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# Anne Imhof’s “Wish You Were Gay” Banners Vandalized in Austria
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/anne-imhof-wish-you-were-gay-banners-vandalized-in-austria/
- Published: 2024-07-26T19:39:55.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:03:47.000Z
- Description: The German Artist called the vandalism outside the Kunsthaus Bregenz an "act of violent aggression.”
- Author: Rhea Nayyar
- Tags: News, Anne Imhof, Austria, Vandalism, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 09:36 (2023, 2024, part 2)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2024/07/banners-1.jpg)

Left: One of Anne Imhof's six "Wish You Were Gay" banners prior to the attack (photo by Marcus Tretter); right: Damages to one of the banners outside of Kunsthaus Bregenz in Bregenz, Austria (photo by Angela Lamprecht, all images courtesy Anne Imhof Studio)

German artist Anne Imhof's six "Wish You Were Gay" banners promoting [her solo exhibition](https://www.kunsthaus-bregenz.at/ausstellungen/anne-imhof?ref=hyperallergic.com) of the same title at the Kunsthaus Bregenz (KUB) in Austria were slashed outside the museum on Tuesday night, July 23, in an incident Imhof [described](https://www.instagram.com/p/C9xaps2MXXr/?ref=hyperallergic.com) as an "act of violent aggression."

Continuing the venue's nearly 30-year tradition, the banners emblazoned with the tagline in a varsity typeface had bolstered the performance and media artist's ongoing exhibition of new works since its opening on June 8\. Imhof has characterized the show and her new body of work as a "love song to queer coming of age" that "bears witness to the deep struggle and hostility facing LGBTQIA2S+ people everyday, everywhere."

The Bregenz police department is currently investigating the incident, according to Imhof's studio. A perpetrator has not been identified at this stage. *Hyperallergic* has contacted police and Kunsthaus Bregenz for comment.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2024/07/tolerant_260724_01.jpg)

"Wish You Were Tolerant" replacements have been installed in light of the attacks. (image courtesy the artist and Kunsthaus Bregenz)

The slashed billboard banners were discovered on Wednesday morning, prompting Kunsthaus Bregenz Director Thomas D. Trummer to issue a statement decrying the vandalism as "a cowardly attack on art and on human rights."

"Homophobia has no place in our society," Trummer reiterated.

Imhof, who called the attack a "hate crime" on Instagram, assured fans and friends that the banners would be replaced as soon as possible, noting that the vandalism "cannot take away our hope for a world free from homophobia and free from discrimination for each and every one of us."

Currently, the damaged banners have been altered to read "Wish You Were Tolerant" in response to the attacks.

The vandalism incident has drawn statements in solidarity with Imhof and the LGBTQ+ community. "I am saddened and shocked about the act of violence against the six billboards of Anne Imhofs show *Wish You Were Gay* at KUB, hurtfully showcasing that people around the world and their artistic practice are still under attack for who they are," German artist Katharina Grosse wrote on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/C9zm0vTSt79/?igsh=NHZhd3R3dWd5cXBj&ref=hyperallergic.com).

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2024/07/kub_imhof_billboards_240723-001_a-lamprecht.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2024/07/kub_imhof_billboards_240723-009_a-lamprecht.jpg)

Additional shots of the slashed banners (photos by Angela Lamprecht)