Objective
Foundation Kaus Australis is an organisation which was originally set up and still organised by artists. Its general goal is activating the development, exercise and sparking of interest in visual arts in an international context. Above all Kaus Australis strives to create an exchangeprocess through gueststudios and exhibitionspace. Both local as well as artists and curators from abroad, who wish to work for a certain period in Rotterdam, can make use of these facilities.
History
Stichting Kaus Australis was founded in 1985. For several years accommodation was found in temporarily available buildings which, one after another, were turned into suitable studio and presentation spaces. During this period Kaus Australis initiated a number of exhibitions and invited guest artists from different countries to share working and presentation space. Starting from 1993, Stichting Kaus Australis had the opportunity to design and realise appropriate and long term accommodation, reflecting a more functional artistic space.
The building
The building is composed of pre-fabricated materials:
- A steel construction covered on the outside with profiled metal- and semi-transparent polyester sheets.
- Clear transparent sheeted parts of the roof show abundant daylight.
- Separating walls are made of wooden frame constructions, insulated and covered with underlayment and white leveling plaster.
- Floors consist of grey concrete squares, each 2 × 2 meters.
This newly built residence stands on it’s own ground, fronting a large private court-yard. The building project came into existence with the support of the Municipality of Rotterdam, Rotterdam art institutes and national funding organizations. A number of companies offered technical advice and sponsored a part of the material supplies.
Program
Kaus Australis does not outline a fixed program in advance. Settlement of guest artists and other activities develop on a flexible basis in conjunction with actual ideas and proposals arising from within and outside the organization.
Occasionally it is possible to schedule short-term activities like: special documentation of artworks, trial installations, private presentations or public art projects of short duration.
Exhibitions
Stichting Kaus Australis initiates small and large scale exhibitions and presentations. These activities are developed and realised together with individual or collective working artists and curators, with comparable organisations and art institutes.
For this purpose two or three separate spaces can be connected and easily transformed into exhibition space of at most 310 m². Kaus Australis is willing to meet with a broad range of proposals and ideas considered to be realized specially in these spaces and artistic context.
Kaus Australis as an organization also initiates exhibitions and projects elsewhere.
Guest artists are offered the possibility to present work in progress during their residence and/or exhibit works or projects after finishing a working period. Presentation happens either in one of the spaces of the Kaus Australis building or, if required, on other available locations in Rotterdam.
ANBISTATUS: http://www.kennisbankfilantropie.nl/anbi/kaus-australis