The Department for Arts and Cultural Studies is dedicated to the study of art and culture, with a particular focus on the impact of digitization on the preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, digital memory studies, and the application of new technologies—such as gamification and AI—in archives, museums, and collections. It also explores the visualization and curation of cultural data, as well as opportunities to democratize the construction of cultural meaning through participatory processes. In the field of Digital Humanities, the documentation and archiving of tangible and intangible cultural heritage presents a major challenge for both research and teaching. Collaboration with the State Collections of Lower Austria, together with the department’s own music, literature, architecture, and film collections, enables the integration of theory and practice and helps bridge the gaps between research and application.
Projects
reCLAYm – Re-connecting citizen scientists with material culture research in archaeology
Duration: 01/07/2026–30/06/2029
Principle investigator for the project (University for Continuing Education Krems): Jakob Maurer
Funding: Bundesländer (inkl. deren Stiftungen und Einrichtungen)
ruth weiss: Complete Published Works Critical Hybrid Edition
Duration: 01/06/2025–31/05/2029
Principle investigator for the project (University for Continuing Education Krems): Thomas Antonic
Funding: FWF
Duration: 01/03/2026–28/02/2029
Principle investigator for the project (University for Continuing Education Krems): Natalie Denk
Funding: Bundesländer (inkl. deren Stiftungen und Einrichtungen)
Visualizing Aging Processes of Oil Paintings on Canvas: An Interactive VR Approach
Duration: 01/01/2026–31/12/2028
Principle investigator for the project (University for Continuing Education Krems): Hanna Brinkmann
Funding: Bundesländer (inkl. deren Stiftungen und Einrichtungen)
Duration: 01/11/2025–30/10/2028
Principle investigator for the project (University for Continuing Education Krems): Anja Grebe
Funding: EU
Enhancing Lower Austria’s Rural Industrial Heritage – New Approaches Through Citizen Science
Duration: 01/09/2025–30/08/2028
Principle investigator for the project (University for Continuing Education Krems): Anja Grebe
Funding: Bundesländer (inkl. deren Stiftungen und Einrichtungen)
Duration: 01/08/2025–31/07/2028
Principle investigator for the project (University for Continuing Education Krems): Edith Blaschitz
Funding: Bundesländer (inkl. deren Stiftungen und Einrichtungen)
Roman Trails - On the Trail of the Romans in the Weinviertel Region and in South Moravia
Duration: 01/05/2024–30/04/2028
Principle investigator for the project (University for Continuing Education Krems): Raffaela Woller
Funding: EU
Duration: 01/04/2025–31/03/2028
Principle investigator for the project (University for Continuing Education Krems): Raffaela Woller
Funding: EU
Composing Change. Orchestral Impact in European Societies
Duration: 01/03/2025–29/02/2028
Principle investigator for the project (University for Continuing Education Krems): Olga Kolokytha
Funding: Bundesländer (inkl. deren Stiftungen und Einrichtungen)
Publications
Kirchengast, S.; Bühler, B.; Hagmann, D. (2026). Sexual Dimorphism in the Association Between Status Symbols and Body Height in the Early Medieval Avar Population from the Csokorgasse Burial Ground (Vienna, Austria). Nature Anthropology, 4/1: 10004
Kusnick, J.; Andersen, N.S.; Liem, J.; Mayr, E.; Beck, S.; Koch, S.; Doppler, C.; Seirafi, K.; Jänicke, S.; Windhager, F. (2026). A survey on visualization-based storytelling in digital humanities and cultural heritage. Visual Informatics, in print: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visinf.2026.100312
Brinkmann, Hanna; Brunn, Katja; Grebe, Anja; Lopin, Melanie; Pacher, Otto (2026). Industriekultur im Dialog - Partizipative Forschung zur Sammlung Lehrwerkstätte der Alten Werft Korneuburg. University of Krems Press, Krems
Grebe, Anja; Brinkmann, Hanna; Brunn, Katja; Lopin, Melanie; Pacher, Otto (2026). Industriekultur im Dialog - Partizipative Forschung zur Sammlung Lehrwerkstätte der Alten Werft Korneuburg. University of Krems Press, Krems
Hechenblaihner, N.; Brait, A. (2026). Freedom and Security. The CSCE and the End of the Cold War (1986–1989). https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004736979, BRILL, Leiden; Boston
Brait, A. (2026). „Antisemitismus“ im österreichischen Geschichtsunterricht der Sekundarstufe II. Einblicke über Geschichtshefte bzw. -mappen. In: Nitsche, M.; Thyroff, J.; Waldis, M., Geschichtslernen in Zeiten der Krise: 233–254, hep, Bern
Brait, A. (2026). Negotiations on Cultural Cooperation at the Vienna Follow-up Meeting. In: Hechenblainer, N.; Brait, A., Freedom and Security. The CSCE and the End of the Cold War (1986–1989): 70–83, BRILL, Leiden; Boston
Brait, A; Krösche, H. (2026). Quellenarbeit revisited? Entwicklung und Erprobung von Erklärvideos 2.0 für historische Lernprozesse. In: Heuer, C.; Marschnig, G.; Breser, B., KunstGeschichte(n). Über die ästhetische Dimension der Geschichtskultur: 239–256, Wochenschau, Frankfurt am Main
Brinkmann, Hanna (2026). Industriekultur gemeinsam erinnern. Zeitzeug:innen-Interviews und das partizipative Potenzial musealisierter Objekte aus der Lehrwerkstätte Korneuburg. In: Brinkmann, Hanna; Brunn, Katja; Grebe, Anja; Lopin, Melanie; Pacher, Otto, Industriekultur im Dialog Partizipative Forschung zur Sammlung Lehrwerkstätte der Alten Werft Korneuburg: 106-139, University of Krems Press, Krems
Grebe, Anja; Brinkmann, Hanna (2026). Partizipative Grundlagenforschung. GenerationenübergreifendeWissensproduktion und digitale Ko-Kuration im Projekt „Industriekultur im Dialog". In: Brinkmann, Hanna; Brunn, Katja; Grebe, Anja; Lopin, Melanie; Pacher, Otto, Industriekultur im Dialog Partizipative Forschung zur Sammlung Lehrwerkstätte der Alten Werft Korneuburg: 10-29, University of Krems Press, Krems
