The Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation was founded in 1997 after the city of Vienna acquired the estate of famed radical architect Frederick Kiesler (1890-1965). Kiesler lived, worked and studied in Vienna for an extended period of time before moving to New York. Starting as a theater and stage designer, Kiesler is known for works like Space Stage (1924), City in Space (1925) and Space House (1933) that blend both Utopian and surrealist sensibilities (he was close friend with many Surrealists including Arshile Gorky and Andre Breton).

The Kiesler Foundation takes Kiesler’s interdisciplinary approaches and modes of thinking and applies them to their activities which include research projects, Kiesler’s archive, lecture series and exhibitions. Additionally, the Kiesler Foundation, in conjunction with the city of Vienna and the Republic of Austria, has an annual architectural award of 55,000 Euros, the Frederick Kiesler Award for Architecture and Art.