Kunsthaus Kaufbeuren sees itself as a place for encounters with contemporary art and culture & as a central location for the cultural life of Kaufbeuren.

Kunsthaus Kaufbeuren presents changing exhibitions and projects by contemporary artists. The [Foyer] on the first floor, the [Saal] on the second floor and the [Speicher] on the top floor offer different possibilities for presentation, residency, visibility, concentration - but also for opening up and participation. With artistic research, performative, participative and process-oriented approaches, various constellations are repeatedly tested in which the presentation of art, artistic production processes, interaction by and with visitors, events, activations and mediation come together. New formats and offers are to be developed in exchange and dialogue with visitors and actors from different areas of society.
Kunsthaus cooperates with local and international institutions and partners to implement a relevant program and supra-regional networking. In cooperation with the querKUNST art school, formats are developed especially for children and young people, in the context of which the participants can become creatively active themselves.

Kunsthaus Kaufbeuren sees itself both as an integral part of Kaufbeuren's cultural life and as a place that seeks to engage with international themes and discourses in art and culture.

In 1996, the Kunsthaus was opened in a remarkable new building in the old town of Kaufbeuren.

Architecture

In its external form, with its narrow structure and steep roof, the building is reminiscent of the medieval salt and grain barns. Modern in its materials and details, the building fits in with the urban concept and architecture of the old town. Around 500 square meters of exhibition space are available on two floors.

In the course of construction planning in the early 1990s, it was initially difficult to decide on a location for the Kunsthaus. Out of eight locations, the decision was finally made in favor of a new building in the area of the former hospital. Hans Dobler, the founder of the “Kunsthaus der Stadt Kaufbeuren Foundation”, engaged the then young Kaufbeuren architect Klaus Kehrbaum for the building concept. - As a complementary structure, the independent art gallery for temporary exhibitions was intended to restore the old order of the hospital buildings. After the demolition of the southern buildings, the hospital courtyard was an open space, the chapel had disappeared, the archive tower had been demolished and the stables and hostel buildings no longer existed. As a reference to the old hospital tradition, the old archive tower was erected as the stair tower of the new Kunsthaus. Not historicizing in detail, but in glass and concrete, it is intended to provide a deliberate contrast to the historic towers of the city fortifications. - The main building, on the other hand, has a closed appearance. Large plaster surfaces and clearly legible window areas form the base for the very steep, sheet metal roof. The guideline for the detailed development was to be material-appropriate, without ornamentation. The glazing on the first floor along the entire length of the north side gives the building transparency and lightness. The curved sheet metal roof lends elegance to the roof shape and has a mediating effect to the plain tiled roofs of the old town. All exterior walls are smoothly plastered and painted white. - Inside, the house reveals an engineering-like construction. In addition to the brutalist-looking wall surfaces and pillars made of exposed concrete, the hall of the main gallery on the second floor is characterized by the smoothed plaster surfaces of the walls and a floor screed. Steel trusses with large wooden panels characterize the second exhibition space in the roof area of the 2nd floor. No detail should restrict the architecture of the building in its statement. - Whether visual arts, theater or music, the room is intended to offer a variety of possibilities as a setting for any type of event.