Project

SCHIESSLHAUS AiR is an artists’ house with an international Artist-in-Residence programme located in the listed historic “Schießl-Haus” in Kollnburg in the Bavarian Forest. It serves as a studio house for professional artists and creatives as well as a cultural venue.

The AiR programme combines an artist residency programme with a diverse programme of educational and outreach activities. Exhibitions, lecture series, workshops, networking events, artist talks and open studios create spaces for encounters, exchange and dialogue. The programme focuses on promoting and communicating contemporary art and culture, as well as strengthening cultural and democratic education and participation.

The initiative was developed by Katrin Savvulidi and Anna-Helena Klumpen from 2018 onwards, and the SCHIESSLHAUS AiR artists’ house was established in 2022. That same year, the municipality of Kollnburg became its supporting organisation. From 2022 to 2026, Savvulidi and Klumpen directed SCHIESSHAUS AiR and implemented publicly funded Artist-in-Residence programmes with changing thematic focuses. Since September 2026, the artistic direction has been led by Judith Bauernfeind, while Anna-Helena Klumpen is responsible for institutional management.

2022: lebt und arbeitet in … / lives and works in …
The first residency programme focused on the theme “lebt und arbeitet in …” (“lives and works in …”). This phrase, frequently used in artist biographies, was explored critically within the AiR programme and examined in relation to current social and cultural questions.

2023: LAND — STADT / RURAL — URBAN
In 2023, the relationship between the city and the countryside took centre stage. The pairing “LAND — STADT” (“RURAL — URBAN”) refers not only to contrasts but also to relationships, interdependencies and distinct identities. As part of the AiR programme, these dynamics were explored and reconsidered from artistic and cultural perspectives.

2024: KUNST UND DEMOKRATIE / ART AND DEMOCRACY
In 2024, the focus was on democracy. The project “Kunst und Demokratie im Bayerischen Wald” (“Art and Democracy in the Bavarian Forest”) marked the beginning of the development phase of a long-term regional cultural initiative within the framework of the federal programme “Aller.Land – zusammen gestalten. Strukturen stärken.” (“Aller.Land – Shaping Together. Strengthening Structures.”).

2025–2030: DEMOKRATIE UNPLUGGED – KUNST FÜR ALLE / DEMOCRACY UNPLUGGED – ART FOR EVERYONE
From 2025 to 2030, “DEMOKRATIE UNPLUGGED – KUNST FÜR ALLE” (“DEMOCRACY UNPLUGGED – ART FOR EVERYONE”) is being funded as one of 30 selected regional cultural initiatives within the framework of the federal programme “Aller.Land – zusammen gestalten. Strukturen stärken.” (“Aller.Land – Shaping Together. Strengthening Structures.”).

The Regen district, SCHIESSLHAUS AiR, operated by the municipality of Kollnburg, and Bild-Werk Frauenau e.V., together with other regional stakeholders, have joined forces to form a diverse network of partners. Through Artist-in-Residence programmes and a wide range of artistic and cultural participation formats, the project brings together artistic practice, cultural participation and democratic education.

Vision

Promotion of Contemporary Art

RESEARCH
PRODUCTION
PRESENTATION
EDUCATION
DISCOURSE

The Artist-in-Residence program seeks to create spaces for artistic-creative thinking, acting and researching. It focuses on the core areas: research, production, presentation, education and discourse. The residence creates the framework for independent artistic research and production, and it creates space for creative experimentation and public discourse. The SCHIESSLHAUS AiR program offers a high-profile presentation and education platform, and it encourages sustainable long-term networks.

TIME
SPACE
PROCESS
ENCOUNTER

The residency program is process-oriented: it focuses on time, space and encounter. SCHIESSLHAUS AiR seeks to inspire open-ended interdisciplinary dynamics, exchange and dialogue, participation and reflection.

Creation of Encounters, Collaborations and Networks

The SCHIESSLHAUS AiR sees itself as a COMMON SPACE – a place of encounter and dialogue, participation and reflection, where international artists and local communities come together within an open and non-discriminatory space; where new forms of collaboration and mutual learning processes are enabled and encouraged. The project is an attempt to think beyond the concepts of public and private space, and to reinvent shared living and working spaces based on collabo- ration and networking. This is what the neologism COMMONING expresses: It’s the actions and processes underlying the project.

Central to the AiR program are intercultural dialogue, site-specific approaches and the development of new concepts, in dialogue between the resident artists and their environment – that is, the local people and the local circumstances. The objective is to create long-term networks and relationships, between urban and rural spaces.

The individual artistic practices and positions of the resident artists, the international and interdisciplinary dynamics during each residency period, the cooperation with the project partners and the collaboration with the local population make each “commoned” event of the Artist-in-Residence Program unique, different and special. The SCHIESSLHAUS AiR is a common space where experiences are gained, knowledge and resources are shared, contacts are established and networks are built – during the residency and beyond.

“The accessibility of the studios, the artistic-educational program and the cooperation with local cultural actors lead to an intensive dialogical exchange between the local environment and the resident artists. The exchange is multidimensional and includes a program that works on all levels of the artistic creative process. With the basic principles of dialogue and participation, the SCHIESSLHAUS AiR takes up the state of the art of current residency research and develops it further in a regional context.”

Dr. Johannes Crückeberg, Leibniz University of Hanover

“With its interdisciplinary and intercultural exchange of knowledge, the residency program contributes significantly to the promotion of solidarity and tolerance and thus to the development of an open society. Through the strategy of dialogue and exchange, a network-based structure is created from which both the participants in the program and the local art and cultural scene can benefit in multiple ways.”

Hubert Huber, Artist, BBK Niederbayern

Artists' Residence

FACILITIES

The modern and functional furnishings of the artists’ residence create optimal living and working conditions.

The common areas are located on the first floor: a cozy living room with a wood-burning stove, a fully equipped kitchen with a seating area, a storage and utility room, and two sanitary rooms (bathroom and toilet). The upper floor is divided into three spacious individual bedrooms and private rooms, including a room with its own sink and separate parlor.

The light-flooded, communal working studio is located on the upper floor. The studio consists of an approx. 22 square meter workroom with two large windows, a double door leading to the outside, and an inside sink.  Moreover, in all private rooms there is a lot of space for individual work.

The spacious attic functions as an archive and office of the artistic directors. The garden and balcony face southeast and combine the outdoor areas of the house.

The resident artists can freely design and use the rooms of the residence during their residency, in mutual agreement with the other residents. The purpose of the rooms is to be understood as a flexible and changeable concept that offers different possibilities and formats, especially with regard to the exhibition and display of artistic projects. In addition to the indoor area, the outdoor area of the house can also be used for exhibitions and events.

EQUIPMENT

There is wireless internet (WLAN) throughout the house. Towels and bed linen are provided, as well as cleaning of the common rooms after public events. The artists are responsible for their own working materials. A beamer, printer and basic tools are available for common use. Washing machine and dryer are available.

“The residency program of the artists’ residence SCHIESSLHAUS AiR does not only provides studio, living and exhibition spaces, it also rewards artistic work and is thus contributing to the optimization of the working conditions for research, conception and realization of art projects. Spaces that can be used for brainstorming, experimentation, elaboration, development and presentation of artistic projects are of great value for resident artists and the local community. The “Schießl-Haus”, a historic monument in the center of the village Kollnburg, virtually is predestined for artistic and cultural use.”

Hubert Huber, Artist, BBK Niederbayern

“The historic monument “Schießl-Haus” in Kollnburg lies between Munich and Prague and it is ideally suited as a space for creative experimentation. As one of the last historic craftsmen’s houses in the Bavarian Forest, it combines past and future.”

Peter Haimerl, Architect

LOCATION

Kollnburg – A Castle Village in the Bavarian Forest

Kollnburg is a state-approved health resort in the middle of the Bavarian Forest National Park, idyllically situated on a ridge between the climatic health resort Viechtach and the winter sports center St. Englmar on the historic “Baierweg”. The “Schießl-Haus”, which has been awarded two monument prizes, is one of the sights of the village. It stands in a prominent position in the middle of the village center, directly opposite the town hall and below the castle ruins – the landmark of Kollnburg.

Kollnburg is located in the vacation region “Viechtacher Land” in the middle of the Bavarian Forest National Park, north of the 1050m high “Pröller”, between Viechtach (5 km) and Sankt Englmar (6 km). Bogen and Regen are both 27 km away, while Deggendorf and Cham are both 31 km away.

“Precisely because the Bavarian Forest is not artistically dominated and preformed, every new creation can become visible there - every research project and every cooperation is followed closely. Precisely because you can discuss socially relevant topics against an unbiased background, you see the bridges that can be built between ideas and people of diverse backgrounds.”

Peter Haimerl, Architect

“The project to establish a cultural meeting place in the beautiful landscape of the Bavarian Forest is a very important step to decentralize cultural production and to promote it outside the big Bavarian cities. The most intense and memorable artist-in-residence programs I have participated in have been precisely those in rather smaller towns. In such an environment, it's easier for the artists to orient themselves and find their working rhythm, which also results in a stronger connection with local actors.”

Diogo da Cruz, Artist, Academy of Fine Arts Munich

Team

JUDITH BAUERNFEIND
Artistic Direction
Cultural scientist, M.A.

ANNA-HELENA KLUMPEN
Institutional Direction
Art, media and cultural scientist, M.A.

Anna-Helena Klumpen is a curator, cultural manager and arts educator. She completed a binational Bachelor’s degree in European Media Culture / Culture des Médias Européens at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and Université Lumière Lyon II, followed by an international research Master’s degree in Cultural Analysis at the University of Amsterdam. She was a fellow of the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne / Kunsthistorisches Institut and taught at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in the fields of Media Art / Media Design and Media Culture. In 2022, she co-founded the SCHIESSLHAUS AiR artist residency in Kollnburg together with Katrin Savvulidi. Since 2023, she has also been curating artistic workshops at Villa Waldberta, the City of Munich’s international artists’ residence.

Anna co-founded SCHIESSLHAUS AiR and, since September 2025, has been directing the Aller.Land project DEMOKRATIE UNPLUGGED – KUNST FÜR ALLE. 

Sponsors and partners 2024

Sponsors and partners 2023

Sponsors and partners 2022