Guest Artist at Stiftung Insel Hombroich

Living and working as a guest artist from November 1 until December 31, 2024 at Stiftung Insel Hombroich. Hombroich is a museum and a place where artists live and work; a landscape; and a domain for both: architecture, and artistic, literary, philosophical and musical events. Conceived as a continuing ›open experiment‹ and born out of the personal commitment of private collectors alongside artists with a lasting association with Hombroich, the Stiftung Insel Hombroich established in 1997. The foundation encompasses Museum Insel Hombroich, Raketenstation Hombroich and the Kirkeby-Feld. It has engendered a cultural space which continues to be broadened and enriched by independent partners—the Langen Foundation, the sculpture hall endowed by the Thomas Schütte Stiftung and the Feld-Haus - Museum für Populäre Druckgrafik. Stiftung Insel Hombroich and its partner institutions, organising exhibitions, symposia and concerts, each contribute in their own way to the evolution of the Hombroich Arts and Culture Site.

Stiftung Insel Hombroich, Raketenstation, Atelier, Wohnhaus. Wohnhaus, Erwin Heerich, 1999–2001. (All images and mission statement © 2024 Stiftung Insel Hombroich)

Introduction

»Possibly, ›The Island‹ Can Only Be Experienced—Not Described […] To me, Hombroich means not only the construction of a museum, but the attempt to find a new form of living with all the ideas and things which one might almost see as having been disparaged in society to date.« Karl-Heinrich Müller (1936–2007), founder of the Museum Insel Hombroich and the Foundation.

Along with Museum Insel Hombroich, the parent foundation Stiftung Insel Hombroich possesses two further terrains and their architectural ensembles which enter into diverse relationships with their natural environment and which each have a character of their own.—These are the Raketenstation Hombroich and the Kirkeby-Feld. Hombroich as an overall space of culture and art covers an area of more than sixty hectares.

Hombroich

Hombroich is the dynamic and diverse interplay of art, nature, buildings, collections, archives and people. The Hombroich site connects artists, scientists, foundation staff, volunteers and associated institutions. It was founded by the patron Karl-Heinrich Müller. Hombroich encompasses the material and intellectual legacy of the founding generation as well as developments and endowments arising from it. It is a place of creative processes, of experiments and their open-ended outcome. Hombroich sees itself as an island in a present of fast-paced life, utility orientation and consumption.

Stiftung Insel Hombroich, Raketenstation, Atelier, Wohnhaus. Wohnhaus, Erwin Heerich, 1999–2001

Foundation

Stiftung Insel Hombroich serves the Hombroich community and society as a whole. It was established by the founder together with the city and district of Neuss in order to preserve Hombroich's place and concerns and to lead them into the future. The foundation ensures the negotiation of the various interests gathered there in order to further develop Hombroich in its entirety. To this end, it establishes committees and formats in which content and strategy are negotiated. The expertise of external parties is sought and incorporated. The foundation ensures that new generations of artists and scientists are present at Hombroich and that their voices are heard. The foundation is an advocate for nature, which is essential for Hombroich and which it cares for and preserves. Its actions are ecologically oriented. The foundation manages the collections and archives in its possession, researches them and makes them accessible to the public.

Organization

Hombroich stands for self-responsibility and the reciprocal exchange between the people working there. Independent projects by those working at Hombroich are necessary for individual development and for the site as a whole. The foundation develops and supports suitable forms of organization. With the goal of diverse basic financing and the greatest possible autonomy, the foundation acquires public and private donors. It is responsible for and communicates the material concerns of Hombroich as a whole. The foundation is an employer of employees and a partner of artists, volunteers, sponsors and associated institutions. It establishes structures that reflect the diverse fields of activity of the actors and involve them in decision-making processes

Stiftung Insel Hombroich, Raketenstation, Wohnhaus, Erwin Heerich, drawing

Community

Hombroich is above all the people who work here. The ways in which they connect with the place differ in intensity and duration. In order to ensure that this open community also forms a continuum, the foundation establishes suitable rituals and formats. Hombroich is hospitality in action. The foundation's attitude is that everyone is welcome at Hombroich. It enables those working on site to be multipliers of Hombroich in their own way. The foundation cultivates and shapes the relationship with the region—whether through contact with educational and cultural institutions or by engaging with the surrounding cultural landscape. Hombroich sees itself as part of international artistic and scientific networks. The foundation promotes their maintenance and expansion. It knows and understands the topics and competencies worked on locally and links them beyond Hombroich.

Public

Hombroich is an invitation to the whole of society. All people, regardless of their background and education, should be encouraged to perceive and act in an unbiased and self-determined manner. To this end, the foundation develops offers oriented toward dialogue. It bundles the programmatic activities of different actors in Hombroich and communicates projects developed there to the general public. The foundation makes it possible for Hombroich to participate in the professional discourses of the present based on its collection and knowledge stocks, also with its own programmatic impulses.

This mission statement was developed jointly by the stakeholders in Hombroich (as of August 2021). More information is available at: www.inselhombroich.de/en

Stiftung Insel Hombroich, Raketenstation, Archivgebäude und Bibliothek, Wohnhaus, Erwin Heerich

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