Critical energy is fugitive. It confronts and destabilizes, grants no pause or respite. Critique has the potential to concentrate and materialize it in the form of an artistic practice. The volume Big Critical Energy bundles the energy that circulates in the Critical Studies masters programs at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. It convenes students, tutors and alumni of the program in one book. Their contributions trace the conditions and intentions with which artistic and theoretical scholarly research is conducted. Texts by Marwa Abou Hatab, Onur Akyol, Felix Balzer, Anna Barbieri, Viktoria Bayer, Carolin M. Brendel, Sabeth Buchmann, Adina Camhy, Ana de Almeida, Diedrich Diederichsen, June Drevet, Helena Eckert, Jakob Ehrlich, Rebecca Fuxen, Vasilena Gankovska, Kelly Ann Gardener, Jackie Grassmann, Moira Hille, Tatjana Hoser, Leonie Huber, Barbara Juch, Eszter Kállay, Mahsima Kalweit, Chantal Kaufmann, Luisa Kleemann, Flora Klein, Dan Robert Lahiani, Soliman Lawrence, Sarah Lehnerer, Emilia Lichtenwagner, Valerie Ludwig, Guilherme Maggessi, Tabea Marschall, Linnéa Meiners, Inka Meißner, Janine Muckermann, Simon Nagy, Laura Nitsch, Jeremy Okello, Ben Rosenthal, Martin Rovan, Constanze Ruhm, Kervin Saint Pere, Tomash Schoiswohl, Ruth Sonderegger, Miriam Stoney, Selina Shirin Stritzel, Inga Charlotte Thiele, Lucía Ugena, Andrea Zabric, Hanwen Zhang