Light, air and sun are the basic needs that housing should ideally fulfil. These requirements for future urban planning were first formulated in the famous Athens Charter (1933). The Kunstverleih initiative would like to add a central concept to this motto: ART!

Contemporary art does not only belong in galleries and exhibition centres, it can and should also inspire in the private sphere. But you have to be able to afford art, they say. And so for most of us, it remains outside of our reach. This is precisely the gap that the Kunstverleih initiative aims to close. Founded in 2014 by Andreas Heller, Isa Riedl and zweintopf, the Kunstverleih initiative creates a network between Styrian artists and people interested in art. It allows works to circulate that would otherwise disappear somewhere in the artists' collections, packed away dust-free, and provides private flats with contemporary art.

The Kunstverleih initiative sees itself as a dynamic, nomadic organisation. An overview of all available works can be found at www.kunstverleih.org and at changing locations in Graz at the annual exhibitions and events organised by the Kunstverleih Initiative. Every year, the participating artists make new works available - so the collection is always alive.

As an art lover, I can get to know artists and their work on a very personal level through the Kunstverleih initiative, I can ‘rent’ works and live with them ‘for a while’ and take part in the development of the respective artists. And who knows, maybe at some point it will be impossible to imagine one's personal life without works of art.