2016 - News - Detail Page - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz

At the annual reception on Wednesday evening, the institutions of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation gave an insight into their annual programme and their plans for the future. As Foundation President Hermann Parzinger emphasised in the Pergamonmuseum, 2023 will be a decisive year for the SPK: "We will resolve the reform backlog, allow the institutions to take more responsibility and autonomy, strengthen the individual museums and the Museum Island, Kulturforum and Dahlem - Humboldt Forum sites at the State Museums and at the same time further develop the SPK Foundation network. We need to think even more in terms of visitors and users in everything we do. The programme work should clearly distinguish itself".

Parzinger gave a positive assessment of the reform debate to date: "It is right and important to maintain the SPK in its federal-state structure as by far the largest national cultural institution in Germany. Everyone knows that the structural changes that have been initiated will only lead to success if we are also better equipped in terms of staffing and funding. I would like to take this opportunity to expressly thank the federal and state governments who have accompanied us on this path and who have created a sustainable and future-oriented perspective with the Foundation Board resolution of 5 December 2022. The SPK is a global player with worldwide connections and partnerships. As an association of actors who act as autonomously as possible, we want to face the challenges of our time with war, cultural destruction and the climate crisis, further expand our national and international networks and also make our voice heard in social debates. The SPK will be more visible in the countries, while at the same time making dialogue with the global South one of its central tasks."
According to the SPK President, the museums are on the upswing again after the coronavirus crisis: "Since the summer, we have returned to pre-coronavirus visitor numbers," said Parzinger. The Museum Island is even in a better position than in 2019, "although it has to be said that we have more museums back online than before - the Neue Nationalgalerie, the Friedrichswerder Church and, of course, the museums in the Humboldt Forum," said Parzinger. Nevertheless, "European cultural tourism is working again." He is optimistic that the good results can be continued with an attractive programme.

In 2023, the Museum Island with its variety of archaeology and art will once again be a major attraction for visitors. From 23 June, the Alte Nationalgalerie will present an unusual triad with "Secessions Klimt, Stuck, Liebermann", which is made possible in particular by the collaboration with the Wien Museum. Over 50 works by Gustav Klimt will be on display. The extended colonnades will also be accessible again from August.

From 4 May, "Archaeological Treasures from Uzbekistan" will be shown in the James-Simon-Galerie and the Neues Museum, providing an unexpected glimpse of this mysterious country. "I was thrilled when I visited the unique archaeological sites in the south of the country and saw the special artefacts from the first centuries AD. The clay sculptures are highly attractive and the evidence of Buddhism sheds light on the cultural diversity that has characterised Central Asia. This exhibition will change our view of history," says Matthias Wemhoff, Director of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History. The Pergamon Museum is starting the summer with an extensive programme of events and exhibitions, ranging from scenic readings to an "Antiquity Slam" in collaboration with the Berliner Antike-Kolleg. At the Vorderasiatisches Museum, contemporary British artist Liam Gillick will be uncovering the layers of the museum's history from Easter with "Filtered Time", using his light and sound images to enter into a critical dialogue with the history of the building.

"Above all, I am looking forward to the next steps of the Kulturforum towards a museum garden for everyone! In summer, we will once again be inviting everyone to the 'Sound in the Garden' open-air concert series with new and big names. I am particularly looking forward to the 75th birthday of the great artist Isa Genzken, which we will be celebrating from July with 75 important sculptures," says Klaus Biesenbach, Director of the Neue Nationalgalerie.

The Dahlem - Humboldt Forum location combines activities that attract the public and museum "in-depth explorations". Until the end of May, the Museum of European Cultures is dedicating "All Hands On: Lichens" to intangible cultural heritage, a research focus of the Dahlem institutions. With "Läuft. The Exhibition on Menstruation", another topic of everyday life will be highlighted from October 2023. The Dahlem site also makes it clear that working with collections involves much more than just exhibitions. "The Institute for Museum Research is currently researching emotions in museums. In the 'Collaborative Museum' of the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art and in the research project 'The Sámi Collection at MEK. A Multiperspective approach of Provenance Research', research is being conducted in close cooperation with international partners," says Patricia Rahemipour, Director of the Institute for Museum Research and spokesperson for the Dahlem - Humboldt Forum site.

For the exhibitions at the Humboldt Forum, it was a goal from the outset to create a multi-perspective view of the collections together with colleagues from the countries of origin. This can only be achieved through close dialogue with the communities of knowledge. The Dahlem Research Campus shows how this is done, where a transparent insight into the research engine room of museums is made possible for the first time. The production of knowledge is central and will be made public for visitors to Dahlem on a regular basis this year. "Research windows" show the work of the institutions based there, which include the Ethnological Museum/Museum of Asian Art, the Museum of European Cultures and the Institute for Museum Research.

"The concepts of cultures, research, things and knowledge form a system of coordinates in which the research campus will increasingly present itself over the next few years. 'What do you actually do on Mondays when you're closed?' we are asked time and again by visitors. The fact that collecting, preserving and exhibiting are always closely linked to research is still far too little known to the public. Together with research partners such as the Ibero-American Institute of the SPK, the Free University, the Technical University and others, we are developing unusual presentations and participation formats to make this work visible. I am particularly pleased about this," explains Patricia Rahemipour.

According to Director General Achim Bonte, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin will continue to pursue its course of innovation with commitment and has already presented important results in the first few weeks of the new year with the publication of a new search engine-based library catalogue and a digital spatial information system. "Over the remainder of the year, the library will develop its 'Stabi2030' strategy and, in particular, equip the Unter den Linden site as planned to meet the increasingly differentiated requirements of users. The declared goals for the year also include the preparation of an extensive web relaunch, the expansion of event work, important special exhibitions such as '100 Years of Otfried Preußler' from 27 October, as well as a volunteer initiative. We also want to significantly accelerate the digitisation of our valuable holdings, including routine full-text recognition, in the interests of maximising the visibility and reach of the institute."

The Ibero-American Institute (IAI) is an internationally established bridge institution for academic and cultural exchange between Germany and Latin America. "Especially in times of multiple global crises, such stable networks of trust are of central importance because they enable cooperation on an equal footing and the inclusion of different perspectives and experiences," emphasises Director Barbara Göbel.
In order to strategically orientate the IAI with its unique profile for the future, even in times of significantly changing global circulation processes and shifting institutional landscapes, the IAI will carry out two evaluations in 2023: A study on the status and perspectives of German-language Latin American research and an analysis of internationalisation in all areas of the Institute's work - library, research, culture - in order to develop these further. Not only the international guest researchers, but also the collaborative projects play an important role in this. In 2023, for example, the IAI will take over the German Directorship of the long-term project "Maria Sibylla Merian Center Conviviality-Inequality in Latin America (Mecila)", funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, with headquarters in São Paulo (Brazil) and further nodes in Argentina and Mexico. Co-operations with other SPK institutions at the Kulturforum and in the context of the Dahlem research campus will be further expanded this year.

According to Director Rebecca Wolf, the State Institute for Music Research with the Musical Instrument Museum will be bundling its activities in 2023 and 2024 under the theme "Performance Spaces of Music". The cross-departmental work will be supported by intentional collaborations. "The year began with the opening of the 'Year of the Mandolin 2023'; a cabinet exhibition traces the geographical spaces from Italy to the United States.

To mark the 100th anniversary of György Ligeti's birth, a symposium with masterclasses dedicated to the interpretation and spatial concepts in Ligeti's work will take place in February. The event accompanies the 2023 Berlin Philharmonic Biennale and is being organised in cooperation with the Berlin music academies. The project is generously supported financially by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

The Musical Instrument Museum will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the death of Johann Joachim Quantz, flutist, composer and mentor to Frederick II, as well as an important music teacher, with a special exhibition from September 2023. The flutes he owned are among the MIM's most valuable pieces. As part of the SPK network, the SIM contributes scientific and music education expertise. This includes concerts, guided tours, publications, research infrastructure, lectures, popular science formats and university teaching."

According to Director UIrike Höroldt, 2022 was a year of important decisions for the Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Secret State Archives), which will be realised this year. "In 2022, we were finally able to set the course for the renovation of the storage building in Dahlem, preparations and realisation of which will begin this year. The long-planned new archive information system was also procured and will be introduced in the GStA PK and the Central Archive of the Museums at the same time in 2023. It will significantly change and advance the internal processes, but above all the external presentation of the GStA PK on the Internet, offering users a wide range of new access and utilisation options and the archive new networking opportunities. Since this year, the archive has been handling its correspondence and administrative processes almost completely digitally and thus from any location - the much-vaunted digital administration is already a reality here - and will roll this out across the entire foundation via the e-file project in 2023; an important prerequisite for the successful implementation of the foundation reform."

Press photos at: http://www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/newsroom/presse/pressebilder/

• Annual programme 2023 of the SPK