an active contributor to Vienna’s dynamic art scene, while reinforcing shared European values of openness, creativity, and critical inquiry.
The installation itself deepens this diplomatic gesture. Visitors walk across aerial imagery spread across the floor, altering it with each step—a metaphor for the fragility of ecosystems and the inevitability of human impact. Through video, installation, and interaction, Enar de Dios addresses global inequalities, neocolonial dynamics, and the need for collective action. The exhibition thus embodies how cultural diplomacy can invite audiences into meaningful conversations about shared challenges.
Above All at Bildraum 07 is more than an art exhibition; it is a testament to the power of cultural diplomacy. With the Spanish Embassy’s support, Enar de Dios Rodríguez transforms Vienna into a space of transnational dialogue—where art, diplomacy, and society converge to reflect on our interconnected futures.
