Vienna Art Week 2011 opened on Monday under the umbrella theme of "reflecting reality."

For the seventh time, Vienna Art Week has become an important European art festival, attracting international collectors, museum curators, art critics, artists and an increasing number of art lovers.

It covers over 100 programs this year, ranging from special guided tours of special exhibitions as part of the Gallery Weekend, to panel discussions and lectures.

The event "has grown from 20 program partners to 70, from 500 visitors in the first year to 15,000 in the previous edition" and "almost all the events are oversubscribed," said Robert Punkenhofer, the artistic director of the Vienna Art Week.

The fair this year is under the theme of "reflecting reality" to examine the psychological dynamics of art production and collectors' passion.

The event will run till Sunday.