Since its founding in 1981, The Haus Der Kunstler (House Of Artists) has been the home to a small group of psychiatric each of whom has extraordinary artistic talents. Originally the House of Artists, which resides on the grounds of a large state run Mental hospital on the edge of the Vienna Woods, was connected to the larger institution, but in 2005 the director (Johann Feilacher) succeeded in breaking away and becoming a private non-profit organization. Renowned for its approach (the artists are not taking "art therapy" classes, but rather work when and where (within the Haus and grounds) they choose, the House Of Artists has since its beginning been esteemed by critics, academics, and fans of Outsider Art. Many of the Artists who do or have lived and worked there have risen to international fame. In 1989 the Artists were awarded the prestegeous "Oskar- Kokoschka-Prize". This is the highest international distinction for contributions to the pictorial arts. Many of the Artists (Walla, Hauser, Garber, Fischer, Tschirtner) have work in the greatest museums and private collection of Art Brut in the world, including The Colection de L'Art Brut (Lausanne, SW), ABCD Museum (Paris, FR) and The Museum of American Folk Art (NY, NY).