Mission

About

The AIR – ARTIST IN RESIDENCE Niederösterreich program in Krems promotes international cultural exchange. It offers artists from the fields of visual arts, architecture, culture, music, literature, and digital media the opportunity to live and work in Lower Austria for a period of time and explore the local cultural landscape.

Another area of focus are AIR residencies for Lower Austrian artists that are organized in collaboration with international partner institutions in Europe, the US, and Australia.

AIR gives artists space and time to further develop their work. AIR fosters a collaborative working environment that facilitates the exchange of ideas and knowledge. AIR is a unique space for experimentation where artists can create without the pressures of production.

In collaboration with seven partner institutions—the state of Lower Austria / Department of Art and Culture, Galerie Stadtpark Krems, Kunsthalle Krems, Karikaturmuseum Krems, NÖ Festival und Kino GmbH, ORTE Architekturnetzwerk NÖ, and Unabhängiges Literaturhaus NÖ—each year approximately forty fellows are selected and invited to Krems, where they are provided support and curatorial input during their stay. The studio apartments are located on the Kunstmeile Krems in the urban heart of the UNESCO World Heritage region of Wachau.

Mission

Our program offers a stable framework for artistic thought and practice, while also being open to innovation and the unexpected. We believe that hands-on practice is central to creativity. To this end, we foster an environment that offers clear structures while also responding flexibly to new ideas. Imagination, both in artistic practice and in intellectual exchange, plays a central role by pushing boundaries and opening up new paths. Our mission is to create a space in which artists can reflect on and further develop their potential.

Klaus Krobath, AIR program director and Lisa Saahs, AIR program coordinator

AIR-COMMUNITY

In five-week residency sessions, AIR offers five artists from various disciplines the opportunity to initiate, develop, or realize artistic projects in Krems.

The program provides professional curatorial support in the form of mentoring chats, open studio days, listening sessions, dinner conversations, tiny desk concerts, and organized visits to local art spaces and institutions in Lower Austria. AIR creates opportunities to meet and network with local artists and art professionals. Workshops, lectures, presentations, screenings, projects in public spaces, and other formats facilitate dialogue and engagement with the Kunstmeile community.

AIR fellows benefit from free admission to the many exhibition spaces of the Kunstmeile Krems. Free tickets are available to the festivals Imago Dei, donaufestival, Glatt&Verkehrt, ELIT Europäische Literaturtage, and the Kino im Kesselhaus, where films are screened in their original language.

AIR focuses on people and their interconnections, on innovative processes, and new perspectives. As a program that emphasizes relationships, AIR fosters dynamics that arise from the encounter of different perspectives and approaches.

Klaus Krobath, AIR program director and Lisa Saahs, AIR program coordinator

History

AIR – ARTIST IN RESIDENCE Niederösterreich was established in 2000 by the state of Lower Austria to promote international art and cultural exchange. Five studio apartments were set up on the top floor of a former carpet factory in Krems, located diagonally across from the Kunsthalle Krems.

Since 2006, AIR has been administered by Kunstmeile Krems Betriebs GmbH. AIR is a member of res artis, an international network of artist residency programs.

To date, AIR has hosted in Krems over 1,000 artists from over seventies countries. Over 250 artists with a connection to Lower Austria have received fellowships abroad.