The institution „KÖR Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Wien” (Public Art Vienna) was founded in 2004 by the administrative units Culture, City Planning and Housing. Based on the experience and success of the initial years from 2004 to 2007, the fund was transformed into a GmbH (limited liability company) in July 2007.
On January 1, 2024, the operations of KÖR GmbH were incorporated into Stadt Wien Kunst GmbH as an independent business division under the brand "KÖR Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Wien".

KÖR is committed to breathing new life into the city of Vienna’s public space with permanent or temporary art projects. Its endeavors are aimed at strengthening the identity of the city and of individual neighborhoods in terms of contemporaneity and at reviving public space as an agora – a place of sociopolitical and cultural discussion. KÖR does not understand art in public space as décor, but as an offer for the confrontation with aesthetical contents and radical solutions and a symbolic marking of hitherto culturally abstemious territories.

KÖR manages art projects, commissions artists, organizes competitions for projects in public space, allots subsidies to artists or partner organizations, and engages in activities related to these tasks (symposia, publications, educational programs, etc.).

The projects have to be publicly accessible within the City of Vienna, where art can be experienced by everybody.