Developed in parallel to the major Prince Eugen of Savoy exhibition at the Lower Belvedere, tanzimat at the Augarten Contemporary examines the continual reorganization of historical constructs and devices that underscore the neverending project of modernity.

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It is an interesting fact that the fez, the iconic Turkish hat that was originally instituted as a “modernizing” symbol for the Ottoman Empire in 1826, was later banned in Turkey in 1925, also as part of a “modernizing” reform. It is also interesting to note that after the invention of synthetic dyes, the main manufacturer of the fez—which up until that point had been colored with native berry juice—was located in Austria, that is, until it was boycotted by Turkey in 1908 more »