bpk-Bildagentur to Be Central Online Shop for Museums, Archives, and Libraries
News from 03/14/2017
Funding approved by Monika Grütters will make the digitized images in the possession of all German cultural institutions more accessible
In the future, it will be even easier for professional users to purchase images of cultural treasures. There will be a central distribution platform for high-quality digital images of the cultural goods in the collections of all major German museums, libraries, and archives. In order to expand this platform, Monika Grütters, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, has approved 460,000 euros in funding for a two-year program by the bpk-Bildagentur (Picture Agency bpk).
The bpk-Bildagentur, which emerged from the Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Image Archive), is already a success. Over 150 prestigious partners from Germany and abroad – such as the British Museum, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Louvre, and the Guggenheim Museum – are having their images distributed professionally by the agency. Now other German partners are being invited to join this media service for commercial picture users. This decision charts a clear course for the future and will make the cultural treasures of the country even more accessible. It also eases the workload otherwise faced by individual institutions and promises attractive income in the form of fees.
Links for Additional Information
- Press release "bpk-Bildagentur of the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz to Become Central Image Bank of Cultural Institutions“ (13.03.2017)
- Interview with the head of the bpk-Bildagentur, Hanns-Peter Frentz: "Unser Angebot ist einfach einmalig!“ (in German) (08.02.2017)
- bpk-Bildagentur (Picture Agency bpk)