Touriseum Exhibition

For the special exhibition ‘The Future of Travel’ at the Touriseum - the South Tyrolean Museum of Tourism - eight of our artists have rethought selected works by South Tyrolean illustrator Franz Josef Lenhart. Between the 1920s and 1950s, Lenhart created influential tourism posters that are now considered icons of advertising graphics. The challenge was to create an individual, contemporary vision based on these historical motifs - with an outlook on the future of tourism.

Opening of the exhibition: Tuesday, 01 April 2025, 18:00
Location: Touriseum, staircase of Trauttmansdorff Castle
Duration: until 09 November 2025

EKATERINA KOROLEVA

Ekaterina's motif is also the official poster for the exhibition. It shows a future image of Merano that is characterised by environmental destruction. Nature, once freely accessible, can now only be experienced under protective domes. Her illustration shows a woman in a white dress sitting in a floating glass dome - a ‘floating island’. Artificially created living conditions with healthy flora and clean air prevail in these closed systems. The elegant, silently gliding spheres offer both protection and a place of retreat in a world that is barely habitable. Ekaterina's motif tells of a future in which peace and beauty are only possible in enclosed spaces - and thus takes a quiet, penetrating look at the consequences of our current way of life.

TIMO MEYER

The challenge was to visualise the future of alpine travel. A classic motif from Franz Lenhart's Dolomites advertising posters - the hiker gazing at the mountain massif shimmering in the sunset - is embedded in a futuristic-looking environment in Timo's work. The aim is to give the viewer the feeling of vastness and height typical of alpine tours. To this end, the image motif is shown in a highly abstracted fisheye view that directs the perspective both downwards towards the valley and forwards towards the massif and the sky. A satellite orbits there, symbolically supplying the hiker with data as if through an umbilical cord.

The graphic is divided into individual elements that interlock to represent the foreground, hiking trail, refuge, valley and mountain massif. Like the stage elements on a theatre stage, the individual levels span this futuristic hiking world and create a feeling of depth, but also of unreality. At the same time, the highly abstract and geometric style emphasises the futuristic nature of the scenery: is the valley with its digital grid even real or just the hiker's view through data goggles? How will the blurring of reality and virtuality change the travelling experience in the future?

MATT JOYCE

Matt has retained a sense of exploration and wanderlust. In his motif, he imagines what travelling could look like in the future: Perhaps all it takes is a click of the mouse to visit the Renon Plateau? Virtual travelling could help to protect the environment and reduce our ecological footprint. Matt is also thinking about places that no longer exist - or places that have changed over time and only live on in memories or stories. His poster combines past, present and future and encourages us to think about new forms of travelling.

YIPPIEHEY

Yippiehey's motif ‘Up in the Alps’ shows a playful vision of the future. A crowded urban landscape replaces the former expanse of nature. Hovering above it are futuristic ‘flying islands’ - places of retreat and new travel destinations at the same time. The style of the scene is reminiscent of a miniature world, almost like a toy universe, and combines technical fantasy with social observation. Despite the confinement on the ground, the longing for departure and movement remains. His work builds a bridge between nostalgia and the future and shows how our idea of travelling could evolve.

LENNART MENKHAUS

In his motif, Lennart shows a vision of the future of Merano in the year 2050. The city remains recognisable at its core - and yet it has changed dramatically: Air taxis hover above the rooftops, connecting Merano with other cities, and the traditional vineyards have given way to modern solar parks that provide environmentally friendly energy. Autonomous delivery vehicles move through the streets, while rail transport has become the most important means of transport. Architecture has also changed: sustainable, functional and at the same time harmoniously embedded in the landscape. The image combines future and tradition and raises the question of what a modern Merano could look like - if technical progress and ecological responsibility are considered together.

VANESSA MELZNER

Vanessa's illustration shows a future in which travelling is only possible in the virtual world. A woman sits in the middle of a grey landscape characterised by smog and industry - the air is polluted, rubbish lies on the ground. Through VR glasses, she immerses herself in a colourful, ideal world: the Dolomites, mountains, nature, tranquillity. The motif juxtaposes reality and illusion and asks whether real experiences of nature will soon only be possible digitally. The work casts a critical light on the consequences of environmental destruction - and on the role of technology as an escape route from a world that we ourselves have made uninhabitable.

IZABE.LA

Izabe.la illustrated a picture of future winter holidays - no longer on Earth, but on distant planets with unusual landscapes. There are only traces of snow, the first spring flowers are sprouting, but skiing is still possible thanks to technical suits. People are adapting to new conditions and finding new ways to experience nature and leisure. In the distance, heated hotel balloons float above the landscape, offering views of mountain ranges and neighbouring planets. The illustration combines futuristic technology with familiar wanderlust - a vision of winter holidays in changed worlds.

LARISSA BERTONASCO

Larissa's motif shows the Seiser Alm in a possible future: there is no longer a snow-covered winter landscape, but green meadows and exotic plants such as palm trees. She contrasts the elegance of past winters with a new, warmer world - shaped by climate change. Snow has become rare, nature has changed. But with the new landscape, new forms of travelling are also emerging: gentle tourism, winter hiking, mindfulness instead of speed. Larissa's illustration shows how the Dolomites are changing - and how they can retain their special appeal despite all the changes.