Crowdfunding-Projekt Künstlerunterkünfte

Wir brauchen Ihre Unterstützung!

Die Zeit des Corona Lockdowns würden wir gerne gemeinsam mit Ihnen nutzen, um internationalen und nationalen Kunst- und Kulturschaffenden in Bentlage auch zukünftig einen attraktiven Standort für kreatives Schaffen zu bieten. Die Unterkünfte im Bauernhaus benötigen dringend eine neue Beleuchtung und eine zeitgemäße, flexiblere Einrichtung. Auf der Crowdfunding-Plattform der Volksbank Münsterland Nord eG benötigen wir dazu Ihre Unterstützung, denn „Viele schaffen mehr!“. Download Projektskizze

Volksbank-Crowdfunding verdoppelt alle Beträge bis 50,- €

Die Teilnahme am Crowdfunding-Projekt der Volksbank Münsterland Nord eG bietet die einmalige Chance, mit Ihrer Unterstützung alle gespendeten Beträge bis 50,-€ zu verdoppeln. So kann aus vielen kleinen Beträgen, die innerhalb von 3 Monaten gespendet werden, am Ende hoffentlich die gesamte Maßnahme finanziert werden.
So einfach können Sie uns unterstützen:

Rufen Sie die Crowdfunding Website der Volksbank Münsterland Nord eG auf: vbmn.viele-schaffen-mehr.de/einrichtungsupdate

Auf unserer Projektunterseite geben Sie rechts Ihren Wunsch-Spendenbetrag ein und klicken auf „Projekt jetzt unterstützen“.

Registrieren Sie sich kurz mit Ihrem Vor- und Nachnamen sowie Ihrer E-Mail-Adresse und bezahlen Sie schnell und einfach per paydirekt, giropay, Lastschrift oder Kreditkarte. Fertig!

Unser Lisbeth, Usch Hollmann, zum Projekt

„Kraut-Fahndung? Wat is dat denn?“

„Krautfahndung“ des Fördervereins Kloster/Schloss Bentlage?
Hallo Änne, hier is Lisbeth, hasse’n Moment Zeit? Du kennst doch unser Tant’Thea: Über achtzig, fit wie’n Turnschuh, hellwach im Oberstübchen, aber tut sich schwer mit diese vielen neuen englischen Fremdwörter. Ich meine, wo se recht hat, hat se recht. Auch unsereins steht da ja manchmal vor wie der Ochs vor de Scheune. Zum Beispiel: Wat is Crowdfunding? Tant’Thea jedenfalls hat bei unser Yvonne angerufen: Ob die ihr mal verklickern könnte, wat dat mit ein bestimmtes Kraut auf sich hat, wo der Förderverein jetzt nach fahndet, weil se Geld brauchen. Die wollen ihre ganzen Mitglieder anschreiben – und unser Tant’Thea is Mitglied von Anfang an – weil de Ehrenamtlichen dat Umfeld hinter de ehemalige Tenne ’n bisken zeitgemäßer gestalten wollen, für dat Künstler und Kulturschaffende aus rund umme Welt noch lieber nach Bentlage kommen als wie sowieso schon. Und solche Verbesserungen gibt’s ja nich für umsonst. Jetzt sollen bitte Jan und Mann und Hinz und Kunz mitmachen beim Kraut-Fahnden. Aber wat für’n Kraut dat sein muss und wo überhaupt man danach fahnden soll, dat wollte Tant’Thea mit Hilfe von unser Yvonne ’rausfinden. Weil Yvonne hat ja Bildung und Englisch gelernt und kennt sich auch gut aus inne Botanik. Yvonne sagt, sie wär ganz gerührt gewesen, aber hätte sich dat Grinsen nich verkneifen können: Tant’Thea hat sich Crowdfunding einfach so nach Gehör mit Krautfahnden übersetzt und will se unbedingt bei mitmachen, weil sie is begeisterter Bentlage-Fan, aber wie soll dat vor sich gehen? Änne, ich selber weiß es auch nicht ganz genau, aber dat krieg ich ’raus! Die Volksbank soll irgenswie mit im Boot sitzen, dat hört sich ja schon mal vielversprechend an … nächste Woche weiß ich da mehr drüber. Ich ruf Dich dann wieder an. Bis düsse Dage …

Fortsetzung folgt …
Projektplanung und -umsetzung

Einrichtungs-Update Künstlerunterkünfte

Um alle Vorhaben in der richtigen Reihenfolge umzusetzen, werden wir mit der neuen Elektroinstallation beginnen – danach erfolgen die Ausbesserung der Wände und ein neuer Anstrich. Wenn der Raum wieder hell und weiß geschlemmt ist, können die neuen Möbel einziehen: ein Sideboard an Stelle des alten Schrankes, der zukünftig im Eingangsbereich als Garderobenschrank eingesetzt wird; ein Ess-und Arbeitstisch, der max. 12 Personen Platz bietet und neue Sitzmöbel vor dem Kamin werden die Einrichtung vervollständigen. Eine neue Beleuchtung soll gutes Arbeitslicht, gemütliches Leselicht und eine perfekte Ausleuchtung für die in den Werkstätten entstandenen Druckgrafiken an den Wänden gewährleisten.

Ein kleines Bentlager Dankeschön

Spenden wird belohnt!

Im Namen des Förderverein Kloster Bentlage e.V. möchten wir Ihnen schon jetzt für Ihre Unterstützung herzlich danken. Wir werden unsere Unterstützer nach Fertigstellung der Maßnahme zu einer kleinen (Kultur-)Veranstaltung auf die Ökonomie einladen (abhängig vom Verlauf und Charakter der Pandemie) und dabei das Bauernhaus und die Druckwerkstätten vorstellen. Wir freuen uns schon jetzt darauf, Sie alle bald wieder in der Kultur- und Begegnungsstätte Bentlage begrüßen zu dürfen.
Bentlage – ein einzigartiger Ort für Kreation, Inspiration und Begegnung

Künstlerstimmen aus aller Welt

Der Förderverein gründete 1988 die Druckvereinigung mit dem Ziel, sich für die Vermittlung druckgrafischer Techniken zu engagieren. Seitdem haben sich beide Vereine mit Unterstützung der Stiftung Kloster Bentlage immer neue Ziele gesetzt, das Angebot erweitert, die Ausrüstung der Druckwerkstätten kontinuierlich verbessert und damit die Voraussetzung geschaffen, Künstler aus der ganzen Welt nach Bentlage einzuladen und ein attraktiver Stipendienort für Druckgrafik zu werden. Das Feedback und die Resonanz der letzten Jahrzehnte ist überwältigend … Wir werden in Kürze alle Künstler an dieser Stelle zu Wort kommen lassen. Anbei ein paar Auszüge:
Ann Aspinwall

I have spent time working in Bentlage nearly every year since 2007. On each visit I get immense pleasure from my walks in the woods, the historical buildings, and the amount of space at my disposal, both indoors and out. A welcome contrast to my native New York City, Bentlage offers both a figurative and literal breath of fresh air. It is a place where I am able to fully immerse myself in my current print project and reflect on ideas for future ones.

Over the years, aspects of Bentlage have made appearances in my work. The vibrant “saftiges Grün” (juicy green) of the new emerging leaves in spring, rows and rows of tree canopies, and the subtle undulations of expansive fields in all seasons have provided inspiration for specific works of mine. My most recent prints created in Bentlage, “Brume” (2019) and “Brume II” (2020), evoke the bewitching band of fog that often hovers over the fields at dawn.
When I look back now on the works I made in Bentlage, I realize what a significant part this unique place has played in my artistic output. I hope many other artists for numerous years to come will also have the good fortune to live and work in this wonderful environment.“
Jane Kent
I was invited to Bentlage to work with Ann Aspinwall and Knut Willich in June, 2013. Working with both Ann and Knut at Bentlage was a very special and dreamy experience. I love the prints we made  and working together in Bentlage’s beautiful studio was particularly wonderful. And after long days in the print studio, it was a pleasure to step outside and visit with the cows!
Aristea Chroniti

„Bentlage feels like a second and distant home to me; I traveled by plane from Athens, Greece to Dusseldorf, and from then I was surrounded be very kind and warm people, who made their best to fulfill my needs as a printmaker in residency. The surroundings of the forest are beautiful and inspiring, and the hospitality great. I worked a lot to produce quality prints while I was there, and I spent the time in the very well-equipped studios. The people of Bentlage Print Association were there, to see if somebody would need an extra material, or some assistance. That made me feel safe and capable of trying new techniques, or the techniques I was already familiar with, to execute them in another way.

Specifically, in Bentlage I used for the first time copper, instead of zinc for my etching, and everything worked excellent. Also, the aquatint, which I am so familiar with, there I did it with asphalt and not colophonium resin as I did before. Not only the Print Association guided me, but also, my fellow residents, who arrived from different places in Europe. We exchanged our practical experiences about printmaking, and that was helpful and valuable to me. I managed to see crucial facts about my art, as many of us came from other backgrounds, more or less, in education, in culture, in printmaking techniques, and in years of experience and expertise.
And truth is, that when things go well, at work and living, other good things come too; our free time and our working breaks were full of happy talks, walks, and getting to know each other. As I look back to my stay in Bentlage, I feel proud and thankful for that precious piece of my artistic career.“

Cees Andriessen

„Vom ersten Treffen an dominierte Bentlage weiterhin meine Tage. Es erregte Neugier: beschrieb eine Vergangenheit, die die Gegenwart nennt.

Schritte in der langen Allee auf dem Weg zum Kloster. Die majestätischen Bäume, der Flug von Elster und Krähe, ein Hase im hohen Gras, die Stille, die den Morgen beschreibt. „Wer nicht aufpasst, hat es nicht gesehen“ *.

Ich kehrte regelmäßig zurück, um zu arbeiten,  zu sehen, um zu sein.

* Eine Spur im weißen Sand/Een spoor in wit zand , Cees Andriessen / Cees Nooteboom, 2002

Ich sah eine weiße Wolke aus dem Blickfeld verschwinden und hörte in meinem Kopf die Stimmen im Kloster, „Metten und Laudes“ *.

Ich war mit Freunden / Kollegen in der Bentlager Druckwerkstatt, habe an neuen großen Holzschnitten gearbeitet und für einen davon den 3. Preis „Holzschnitt heute 2012“ von der Stiftung Kunst, Kultur und Bildung der Kreissparkasse Ludwigsburg erhalten.

Bentlage war ein Treffen über die Grenzen von Kunst und Ländern hinweg.

Paul Coldwell

„In 2015, I was delighted to be invited as Keynote speaker and to exhibit a selection of my work at SNAP3, the International Print Symposium organised by the Print Association Bentlage. The event brought together artists, writers, critics and curators and provided a rare opportunity to exchange ideas, make new friendships and renew existing ones. Over the course of the event, there were exhibitions, visits, demonstrations as well as time to socialise. Printmaking by its nature is collaborative, but the organisers ensured that the atmosphere was relaxed, congenial as well as productive.

It was an event that served as a model for creative exchange and one that I continually reference. I was so impressed by the level of organisation, attention to detail and the genuine enthusiasm that permeated every aspect of the symposium. The plans to further develop the facilities at Kloster Bentlage are really exciting and will further enhance this unique setting and confirm its place as a centre for the graphic arts. It will also serve to support artists, technicians, curators and critics in ensuring that printmaking receives the attention that it deserves as both a visual language and a means of distributing ideas.

Debora Ando

„Between June and July 2018 I did a three-week residency at the Druckvereinigung Bentlage. The place offers something really unique: the combination of a fully equipped studio surrounded by the woods and the Gottesgabe Saline, immersed in a historical location, and the warm support from all involved. It isn’t common in residencies to find such high standards at every front.

Space and quietness are fundamental during the conception of new ideas and reflections about my work. For the period I spent in Bentlage I could work continuously in a spacious and well-kept etching studio, which was an invaluable support to that stage of my practice, when I was preparing an installation for an exhibition, and needed privacy and time. Having the distinctive architecture and the beauty of the woods and the Saline as a company for my breaks throughout this residency was of a key contribution for a good balance between all the activities that I was carrying on at that time, for instance printing, reading, writing, reflecting.

During that time the artists from the Künstlerhaus Dortmund were having a group exhibition at the main gallery hall. I had then the chance to learn more about the German contemporary art scene and to develop an interesting network, in which I now actively participate.

Last but not least I would like to make a point about the value of the properly furnished premises such as the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. At the end of the day, after working for long hours, it did make a difference to stay in a comfortable and clean place, where everything works and I could relax. Cooking a nice meal, sleeping well, reading a book in the evening or having a chat with other artists were also important and did have a positive influence in my residency. The vegetable garden is also a very special feature and creates a nice connection between the past, current and future artists, who work(ed) in Bentlage.“

Rolf Escher

Both monastery and printing workshop at Rheine-Bentlage became places of intense artistic work for me in 2018. I was fascinated by the monastery and its medieval treasures. It is a historic place, which, defined by its location on the river Ems and surrounded by an old rural landscape, seems removed from modern age and thus stimulates phantasy. At first, I was mainly interested in the monastery buildings with their impressive interiors, revealing much of the history of this place. My drawings and etchings tell about this, as e.g. the etching „Exodus of he chained library“.

The more I became involved in studying the monastery I focused on the relic altarpieces. They emanate a particular transcendent magic. From this experience, I developed my sequence “Holy Heads” which I am planning to continue.

By working together with my colleagues Ann and Knut, I was able to translate my drawings into prints. Their perfectly equipped workshops allowed me to work in the techniques of etching, lithography and silk-screen printing. Also, I was given the opportunity of showing my works where I had created them. My solo exhibition in the rooms of the monastery was very successful.

During my stay, Jo Love, a graphic artist from Britain, was Artist in Residence in Bentlage as well. Her presentation on “Dust as artistic subject” was very inspiring and I enjoyed the exchange with the young artist. I am pleased to own an artwork of hers.

Magdalena M. Kjartansdótir

I had the pleasure of being a guest artist with residency at Bentlage printing workshop for ten days in 2019. Excellent equipment for lithograph (stones) and etching brought back found memories and tested my skills in a medium which I had not worked on for a while as linoleum and wood cut has been my preferred technique.

The guidance of Max and Ulla was wonderful and created a magnificient working environment in such a beautiful mystical surrounding with echoes and atmosphere of ancient history. During my time of the workshop eight artists from europe stayed and it made my dwelling very enjoyable. Technical methods and food recipes were exchanged during meals. Long discussion about art and life were inspired by the cozy fire place and I made friends which I still keep in contact with. I long for another visit to Bentlage and that such is as high recommendation for the place as it can be.

Besik Kharanauli

„As I arrived at Kloster Bentlage, breathed salt saturated air in and walked down the alley, I understood that the reality exceeded my expectations. This place, where past and present coexist harmonically together, transcends you from reality and inspires so that, no other place can do. artists, gathered under Bentlage’s roof, share the same magic, that is the beginning of many great things – friendship, art, ideas …

I hope that the wonderful hosts of Kloster Bentlage will further be able to share the magic of this place to people from all around the world.“

Alessia de Bortoli

I had the pleasure of spending two weeks as artist in residence at Kloster Bentlage in May 2019, sharing my experience with 5 artists coming from European countries. Our residency was part of the grafic project of Münsterland Festival and it enabled us artists to get to know each other and to share a creative experience. We were then involved in some exhibitions for the Festival in October of the same year. No place could be better than Kloster Bentlage for this experience of art creation and sharing.

When you arrive in Kloster Bentlage you are surrounded by nature and history, in a solemn peaceful place which is also warm and welcoming. It is impossible to not be enchanted by the beauty of the historical location, which makes one want to walk in the woods, to discover stories of the past about the fascinating buildings the saline and other sites of interest. The building in which we lived for fifteen days is a dream for every artist, especially for printmakers, who want to find a quiet and inspirational place where to work creatively.

Under the same roof you can find comfortable rooms, a common kitchen and dining room where meals and thoughts are shared with the other artists in residence, but most importantly two amazingly well equipped printstudios. I had access to everything I needed in the printstudios to work on my projects, mainly intaglio plates and linocuts. I could also work with other techniques and use many of the beautiful machines and presses that the space offers. It is a place that really makes one want to work, to create. One thing I really appreciated, is that from the printshop windows you can look at the adorable cows in the fields and enjoy all the energy of the green nature surrounding the building.

In the shared areas of the house and the printsudios I got to know the other artists from Europe, we shared our languages, our art and our techniques. In my particular case as a young emerging artist, it was incredibly inspiring to work alongside experienced artists of different ages from different countries with diverse artistic expression. It was great to learn tips and new techniques from them, to share my knowledge and projects and to listen to their ideas on art and culture making the best advantage of a shared printshop.

Experiences like these are life changing and give a new perspective on the world, both as a person and as a professional. I am grateful to all the amazing people in Bentlage who worked hard to make my residency so comfortable and so incredibly enjoyable. I always think of those days with a big smile. I hope I can go back soon to enjoy the location, the nature, the printshop and to meet new artists.

Ann Aspinwall | Hudson, USA
Clare Buchmann-Stubbs | Schweiz
Alessia De Bortoli | Italien
Cathrine Dahl | Norwegen
Agnieszka Koziarz | Polen
Louis Reith | Niederlande
Magdalena Kjartansdóttir | Island
Rita Gaspar Vieira | Portugal
Aristea Charoniti | Griechenland
Besik Kharanauli | Georgien
Majella Clancy | Irland
Ørjan Aas | Norwegen
Katsutoshi Yuasa | Japan
Simone Jänke | Deutschland
Julia Siegmund | Deutschland
Brigitte Gmachreich-Jünemann | Deutschland
Henriette Leinfellner | Österreich
Peter Muzak | Österreich
Karoline Rita | Österreich
Daniela Schlüter | Deutschland
Gintare Skroblyte | Litauen | Deutschland
Debora Ando | Brasilien | Deutschland
Claas Gutsche | Deutschland
Melike Taşcıoğlu | Türkei
Arno Christian Schmetjen | Deutschland
Rudi Bastiaans | Niederlande (ehm. Dozent AKI)
Liena Bondare | Lettland
Adam Bridgland | UK
Cees Andriessen, Apeldoorn | Niederlande
Darlene Kalynka | Kanada
Rolf Escher | Deutschland
Joscelyn Gardner | Kanada
Katherine Jones | UK
Katrin Graalmann | Deutschland
Catriona Leahy | Irland
Lindsey Glover | USA
Johanna Love | UK
Maria Schleiner | Deutschland
Delita Martin, Houston Texas | USA
Maurice Pasternak | Belgien
Melih Görgün | Türkei
Marc Siegner | Kanada
Paul Coldwell | UK
Patrick Fauck | Deutschland
Peter Jordaan | Niederlande
Sonia Higuera | Spanien
Matthias Weischer, Leipzig | Deutschland
Thomas Amerlynck | Belgien
Liz Ingram | Canada
John-Marc Schlink | USA