Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and Goethe-Institut cooperate nationally and internationally
Press release from 04/22/2009
The Secretary General of the Goethe-Institut Hans-Georg Knopp and the President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation Hermann Parzinger signed a cooperation agreement in Berlin on 22 April 2009. The close cooperation between Germany's largest intermediary organisation for foreign cultural work and one of the world's largest cultural institutions is intended to pool expertise and jointly implement cultural and academic projects worldwide.
Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, said: "The international exchange of culture and knowledge is becoming increasingly important for the Foundation - not least in view of the planned Humboldt Forum. The cooperation with the Goethe-Institut offers ideal conditions for further expanding the Foundation's internationalisation. This will strengthen the appeal of its collections and the expertise of its staff. The global network of both institutions harbours great potential for the future."
The president of the Goethe-Institut, Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, sees the conclusion of the cooperation agreement as a promising connection: "The future interaction of the Goethe-Institut's global network with the extensive collections of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation will enable a new level of expertise in foreign cultural policy, create exciting connections with partners and projects abroad and overcome the separate perception of inside and outside."
In future, exhibitions with an international focus are to be realised in cooperation, as are academic colloquia in Germany and abroad. Joint publications are also planned. Hans-Georg Knopp, Secretary General of the Goethe-Institut, said at the signing of the cooperation agreement: "I am delighted that we have been able to gain such an important strategic partner for our work in the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. Concrete joint projects are already emerging that will set nationally and internationally visible accents".
For example, the exhibition on the theme of "Enlightenment" presented by the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin-Preußischer Kulturbesitz, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen at the opening of the National Museum in Beijing in 2010/2011 will be accompanied by an extensive programme of events organised by the Goethe-Institut. The aim is to present the significance of the European Enlightenment in terms of the history of ideas with masterpieces of art and to emphasise their topical relevance.
A second project responds to the revitalisation of an old transport and cultural link: The Trans-Siberian Railway is about to undergo extensive modernisation. The old Eurasian land route will soon once again connect Rotterdam and Hamburg with Shanghai and Beijing. As transport routes are always also cultural routes, this reopening will also reconfigure mutual perceptions. The Goethe-Institut and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation are exploring these changes in the rolling exhibition "The Trans-Siberian Railway as a Modern Silk Road: Cultures in Dialogue. From Berlin to Shanghai".
In addition to these specific projects, a regular exchange of information on the focal points of the two institutions and the development of further cooperation projects is planned. In addition to close programme coordination, the agreement also aims to strengthen structural networking. The aim is to facilitate guest work and further training at the other institution and to support scholarships and language stays for staff and visiting academics. Joint volunteer and internship programmes are intended to promote young talent.
The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation preserves, presents and researches outstanding art treasures and cultural assets from all over the world in its museums, libraries and archives. It houses immense archives of knowledge that are suitable for academic and cultural exchange and provide a platform for international cooperation and intensive cultural dialogue. With its network of institutes, Goethe Centres, cultural societies, reading rooms and examination and language learning centres, the Goethe-Institut has been fulfilling central tasks of foreign cultural and educational policy worldwide for over fifty years.
Website of the Goethe-Institut
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