The House of Media Art is a place where contemporary media art is exhibited and discussed, like a channel through which information about art, society and new media flows.

Innovative and experimental positions in international contemporary art are shown in a regularly changing exhibition program. Presentations, artist talks and workshops promote public discourse on contemporary art and its relationship to the social reality in which it is created.

The House of Media Art supports the realization of several new artistic projects per year, thus contributing to artistic production, experimental collaboration and critical exchange. We regard these new commissions as important inspirations for the design of the program and the overall direction of the institution.

The Haus für Medienkunst program not only focuses on the ways in which today's technologies influence the shaping and definition of artistic ideas, but also recognizes artists who have the vision and power to create speculative blueprints for the future by critically examining the present.

The House for Media Art was opened under the name Edith-Russ-Haus for Media Art in 2000. It was directed by Rosanne Altstatt (2001-2004), Sabine Himmelsbach (2005-2012), Claudia Giannetti (2013-2014), and Edit Molnár & Marcel Schwierin (2015-today).

The history of the house

The house was made possible by a donation from Edith Ruß (1919-1993), who was a journalist, educator and private art collector. She wanted to enrich her home town of Oldenburg with a house of art that would represent "a worthy transition to the year 2000" and be aesthetically inspired by the architecture of the Bauhaus and Mies van der Rohe in particular. This idea formed the basis for the concept of the Medienkunsthaus with its exhibition spaces and apartments for invited artists. Her will also stipulated the name EDITH-RUSS-HAUS for the building. Additional funds from the legacy of educator Elisabeth Brand (1898-1993) were used to build the exhibition hall.