Verein für Kunst, Kultur und Natur am Spratzerner Kirchenweg 81-83

Verein für Kunst, Kultur und Natur is the successor organisation of LAMES and Sonnenpark. In 1999, a group of young artists founded the cultural association La Musique et Sun (LAMES) and was offered an unused 5 hectare site on Spratzerner Kirchenweg in St. Pölten/Lower Austria with two buildungs for temporary usage. After that LAMES began to transform the fallow area into a place for artistic creation and social interaction with an annual cultural programme and periodic, cross-regional recognised events . Over the years a nature-oriented park was formed. In 2011 the association Sonnenpark was established, which organized the further developement and maintenance of the park, run two community garden projects and also worked very actively with schools and universities. The annual Sonnenpark festival, which is organized by the community, has become a highlight in St. Pölten. In 2015 the platform “Sonnenpark stays!” successfully demanded clarity from the city government about the official construction plans for the Sonnenpark area. After a successful petition the Sonnenpark was saved, lease agreements with the associations were drawn up and the long years of voluntary work were recognized. The two associations LAMES and Sonnenpark merged in 2021 and are now working on the topic "relations between art / culture and nature / ecology" and address current issues of sustainability and resilience in both art and nature. Two decades of experience in an artistic field between visual, applied and performing arts, music and the developement of a nature-oriented green space provide the foundation for this interdisciplinary approach. The activities are organised in an annual programme which consists of events, workshops and other open art(s), culture and nature education. Next to the associations own programme it offers the space to other organisations, groups or individuals who need a place for their own projects. As a place based on voluntary work for nearly two decades Verein für Kunst, Kultur und Natur gained experience in enabling participation, paying attention to the structural and communicative needs in a voluntary group and about the power and limits of a voluntary community. Verein für Kunst, Kultur und Natur offers a multitude of participation and consumation possibilities and adresses therefor different target groups. Two main grous can be identified - people with artistic or enviromental interests - which can be split in subgroups. In the artistic field the audience can be interested in experimental or independent art forms, in an active or passive approach to the matter. People can visit our events and enjoy good music or fine art of young artists, can participate in workshops for performance, sound design, DJ-ing or the re-use of old objects often deemed as waste or create art themselves during our open formats. In the enviromental field the audience can use our park for a recreational walks, grow their vegetables in the community garden, participate in workshops for setting up a compost heap or acquire knowledge about climate change in our climate research laboratory. The age of our target groups varies from children of school age over adolescents to families and retirees.