Kunsthaus Kannen

In the location's words:

The Kunsthaus Kannen is located on the Alexianer Campus outside Münster in Amelsbüren. The Alexianer Münster GmbH is a widely networked hospital network of specialist clinics for psychiatry and psychotherapy. The establishment of the Kunsthaus Entstehung goes back to the promotion of particularly artistically talented residents of the Alexian campus, whose creative work and development has been continuously supported since the early 1980s.

The name of the Kunsthaus "Kannen" can be traced back to the 12th century, as the "Cane" estate was first mentioned in a bishop's document around 1200. The derivation of the name is uncertain. The name probably refers to the first name of a former owner, Kannen von Schwarte. A noble family "von Kannen" also derives its name from the former manor "Haus Kannen".

In the 1990s, the Kunsthaus Kannen was opened in a Wilhelminian-style villa on the estate to house the growing collection of paintings and to provide artists with a creative space, where solo exhibitions and group exhibitions on a specific theme have been held regularly. Over the past decades, a collection of well over 5000 works has developed from the wealth of visual material created, from which exhibitions are continuously organized and presented at home and abroad. In addition to drawings and paintings, the collection also includes collages, prints and installations, as well as numerous sculptures and sculptures. In 2000, the Kunsthaus was recognized as a "model project for the community of disabled artists" and supported by the NRW Welfare Foundation, which was unique in Germany at the time.

A spacious, handicapped-accessible new building was completed at the end of 2000. This combines the Kunsthaus Kannen studios and exhibition hall under one roof and, in addition to regular exhibitions, offers plenty of space for project work, workshops, conferences and lectures on the subject of art and psychiatry, "Outsider Art" and "Art Brut".

Outsider Art. What exactly is that? If you talk about the Kunsthaus and its artists, you will always hear the term "Outsider Art". So does "Outsider Art" mean art by people with mental illness or mental disabilities? It's not quite that simple. The term "outsider" refers to artists who, for a variety of reasons, have more difficult access to society and the art market. The term is most commonly associated with artists with mental illness or mental disabilities. However, it also includes artists without formal training or prisoners, for example.

This makes Outsider Art something special in the art world. Outsider art is not a style. It is a concept of art that is not based on a unified idea or theme, but on the fact that all artists are excluded in one way or another. However, this particularity brings with it problems that are also evident at Kunsthaus Kannen.
When you look at art from one area, you are used to being able to identify similarities between artists. What do artworks from an outsider art gallery have in common? Can you recognize being an outsider or even a mental disability and a "suffering soul" in all the artworks? The answer is no. The artists in the Kunsthaus have as different reasons for their art as artists outside of it. Some create things that make them happy. Others have a theme or a material that has occupied them for years and still others use art to make visible what's happening inside them. But there are some prejudices that artists cannot escape. Under the label of Outsider Art, people can be helped to gain a firm foothold in the art market and, with a great deal of commitment, Outsider Art has become a permanent fixture in the art market. However, the stigma that people with mental disabilities or mental illness live under in society is also reflected in the art world. Artists experience discrimination and some reject the term for this reason. Outsider art is a changing label and Kunsthaus Kannen is also discussing how to deal with the controversial term.

As an integrative meeting place for artists with and without a disability or mental illness, the Kunsthaus is open to all interested parties with its studios and exhibitions, a small specialist library and an art store selling pictures, postcards and catalogs.

The artists at Kunsthaus Kannen have access to three painting and drawing studios with a total of 15 studio spaces and a workroom covering 150 square meters. Under the professional supervision of trained art therapists, mentally ill and mentally disabled people from the Alexianer residential area have the opportunity to freely develop their artistic talent and learn various techniques. In addition, studio members have the opportunity to work with artists from other studios in workshops and broaden their horizons.