Program

How do light and colour create moods, why does modern art begin with Impressionism, and what links a contemporary artist to Tina Blau? Rosa M Hessling guides visitors through the exhibition in conversation with curator Martina Padberg.

Admission: 12 Euros

Visual experiences in the exhibition and the joy of creating your own nature-inspired artworks! We’ll be experimenting with a special technique: marbling with pastel chalk. First, we’ll sketch out details using waterproof oil pastels. Then we’ll make a paper rubbing from coloured chalk dust floating on water. The exciting thing about this is that the result can only be roughly planned. As soon as the paper touches the water, chance creates fascinating, surprising patterns.

All materials are provided; no prior experience is required.

Admission plus 5 euros per family

Supported by the Förderkreis Kunstmuseum Ahlen e.V.

In this creative workshop, participants will discover the fascinating lightness of Impressionism and, inspired by the works of Tina Blau, create vibrant nature scenes on canvas.

After a guided tour of the exhibition together, we’ll get to work in the art school and capture the beauty of nature on canvas. In this course, we’ll explore Impressionist painting and create vibrant nature scenes, such as a colourful flower meadow. Alongside traditional acrylic paint, we’ll use unusual, experimental tools: with cotton buds, forks or crumpled paper, we’ll conjure up free-form textures, creating a wonderfully relaxed, naturalistic impression of the landscape.

In a relaxed atmosphere, we’ll create unique, flower-inspired pieces over the course of the project, which demonstrate in a special way how the playful, light-hearted process of painting can unleash a harmonious visual power.

Fee: 30 euros (including admission and materials)

Musical and literary journeys through the world of the Viennese coffee house. On ‘Coffee Day’, Stephan Schäfer and Alexander Pankov invite us to immerse ourselves in a delightful slice of Viennese culture.

The traditional Viennese coffee house has always been synonymous with pleasure and a certain way of life. Recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage, it has become an institution of the arts over the course of more than 300 years. Since the turn of the century, artists have found a second home here – a place to work, debate and relax.

Cologne-based speaker and author Stephan Schäfer will whisk you away into this fascinating world. As an experienced organiser of numerous themed readings, he has already staged over 1,000 literary evenings. Here, he brings texts by Torberg, Alfred Polgar and H. C. Artmann to life. He recounts the colourful goings-on in legendary temples of the muses such as the ‘Café Central’ or the ‘Café Hawelka’.

This literary mélange is complemented by traditional sounds brimming with Viennese charm. The internationally award-winning accordionist Alexander Pankov, who usually performs with leading orchestras such as the WDR and Bayerischer Rundfunk, brings the unmistakable spirit of the Viennese coffee houses to the museum. Look forward to waltzes by Johann Strauss, Hungarian dances by Johannes Brahms and classics of the Viennese song.

Admission: 18 Euros 

Supported by the Förderkreis Kunstmuseum Ahlen e.V.
 

In this creative workshop, we’ll use a combination of paper, watercolours, wire and stone to create poetic, floral objects full of exciting contrasts.

After a tour of the exhibition, we’ll get to work together in the art school. First, we’ll use watercolours to bring out vibrant shades on fine paper and shape them into imaginative flowers. Combined with wire and stones, these will develop into delicate, three-dimensional works of art. Lush, colourful blooms meet cool stone and wire. The vibrant shapes stand in striking contrast to the rough, earthy elements: here, lightness meets weight, colour meets minimalism. It is precisely these contrasts that give the objects their charming character!

Please note: Please bring a pair of needle-nose pliers and, if available, small pliers for jewellery-making (e.g. round-nose or flat-nose pliers).

Fee: 30 euros (including admission and materials)