WORKSHOP GRAZ
For more than 20 years, the house SPORGASSE 16 in GRAZ has been offering artists, researchers, journalists, musicians – studios, guest studios, living rooms, offices and presentation rooms.

The names give an insight into the dynamism of the house: Atelier Facchinelli; Atelier M; Atelier Reichl + Baur; Office for Anonymous Work in Public Space: Baur + Tertinegg; Initiative studio tour Graz: Baur-Rahs-Haubenhofer; SKI Kulturinitiative-Büro: Baur-Klammer; Textile studio Silvia Magerl; Gerry Ozimic metal studio; Atelier Baur + Baur; Atelier Paternusch; Willi Hengstler office; Lametta Film Production; Schwarzenberg literature room; Studio O.Klammer; and much more.

The WORKSHOP GRAZ is an expedition group with starting points, an office, guest artist living rooms, guest studios, an archive laboratory, a presentation room and a gallery – between boutiques, perfumeries, beauty salons, pastry shops, beggars, Computer shops and a knife grinder in the middle of the old town of Graz.

The complexity of the implemented concepts is confirmation of the open attitude of the WORKSHOP GRAZ against social changes and is to be seen as a constructive participation in a new concept of culture. The many years of work also show the consistent persistence that is necessary and apparently necessary for problem solving in the difficult area of culture.

An essential quality factor of WORKSHOP GRAZ is the internationalization of the projects. As part of the guest program alone, extraordinary artistic and scientific achievements were published and promoted in cooperation with over 25 national and international institutes and initiatives in a wide variety of areas.

The WORKSHOP GRAZ is one of those innovative institutions that has adopted the “ new ” functional concept of art. She is aware of the dangers of autonomizing art and does not practice it in the sense that it contests the social, but that it becomes independent in the social. It does not try to lobby profit-oriented or collaborate with certain social structures “ ”, but to work with them and develop joint projects and cultural-political models. ( from: Almanach 98, Vanesa Cvahte )

The WORKSHOP GRAZ managed to create artists such as Timm Ulrichs, Gottfried Bechthold, Peter Weibel, Pipilotti Rist, Gerfried Stocker, Oksana Zabuzhko, Damijan Kracina, Ingeborg Strobl, Rainer Ganahl, Bazon Brock, Franz West and many, many others to include specific local topics, to evoke and create a communication situation, whereby the local problem has been expanded by a new ( critical ) view.

One of the pioneers of media art, Richard Kriesche, wrote:

„ die WORKSHOP GRAZ has provided proof of performance for the ‚ local scene ‘ and beyond, the cultural profile of this city, which is hardly recognized in its cultural significance, was underestimated from the official side and was therefore also underdoped a lot. if you can still speak of an open, artistic scene in graz, then about the finely structured structure of the WORKSHOP GRAZ.“

( from: http://ALMANACH2003.MUR.AT/)

Or in the words of a critic:

“WORKSHOP GRAZ is one of the most interesting art institutes to come into being in styria, austria, over the past few years. Artists and Scientists work together here in an interdisciplinary manner, contributing notable creative initiatives to the cultural image of the province. ”

Since 2005, the „ house share “ was able to establish the GRAZ ART* be extended to SPORGASSE 20. In this house is located in the rooms of the former accessory shop BEL VEDERE ( ital. „ beautiful view “ ) the gallery, the artist office and the artist's studio of the WORKSHOP GRAZ.

* GRAZ ART is a term coined by WERNER SCHWAB, which was first formulated in the “ People's Destruction – or my liver is meaningless ”:

“ ... So the art of Graz ... this type of art, that is when the artistic people pull their feelings together in the soulful city… so when an art variety takes a unique beginning out of the soulful Graz man. It is like when the landlord says that he wants to use a color picture for the children's room from the children of Graz ... ”

GRAZ ART presents artistic achievements of local and international artists, various analog and digital media: e.g. Painting, drawing, photography, music, concept, video.

In addition, the archive and the office of the WORKSHOP GRAZ as well as the WORK – CITY – PARK – GRAZ designed by artists in the back yard.

Since its foundation, the WORKSHOP GRAZ with the research series „ Contemporary jewelry art “, which took place on the 15th. November 1999 at the opening of the http://www.schmuckmuseum.at/ has led.

From 2007, the FRANZ WEST protectorate existed GALLERY GRAZY. The gallery is located in the back yard of the house SPORGASSE 16. Since its foundation, the rooms have been available for projects and exhibitions.

ARTS BIRTHDAY