Arts Initiative KNIE was founded as an initiative for contemporary art

Contemporary art

Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...

 in 1995 in Oberndorf bei Salzburg

Oberndorf bei Salzburg

Oberndorf bei Salzburg is a town in the Austrian state of Salzburg, about 17 km north of the City of Salzburg. It is situated on the river Salzach in the Flachgau district.-Overview:Its twin sister-town across the Salzach Bridge is Laufen in Bavaria...

. It is the origin of the stolperstein project in Braunau am Inn District.
Influenced by the concept of intervention

Art intervention

Art intervention is an interaction with a previously existing artwork, audience or venue/space. It has the auspice of conceptual art and is commonly a form of performance art. It is associated with the Viennese Actionists, the Dada movement and Neo-Dadaists...

, the Arts Initiative KNIE sees itself as a intermediary and a critical voice. The Arts Initiative KNIE installed art in the public sphere

Public sphere

The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action...

, where the relationship to its location is unmistakable. The Grenzpavillion ("Border Pavilion"), located on the Salzachknie riverbend

Meander

A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...

 between Laufen

Laufen

Laufen is a municipality on the southeastern border of Bavaria with Austria.-History:It was first mentioned in a deed of 748. The rapids that gave the town the name were also responsible for the town's wealth from the salt trade...

 and Oberndorf

Oberndorf

Oberndorf may refer to the following places:*in Germany:**Oberndorf am Neckar, in the district of Rottweil, Baden-Württemberg** Oberndorf , a suburb of Rottenburg am Neckar in the district of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg...

, has ideal qualifications. The pavilion is a large cube, roughly 8 meters a side, with doors, windows and a weatherproof roof. Over time, it became an "art station", which from 1995 to 2002 served primarily as a venue for symposia.

Concepts such as borders, river, bridge, relationship history, technology, disaster, nature and art are transposed by invited artists into sensory images to experience. National and international artists have created installations, performance evenings, onomatopoeia and paintings.

In 1997, Gunter Demnig

Gunter Demnig

Gunter Demnig is a German artist. He is best known for his "Stolperstein" memorials to the victims of Nazi persecution and oppression in Nazi Germany.- Biography :...

's Project Stolperstein nearly ended Initiative KNIE. On February 2, 2002, German artists Julius Deutschbauer and Gerhard Spring announced the end of the arts initiative. In 2006, Andreas Maislinger

Andreas Maislinger

Andreas Maislinger is an Austrian historian and founder of the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service and Braunau Contemporary History Days.- Studying and learning :...

invited Gunter Demnig back to Braunau am Inn to install 13 more stolpersteine in honor of Nazi victims.