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Ārt House is a new collective of artists around Michael Hell, Thomas Höft, Georg Kroneis. The founders of Ārt House, work in different areas of the arts, in state organisations and existing associations, especially in the fields of musical theatre, performance, new, classical and early music, but have been dissatisfied with their state for some time. The Corona pandemic has brought home to them the need to think more fundamentally and anew.
All people who feel associated with Ārt House, are a network of people working on the same thing in very different fields: trying to understand our present, and in the process broadening the horizon of possibilities. The Ārt House association is therefore first and foremost a platform for the exchange of such experiences. At the same time, they come from defined areas of culture and have set up various laboratories/workspaces for theatrical/musical forms under the umbrella of Ārt House. Among them is the music ensemble Ārt House 17 under the musical direction of Professor Michael Hell. The focus here is on the historically informed performance practice of early music in a very comprehensive sense. From this they regularly develop new concert formats.
New flexibility
In the opera company Ārt House Opera under the musical direction of baritone Dietrich Henschel and the young London conductor Gabriella Teychenné, they are rethinking music theatre: with a smaller cast and flat hierarchies. Each person makes management decisions in the areas of their own expertise. Established names work with newcomers and young talents. The Corona-appropriate opera production COSÌ.20 was their first project, which they realised in July/August 2020 in forum:lockenhaus at Burg Lockenhaus.
Digitisation & social networking
Ārt House Zoom is a digital salon that was launched in March 2020, in which they discuss ways of art across disciplines together with the music mediator and vice rector of the Kunstuniversität Graz, Constanze Wimmer, and the cultural philosopher Michael Wimmer. Guests so far have included the designer Johannes Erler (Spiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Staatstheater Stuttgart, Suhrkamp-Verlag), the film producer Verena Graefe (Juna-Film, nominated at the Cannes Film Festival and winner of the Producer's Prize at the Hamburg Film Festival), the curator Katrin Bucher-Trantow (Kunsthaus Graz), the architect Volkwin Marg (GMP, architect of the airport Berlin-Tegel and many others), Hannes Rudolph (psychologist, director and trans man, Zürich), the linguist Stefan Grondelaers (Radboud University Nijmegen) and the author and cultural manager Leonie Hodkevitch (university lecturer in cultural management and intercultural communication)... and many more.
Gender & Diversity
The question of gender diversity and queer subcultures is given special attention in the work of Ārt House. Especially for this purpose, they have founded the ensemble Fetish Baroque, in which artists regardless of sexual orientation and gender play at the intersections between subculture and high culture. they convey this context both live on stage and in relation to current discourses such as the fetish theory developed by cultural scientist Hartmut Böhme. They establish gender balance in all our projects: the male musical director of Ārt House 17 in Michael Hell is contrasted with the female concert-master Lidewij van der Voort, and Ārt House Opera is led by conductor Gabriella Teychenné and conductor Dietrich Henschel. In addition, with flat hierarchical structures, they ensure that everyone has a say, allowing everyone to make a leadership contribution within the scope of their expertise.
Sustainability
In view of the challenges posed by climate change, the arts sector must also rethink its practices in order to act sustainably. Ārt House is doing its part to reduce its impact on the carbon footprint by following as far as possible the guidelines of Arviva, the pioneers for sustainable producing and hosting of shows in the European classical music scene. |
