Kunst Offen Schwaan

Studios open on Pentecost

"Kunst Offen" is one of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's best-known cultural events. Since 1994, more than 1,100 artists have opened their studios, galleries, gardens, and workshops throughout the state on the Pentecost weekend. Participating locations are identifiable by yellow umbrellas or blue-and-white flags. In the Schwaan region, numerous studios, galleries, and workshops participate — from ceramics workshops to painting studios.

Schwaan — Mecklenburg's Painters' Town

Schwaan has carried its artistic tradition for over a century. Around 1890, the small market town, with Franz Bunke, born in Schwaan, became Mecklenburg's only artists' colony. Bunke is considered the initiator and the personification of the Schwaan artists' colony and helped bring plein air painting to prominence. Alongside him, Rudolf Bartels, Peter Paul Draewing, and Alfred Heinsohn, based in Hamburg, shaped the colony. The Kunstmuseum Schwaan, opened in 2002 in the historic watermill, is dedicated to this heritage.

Art to Touch

The appeal of "Kunst Offen" lies in the encounter: visitors experience how works are created, talk to the creators, look into workshops, and can buy originals directly. Ceramics, painting, sculpture, and glass art are presented side-by-side; in the Schwaan region and its surroundings, locations such as the Kulturhof Letschow and other studios participate. The studio day makes the vibrant creative scene around the painters' town visible.

Schwaan Region in the Rostock District

Schwaan is located in the Rostock district of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, on the Warnow river between Rostock and Güstrow. The combination of a historic artists' colony and today's art scene makes "Kunst Offen" here more than just a must-attend event on the cultural calendar — it's a journey through a piece of Mecklenburg's art history that is still being written.