Neues Kunsthaus Ahrenshoop goes back to the Kunsthaus Guttenberg, founded in 1994 by the painter, graphic artist and book artist Gerlinde Creutzburg for the Künstlerbund Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as a platform for contemporary art in Ahrenshoop. The former vacation and later living and working house of the sculptress Hertha von Guttenberg was the source of the name and was initially used for the activities. This artists' house had been an important niche location for gatherings outside of state control during the GDR era. After Herta von Guttenberg's death, her heirs made the cabinet-like small rooms in the house available for presentations of contemporary art for ten years. From the beginning, interdisciplinarity and a focus on Northern Europe as well as close cooperation with Künstlerhaus Lukas characterized the artistic program.

In cooperation with the municipality of Ahrenshoop and the Friends of ‘NEUE KUNST HAT FREUNDE’ (initiative), the conversion of the former kindergarten at Bernhard-Seitz-Weg 3 for a larger ‘Neues Kunsthaus Ahrenshoop’, initiated by Gerlinde Creutzburg and implemented by the Rostock architect Ursula Jastram, was realized in 1998. Gerlinde Creutzburg was responsible for the program of the Neues Kunsthaus, temporarily supported by guest curators such as the photographer and publisher Boris Becker, the jewelry designer Susan Pietzsch, the painter Kerstin Seltmann, the artist couple Thürmer, the cultural manager Zinaida Scherschun or the author Simone Trieder. Since 2018, guest curators from the Künstlerhaus Lukas fellowship program have also been conceiving the presentations in close cooperation with the artistic direction of the Neues Kunsthaus. Since fall 2021, cultural scientist and art historian Olivia Franke has been responsible for the artistic program and programmatic development of Neues Kunsthaus Ahrenshoop.