“70 projections for 70 years”: Under the artistic direction of Virgil Widrich, a multi-disciplinary team designed the event and a partly interactive travelling exhibition for the Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft mbH (ERP Fund).

On 5 June 1947 George Marshall made a speech in Harvard that changed the world: with it, the American Secretary of State and adviser to President Truman laid the foundations of the European Recovery Program (ERP) – the so-called Marshall Plan. Austria’s economy continues to benefit from these funds to this day, which are used to promote innovative projects by Austrian companies and start-ups under a scheme for ERP loans granted by the Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH (aws).

The festivities marking the 70th anniversary of Marshall Plan aid – with addresses by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, Vice-Chancellor Wolfgang Brandstetter and Chargé d’Affaires a.i. at the US Embassy in Vienna Eugene S. Young – demonstrate this connection between the past and the future. The team, consisting of multimedia experts, exhibition organisers, set designers and event specialists, created a total artwork that includes not just the event itself, which was attended by around 800 guests, but also the presentation of an exhaustive book on the subject and a travelling exhibition for use in schools and other public institutions. For the exhibition the subject matter was prepared with the aid of scientific consultants for presentation on 12 pillars and 3 media stations. A display using overhead projectors and pictures from the extensive archives of the Austrian National Library rounded the event off. Besides the requisite printed material (invitations and the like) a special-issue postage stamp was also designed to mark the anniversary.