Foundation Board sets course for management positions at the National Museums in Berlin
Press release from 11/25/2020
Directorate of the Gemäldegalerie to be re-advertised - Management of the Nationalgalerie to be divided into three positions - Grütters and Parzinger thank Michael Eissenhauer
On 23 November 2020, the Board of Trustees of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, chaired by Minister of State for Culture Monika Grütters, unanimously set the course for important management positions at the National Museums in Berlin.
The management of the Nationalgalerie will be divided into three positions in future. Independent directors will be responsible for the Alte Nationalgalerie (with the Friedrichwerdersche Kirche), the Neue Nationalgalerie (with the future Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, the Museum Berggruen and the Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg) and the Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart - Berlin, and thus for the art of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries respectively. The organisational prerequisites for this new management structure are now to be created.
The directorships of the Gemäldegalerie , the Skulpturensammlung and the Museum für Byzantinische Kunst of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin will be newly advertised as of 1 February 2021. The appointment of the previous director, Michael Eissenhauer, will expire as agreed on 31 January 2021. In addition to his role as Director General, he has headed the Gemäldegalerie since 1 August 2016. The Board of Trustees is thus following a recommendation by the German Council of Science and Humanities (WR) to separate responsibility for the Gemäldegalerie and the Directorate General of the National Museums in Berlin.
Minister of State for Culture Monika Grütters explains: "It has been our constant endeavour to strengthen the autonomy and effectiveness of the museums, and not just since the WR report was published. The division of the current overall responsibility into three positions is also a support for the three current directors of the museums under the umbrella of the Nationalgalerie.
It is therefore good news that the management of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin will be more broadly based in future. This will enable the various houses of the Nationalgalerie to develop their collection areas and profiles even better than before. In addition, the management of the Gemäldegalerie will be able to concentrate fully on its collection in future. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Michael Eissenhauer for his successful management of the Gemäldegalerie in recent years. As Chair of the Board of Trustees, I will continue to drive forward the SPK's reform process with determination, but also with prudence and a sense of proportion, in close consultation with all those involved."
SPK President Hermann Parzinger explains: "I welcome the decisions of the Board of Trustees. They follow the principle that we want to reduce duplicate structures with the reform of the SPK and strengthen the autonomy of the institutions. I am certain that the Nationalgalerie network and the Gemäldegalerie will develop well with these decisions. My thanks go to Michael Eissenhauer, who has set new accents in the Gemäldegalerie with very successful exhibitions."