Detail page - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Minister of State for Culture Bernd Neumann, emphasised after the election: "With Dr Michael Eissenhauer as the new Director General of the National Museums in Berlin and Udo Kittelmann as Director of the Nationalgalerie, the Board of Trustees has made a first-class choice and set the right course for the future. Together with Prof Hermann Parzinger as President of the SPK, Germany's largest cultural institution is excellently staffed and ideally equipped for the challenges of the future. This means that the Foundation's excellent work under the previous President, Prof Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, and the Director General, Prof Peter-Klaus Schuster, can be continued without any problems. Both have rendered outstanding services to the SPK and its museums."

Born in Stuttgart, Dr Michael Eissenhauer studied art history, classical archaeology and German literature in Tübingen and Hamburg. Before his appointment as Director of the Staatliche Museen Kassel, the art historian with a doctorate worked in numerous museums: A scientific traineeship at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg was followed by a position as a research assistant at the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin from 1989. From 1991 to 1995, he returned to the Germanisches Nationalmuseum as curator of the "Furniture, Textiles, Games and Jewellery" collection department; from 1995 to 2001, he was director of the art collections of the Veste Coburg.

Dr Eissenhauer has been Director of the Staatliche Museen Kassel since 2001, which was renamed "Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel" in 2006 and is one of the largest museum institutions in Germany. In 2003, he restructured the then Staatliche Museen Kassel with great organisational skill in order to sustainably improve the situation of the museum location. This also included the inclusion of the Kassel Palaces and Gardens, which are managed by the State Palaces and Gardens of Hesse. The objectives of the "Kassel Museum Landscape" project included a clear thematic structure for the museums, improvements to the infrastructure and visitor services as well as a comprehensive refurbishment of the numerous listed buildings. The ongoing construction measures, which the 51-year-old museum expert is overseeing, have a volume of around 200 million euros. The successful implementation of this project to date demonstrates Eissenhauer's particular suitability for future tasks at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin: he is a proven conceptual thinker, he has mastered the modern tools of cultural management, he is a goal-orientated moderator for intellectual awakening and the strengthening of personal responsibility, he is a clear advocate of research in the museum, including digital possibilities, and he has experience in museum buildings and monument protection. This professional experience bodes well for the completion of the Museum Island, the realisation of the Humboldt Forum and the creation of an interdisciplinary universal museum. His numerous publications show him to be an outstanding scholar with a broad overview who is ideally equipped for the thematic diversity of the National Museums in Berlin with their fifteen collections ranging from antiquity to modernity.

As President of the German Museums Association (since 2003) and a member of numerous committees (including the Foundation Advisory Board of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, German National Committee of the Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art, Hessian Committee of Experts for the Protection of German Cultural Property against Emigration), Eissenhauer is very well networked and active in museum policy: The policy paper "Standards for Museums" developed by the German Museums Association under his presidency, for example, has become a recognised guideline that helps museums to subject their services to a continuous process of quality development and improvement; Eissenhauer's membership of the advisory board of the Coordination Office for the Loss of Cultural Property and of the working group at the BKM for provenance research and investigation ensures that the National Museums have a competent general director in this field too.

Unlike Eissenhauer, exhibition organiser Udo Kittelmann, who was born in Düsseldorf in 1958, will assume direct responsibility for collections and exhibitions. After years as an optician, he worked as a freelance exhibition curator from 1987 to 1992, including for the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus in Munich, the Kunsthalle Innsbruck and the Kunstverein Salzburg. In 1993 Kittelmann became artistic director of the Kunstverein Ludwigsburg and in 1994 director of the Kölnischer Kunstverein. As commissioner of the Federal Republic of Germany's contribution to the 49th Venice Biennale, he received the Golden Lion for the best national contribution (Gregor Schneider's "Totes Haus u r") in 2001. Since 2002, he has succeeded Jean-Christophe Ammann as director of the Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt a.M., where he has realised numerous public-oriented exhibitions that have always met high quality standards. In 2005, "Sturtevant" was voted the best international exhibition by Beaux Arts Magazine (Prix des Beaux Arts). Also with shows such as "What's new, Pussycat?" or "Spinnwebzeit. The eBay network", he has also made a name for himself. Udo Kittelmann is also a recognised expert on the 20th/21st century. He is the editor and author of numerous non-fiction books and other publications on contemporary and modern art. He has diverse access to contemporary art via galleries, fairs, artists and museums, both locally and internationally. For him, the museum is a radiating focus that should engage and challenge society. In his exhibitions, he demonstrates an unmistakable attitude and quality. His great reputation among collectors and sponsors will play an important role in the Nationalgalerie's acquisition policy.

Through his functions in national and international committees and foundations (currently: Advisory Board of the Goethe Institute, Advisory Board Istanbul Modern, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Foundation, Vienna, University Council of the Academy of Fine Arts, Nuremberg, Artistic Advisory Board Museion, Bolzano, Frieze Art Fund, Acquisitions Commission The Tate, London), he is excellently networked in the art world and will also maintain intensive contact with the galleries and artists based in Berlin. As Director of the Nationalgalerie, he will be responsible not only for modern and contemporary art (Neue Nationalgalerie, Museum Berggruen, Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart) but also for the Alte Nationalgalerie.

The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (National Museums in Berlin ), with their historically grown institutions, form a universal museum for the preservation, research and communication of art and cultural treasures from the entire history of mankind. Its collections encompass European and non-European art, archaeology and ethnology.

The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation is one of the largest and most important cultural institutions in the world. Established in 1957, the foundation is representative of the state as a whole and is funded 75% by the federal government and 25% by the federal states. In addition to the National Museums in Berlin, the Berlin State Library, the Secret State Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage, the Ibero-American Institute and the State Institute for Music Research with the Museum of Musical Instruments belong to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Minister of State Bernd Neumann, is Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Note: Current photos can be obtained free of charge from the photo services of the news agencies.