During Kurt Renner’s time as mayor of Langenlois, he had many opportunities to promote the arts and culture of the town. One such chance presented itself in 2006, when Assistant Professor Stefan Emmelmann asked whether Langenlois would be interested in hosting a selection of students from Professor Christian Ludwig Attersee’s painting class at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Renner immediately agreed, organised the necessary facilities, and for three weeks the town was host to a small group of young artists from Vienna. Renner, an engaged and inquisitive man, personally welcomed and proudly introduced them to the town. In his memoir, Renner reflected on one of the artists, Markus Bacher, and their initial meeting: 

 

The young man reminded me of my own youth. Always on the move, never afraid of the materials. You could see his passion by observing his hands — his gloves were his paintbrushes. During the entire Summer Academy in Langenlois, I never once saw Mark idle. Every sporadic conversation ended with me exclaiming: „Mark, you will go far!”

 

Renner observed a similarity between his own passionate approach to his craft and the way that young Bacher approached painting. This resulted in a strong bond between the two. Over the years, Renner would closely follow and support Bacher’s career by collecting his work and facilitating his first large-scale solo exhibition in 2010.

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(Excerpt from the preface of the 2025 catalogue for the exhibition Ortswechsel written by Emilie Malmgren )