For more than thirty years, the foundations have been acquiring works by contemporary artists who live or work in the region or have their roots here. What started as a handful of purchases has grown into a collection of several hundred works: painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, printmaking and installation.

The works are not gathered in a museum but travel through everyday life. They hang in town halls, schools and offices, are lent to exhibition venues or rest in storage until they are shown again. collected! makes all of them visible – including those that cannot currently be seen.

Every year the foundations award a working fellowship to one artist. Fellows live and work for twelve months in the studio at the Wassermühle Trittau and receive a monthly grant – time to explore new work without pressure.

The fellowship year concludes with an exhibition in the gallery of the Wassermühle. At least one work from this period enters the collection. You can find all former fellows under Fellows.

The historic water mill on the river Bille is studio, gallery and meeting place in one. On the ground floor we show changing exhibitions with works from the collection and by current fellows. Guided tours, studio visits and workshop talks invite visitors to get closer to the art and the people behind it.

Every work on collected! has its own page with an image, details on material, dimensions and year, and its current location. The data comes directly from the foundations’ collection database and is updated regularly.

In our stories we report on new acquisitions, studio visits and restorations. The site is continually growing – if you spot a mistake or know more about a work, we would be glad to hear from you.

For questions about the collection, loan requests or the fellowship, please contact us by email. You will find our contact details in the imprint.