Use of the Atelierhaus

The Atelierhaus is a former industrial building in which two spacious studios are set up. They are made available to guest artists for a stay of one to up to four months. Expansive artistic gestures are possible in the larger space, a seven-meter-high hall with a heavy-duty crane and access for trucks. The smaller space offers a somewhat more intimate framework. Both studios have a workroom and living area equipped with a place to sleep, kitchen, and bath, and thus facilitate retreat and concentrated work. To this end, guests can also make use of the collections of the Kunstbibliothek and the Werkstoffarchiv situated directly next door at any time.

Producers of art from Switzerland and abroad are supported in their work with these opportunities offered by a guest stay in the Sitter Valley. The Sitterwerk Foundation’s studio advisory committee invites the guest artists directly; there is no open application process. In the cold winter months, guests are often artists from the St.Gallen region, who do not reside in the provisionally heated rooms. In the summer months, the studios are used intensively, generally by two guests simultaneously, who enliven the location with their positive exchange.
Over the years, sixty visual artists of various backgrounds and prominence have already made use of the opportunity to pursue a specific project, prepare for an exhibition, or develop new approaches in the Atelierhaus and its inspiring surroundings. The Open Atelier, a public evening event, offers insights into works begun or completed during the artists’ stays, respectively at the end of each stay.

Courses or summer schools launched by the Sitterwerk Foundation itself or in cooperation with educational institutions also take place in the Aterlierhaus on a weekly basis. It is also possible for external organizations or private individuals to rent the spaces in the Atelierhaus for a period of time.