“The Association of Visual Artists Vienna Secession was founded in 1897 and presented its first exhibition in 1898, the same year the new Secession building was completed to the designs of Joseph M.Olbrich.
Today, the Secession is the world’s oldest independent gallery devoted entirely to exhibitions of contemporary art. The exhibition programme of the Vienna Secession is decided by the members of the Board of the Association of Visual Artists Vienna Secession on a democratic basis and selected entirely according to artistic criteria. One of the basic objectives of the Association is the presentation of current developments in Austrian and international art, as well as to cultivate an openness for experimentation.” [Secession, n. d.]