BIA - Black Forest Institute of Art

The Black Forest Institute of Art (BIA) is both an art venue and an art project. It was founded in 2018 by Hösl & Mihaljevic. The BIA, located just outside Lenzkirch, is housed in a former holiday pension and was the home and workplace of Melitta Schnarrenberger (1909-1996) and Wilhelm Schnarrenberger (1892-1966).

The artist couple Wilhelm and Melitta Schnarrenberger moved from Berlin to Lenzkirch in 1938 with their seven-year-old daughter Vera. Against the backdrop of the impending war, the remote house seemed a safe place to live for the family, who were also able to build up a new livelihood by running a holiday guesthouse, Haus Waldfrieden. Wilhelm Schnarrenberger, known above all for his work in the New Objectivity movement, had lost his professorship at the Academy of Art in Karlsruhe in 1933 as a result of the National Socialists coming to power and was considered degenerate from 1937 onwards. After Wilhelm Schnarrneberger moved back to Karlsruhe in 1946, the guesthouse was run by Melitta Schnarrenberger until 1977, who lived and worked as an artist there until her death in 1996.

As an art project by the artist duo Hösl & Mihaljevic, the BIA is characterised by the idea of context. With this programmatic approach, the fundamental tension between 'preservation' and 'living practice' inherent in the location is to be made fruitful for artistic production. This is reflected in the BIA's diverse programme, which addresses the different aspects of the building and the history of its residents with exhibitions, guest residencies by artists, publications, performances and research residencies, thus creating a lively space for artistic processes.