Eugene Quinn

I am a London-born, Vienna-based urbanist and DJ. Along with Oliver, Matthias, Rachele, Lisa, Gabriel, Rebecca, Iva, Vikki, Massoud, Persy and Martina, I founded our political culture group Whoosh in 2020 to play with the city, build social capital and send out new political messages. My projects include Vienna Walking Week, magdas Social Dinners (refugees dine with locals), #HowtobeAustrian for Oe1 radio, Vienna (& Munich) Ugly tours, Jungerer Seestadt (children show adults around Aspern), the Austrian Citizenship Test as a comedy pub quiz and Vienna Coffeehouse Conversations. My work has featured in New York Times, Guardian, Die Zeit and on Russian TV.

I walk on average 9km each day.

I am passionate about public space and how to animate and celebrate it. Through watching Fellini films and teaching spatial-planning at Vienna Technical University, I developed the theory I am known for: street capital. This is a measure of how much theatre and joy we find on some city streets, and the reverse – how dull and cold so many other streets are, because they lack people and interactions and a sense of play. Next time you walk along a city footpath, try to measure how much fun you see, and you will be applying the concept of street capital to your hometown. Poorer, more diverse vierteln usually score higher than rich, empty, parked-car streets.

I trained to be a journalist, and bring those skills: curiosity, scepticism, the search for new things, storytelling, good communication and listening – to my new research project: Wien.

I host debates, parties and conferences with skill, humour and good stories. „Eugene makes events memorable“, commented one PR. I can also come and present to your group or conference, on a range of inspirational subjects.

I consult on creative urban strategy, media and marketing, and can tell your story for you. And I DJ at some of the funkiest parties in Vienna. Never forget that this place has the most famous soundtrack of any city in the world.

e-mail: eugene@whoosh.wien
phone: +43 6801 254 354

If you’d like to know more about our ideas, follow fb.com/whoosh.wien, & also fb.com/eugene.quinn.3

Please send mail to:
Im Werd 3/5
1020 Wien

Whoosh has a campaign for Rebellious Optimism

Some of Eugene’s projects:

TED Talk 1 (MAK, Jun15): Remixing the City
Kaspar – SEESTADT TOUR FOR CHILDREN
The Invisible Smart City Tour
Alles Gute Otto: all Wagner buildings in a day tour
Westgürtel: Image und Identität und Geheimnisse der Westguertels

Gesichten des Westguertels

Gerueche des Westguertels

Geschichten des Westguertels

Rebellious Optimism
Wiener Schatten Tour
magdas Social Dinner
Smells Like Wien Spirit Tour
Living Statues
Bewegende Geschichten
Russian Echoes in Wien Tour
Vienna Coffeehouse Conversations
Midnight Walk – All Along the Gürtel
Secret Courtyards of Central Vienna Tour
DJ Eugene’s Funky Storytelling Project
The New Donaukanal Tour
TED Talk 2 (VOLKSTHEATER, Oct16): Walking and Creativity
Silly Walks Contest
Munich Ugly Tour
Grenzlandgespräch (Steirischer Herbst Schlussfest)
Tribes of Donauinsel Tour
#HowToBeAustrian
Why Vienna is the Best City in the World Tour
Worldwide Music Safari
Vienna Ugly Tour
Seestadt – A Critical Exploration
Tall Towers Tour
Der große Marsch
Market Analysis Tour
Tischgespräche
Classical Vienna…with a Twist Tour
Route 28 – A History of British Comedy
Wein Walk
Why public space matters (lecture)
Presentation for Grätzloase: street interventions
The romance of urban walking in Vienna (UN lecture)
Yppenplatz and the spirit of Ottakring (walk)
Österreichischer Staatsbürgerschaftstest als Pub Quiz
Big city beats DJ session
Remixing Vienna: using tourism for city-branding (lecture)
City branding: facts and fiction (TU lecture)
Why some messages go viral – and most do not (Hamburg lecture)
Urban interactions TU lecture
Nordbahnhof urban exploration
A g’mischter Satz instagram walk
A g’mischter Satz: geh bitte, ein Streifzug
Walk through Augarten for new parents

#kommraus - Forum Öffentlicher Raum (curator)

International Hotel Investment & Design Conference (moderator)

Overtourism tour (Vienna International School)

Participation tour (MA Jugendliches)

Food Safari (Coca Cola)

10 Gemeindebauten from 10 decades (Wien Museum)

London vs Wien Social-housing (Wir sind Wien)

Ringstrasse des Proletariats (Wiener Wohnen)

Energy Cities Citizens (moderation, NL)

Storytelling Tour of Gumpendorferstrasse (Institut für KulturKonzepte)

Wiener Innovation (NEOS Jaehrliche Treffe)

Floridsdorf Night Placemaking tour (EU Place City, Superwien, MA 18)

Better Uses for Streets than Cars Vortrag (Forschungsgesellschaft Strasse Schiene Verkehr Planungsseminar)

BOKU Cell Storytelling consultancy

Central European University relocation Favoriten Adventures

Pass Egal Wahl campaign (SOS Mitmensch)

Maker Faire lecture on VIenna's best Public Spaces

FH Technikum Wien orientation for new worldwide students

ACT NOW conference (DJ, moderation, film)

Oe1 Reparatur der Zukunft presentation, translation

Vienna Up fest consultancy, moderation, tour (Wirtschaftsagentur Wien)

Innere Stadt-Donaustadt tour for Fabrique de la Cite

Vienna Walking Week

7 Crazy Vienna Churches tour

Vienna & Water storytelling tour

Midnight tour, Yppenplatz-Steffl

Vienna all'Italiana

Walk to Work Day campaign

Mass Dance Fest, Yppenplatz

Lost Places - Joy of Freudenau tour

Brexit Tour

Brexit DJ Session

Rotes Wien - 15 beautiful Brick Buildings

Heisses Wien - Tabu Walk

Favoriten Jetzt tour

Goethehof Gemeindebau Vortrag - Kunst zur Realität

Das Schöne im Schiachen - Eugene speaks at Tandlermarkt

MAK: Eugene speaks on Liveability

Tag der Deutschen Einheit Citizenship Test, MARKK Hamburg

DJ Eugene on Donaukanal für Radsommer

Human Rights & the City walk

Urban Future Conference Oslo (moderation, presentation, tour, social-dining)

Cargobike Party DJ, Alte Post

What Christmas means for Atheists tour

Wine Walk Bisamberg

Arsenal & Sonnwend tour for ImpulsTanz

Walk the Line Neubau Grenze tour

Feminism for Men tour

Wien im Film Abend - Film Museum

#kinodenktweiter - Gartenbaukino screening of Elemental (interview & moderation)

PS If you are still confused what Eugene does (and he is also), here are some of the job titles he has been given by journalists: social designer. [In 2022, a TikTok trend was to add the band TingTings 'it's not my name' to all ascribed job titles, since they are so limiting] but also dj. stadtmacher. city-maker. Kulttourguide. City-planner. Curator. journalist. urbanist-activist. Kulturarbeiter, kulturaktivist. Stadtgestalter. city-brander. rebel. social entrepreneur. müllmann. artist. wien-lover. urban explorer. storyteller. Fussgängster!, campaigner. researcher. provocateur. flaneur. Communicator. Knowledge worker. bummelmeister. Playmaker. wien-semiotician. Dadaismus-happening-leiter. moderator. walker. presenter. writer. CEO of s&p. Producer. sozialer Innovator. My profession is curiosity. and all the wrong ones: architect. migrant-irritant. tour guide. staatlich gepruefter fremdenfuehrer, academic, intellectual. Traveller, Street Walker (=prostitute in English), and Eugene's favourite Trottoir Trottel (this from a critical official guide who asked him a challenging question about why Petrarcagasse is called that, on the Italian Wien tour, and E. did not know). On LinkedIn, I am 'creative'. Urbganist is my job, but few people know what it means, and so it sounds pretentious.