Atelierhaus Salzamt
Coordinates: 48°18′23″N 14°16′59″E / 48.306359°N 14.283191°E
The Atelierhaus Salzamt is a cultural institution in the city of Linz, Austria since mid-2009. Their goal is to promote international artist exchange programs in the field of fine arts. The house, emerged from the former “Salzstadl”, is centrally located directly at the Danube and is used as a residence and work opportunity for local and foreign artists. The house offers among other things 5 apartments, 9 studios and an exhibition hall. The city of Linz invested 4 million Euro for buying, renovating and adapting the building.
The building
The house was built in 1706 as imperial salt chamber on the southern bank of the Danube as a three-storey building. According to its time of origin it shows many baroque features. Aisles, exhibition room and some other rooms have cross-vaulted ceilings. Where the outside walls are built on the former city walls they are up to 2 meters thick. Because the building is subject to the monument protection they took care of the best possible preservation of the original structure while renovating it till 2009. Thus, for example, the original plaster ceilings and wooden floors have been preserved in many rooms. Also the beams of the roof construction remained unchanged. The layout of the complex resembles the lowercase letter "h", where the total floor area is approximately 1,400 square meters. On the ground floor, next to the premises of the Atelierhaus, a restaurant run by an external tenant is lodged. In summer, a well-enclosed courtyard with an arcade is used as a dining area. To accommodate the building equipment and sanitation facilities a basement was built subsequently.
Purpose and aim
The aim of the facility is to give young international and local artists the opportunity to work unencumbered by the normal everyday life in a new environment, to exchange ideas with colleagues and work together. For this purpose they will get an apartment and a studio provided during their stay for 1 up to 6 months. In addition the artists will receive a grant for covering their living expenses. If required and possible tools and equipment can be lent.
The resulting artworks will be presented in the exhibition hall.