Where Artists would like to go

Por­cignano in Chianti was the private summer home of Leo Lionni. The pho­to­grapher, painter, graphic designer and sculptor will be familiar to many parents because of his famous children’s books, such as the classic about Fre­derick the Mouse. The estate in Por­cignano not only housed Lionni’s studio, but it was also a meeting place for his inter­na­tional circle of friends. This spirit is still per­cep­tible – works of art and han­di­crafts from all over the world can be seen ever­y­where in the villa. Today, Leo Lionni’s grandson Pippo lives in and breathes life into the studio, and his recent works are an inter­active, impro­vi­sa­tional exchange between abs­tract painting, sculpture and con­tem­porary music. In the off-season, the pro­perty is also available as accom­mo­dation for archi­tects or artists-in-resi­dence.

The Kranich Hotel near the Bodden coast of Western Pome­rania includes a hotel, a café and a museum for con­tem­porary art. It is hosted by his­torian Dr. Bettina Klein, who from the very beginning has also been running an artist-in-resi­dence pro­gramme for artists and per­formers from the field of visual arts.

In the far north of Norway – on a small island in the Fleinvær archi­pelago on the Arctic Circle – the com­poser and musician Håvard Lund has created a retreat for artists and holi­day­makers. Through direct contact with nature, guests are encou­raged to be inspired and sti­mu­lated to be creative. The Arctic Hideaway is a small village con­sisting of ten single-purpose houses. Here, even the name says it all, because For­dyp­nings­rommet means “space for deep thoughts”. An artist-in-resi­dence pro­gramme is offered for artists.

In an old four-sided farm in the north-west of Bran­denburg, the Berlin artist Elisophie Eulenburg has created a venue on the out­skirts of Berlin that is intended to promote exchange between city and country. The cour­tyard offers space for living, for holidays, for con­cen­trated work and for cul­tural acti­vities. The four houses of the heritage listed ensemble have been carefully reno­vated and offer a total of ten places to stay. In the large barn, which can also be rented on request, there is space for a wide variety of acti­vities such as exhi­bi­tions, rea­dings, music events or work­shops. In the coach house there are work­rooms and writing rooms. The Blue Horse pro­motes art and cul­tural stays.

Zeitz in the south of Saxony-Anhalt is a city in tran­sition. One of the initia­tives to revi­talise the former indus­trial city is the con­version of a former noodle factory into a centre for crea­tivity. In 2017 Birgit and Mathias Mahnke bought the factory, which dates back to 1909 and have since been deve­loping the 12,000-square-metre site into a place for visual arts and virtual reality – with exhi­bition spaces, a co-working space and accom­mo­dation for artists. For guests who want to be very close to art, the holiday apartment is a good choice: the Loft in the Nudel­fabrik.
If the Loft is fully booked or people prefer to go to Leipzig, the hosts offer three other lofts in old indus­trial buil­dings that are used for cul­tural pur­poses.

In the spirit of the inventor, far away from everyday life and the con­stric­tions of its con­ven­tions, Joseph Villary de Fajac created an Arcadian idyll around 1880 that still inspires its guests today: Château de Sibra at the foot of the Pyrenees. Host Sibylle Thomke, who as an architect is also respon­sible for the con­version of the château and its out­buil­dings, invites guests to stay for art and work: Artists’ accom­mo­dation con­sists of a com­bi­nation of sleeping and working space. If you are looking for inspi­ration, go to the extensive park, which was laid out and recently res­tored as a romantic “jardin exo­tique” with a multitude of small display buil­dings, so-called “fabriques”, various rocaille orna­ments and a variety of tree species in the style of an edu­ca­tional arbo­retum.

The his­toric manor house on the out­skirts of the small village of Zarchlin in Meck­lenburg-Western Pome­rania tells an exciting (archi­tec­tural) story from the outside to the inside: from its origin in 1879 as the home of the landowner’s family to its function as a town hall, neigh­bourhood workshop, shop or place for fes­ti­vities and cele­bra­tions in GDR times. Today, the guest house con­tinues to function as a ver­satile space – for retreats or socia­lising in the common rooms, for couples, families or as a meeting place for work­shops and seminars. The house also strikes the right note with musi­cians, because in addition to a high-quality, sound-opti­mised rehearsal room, a large hall is also available.

The small stone house in the Croatian fishing village of Novigrad is known as the “photographer’s house”. Nikica Karavida, who was the first official pho­to­grapher in the region during the 1920s and 1930s, had his home and studio here. During the war in Croatia, the house was des­troyed and stood empty until 2015. The artist and designer Boris Kajmak reno­vated the house and turned it into a holiday home for two guests. As a tribute to Nikica Karavida, the photographer’s works can be found throughout the house.

Wald­kirchen in the Upper Pala­tinate is not only a place of pil­grimage but since the con­version of the former rectory has also become a desti­nation for lovers of art and archi­tecture.
Gallery owner Michael Zink has con­verted the former barn into an exhi­bition and gallery space. Designed by the Swiss archi­tecture firm Atelier Dimanche, from the outside the building blends har­mo­niously into its rural sur­roun­dings: Quarry stone walls and larch wood slats con­ce­aling the windows are remi­niscent of the old barn. Inside, a high wide space opens in a mini­malist atmo­sphere, where red cotto bricks and exposed con­crete meet glass and steel. The gallery space and access to the roof terrace are on the first floor. An artist’s apartment and a studio apartment for holiday guests are on the top floor. Here, art is not only present in the current works of art dis­played on the walls: Through an interior window, you can look into the gallery’s seven-metre-high exhi­bition space.