Artothek in Weiz: Works of art to rent and discover!

Artothek in Weiz: Works of art to rent and discover!

The opening of the “Artothek” recently took place at the Weberhaus Gallery in Weiz, a project that aims to make art accessible to a wider audience. Numerous interested parties and artists came together to obtain information about the concept and the works on display. The idea behind the Artothek is to take pictures from storage and present them to the public.

This project was inspired by the former mayor of Vienna Helmut Zilk, who showed numerous works of art in exhibitions during his time in office. Oswin Donnerer, cultural officer for the city of Weiz, took up this inspiration about ten years ago and brought the concept to Styria. The goal is to show the beauty of the artwork and promote interest in art.

Picture loan for a whole year

30 different works of art were presented at the opening, including watercolors, linocuts and acrylic paintings. Anyone interested can view the works of art until December 6th, after which they will be available for an eleven-month loan. The rental fee is only 15 euros, which is considered very cheap. There are currently over 350 works stored in the depot, waiting to be discovered by art lovers. The loaned art is managed by Harald Polt from the Weiz City Museum in collaboration with the city library.

The interest in the opening was overwhelming. The first reservations for the coming annual loan could already be made during the opening ceremony. The guests included prominent personalities such as former mayor Erwin Eggenreich, architect Elmar Hauser and the artist Sabine Schilcher-Asen, who came especially from Graz. They were enthusiastic about the works on display by artists such as Walter Kratner and Cristina Mavaraccio.

The organizers Oswin Donnerer and Georg Gratzer spoke introductory words about the event, while some of the artists present such as Johann Pötz, Dorothea Nell and Anna Jenner took the opportunity to exchange ideas with the guests and present their works.

In addition to the Artothek, there have been several other exhibitions in Weiz recently, such as the art school's “Art goes Weiz” exhibition or the international art exhibition Euro Vistas. The promotion of art and culture in the region is at the top of the agenda of the organizers, who want to continue to revitalize the art scene through such event formats.

The Artothek not only opens up a way to make art accessible to everyone, but also strengthens cultural life in Weiz. A beautiful place to experience, enjoy and rent art.