Nefertiti bust, Remembrandt masterpieces: Visitors bypass Berlin museums despite star attractions

Berlin museums would possibly home the long-lasting Nefertiti bust, the Ishtar gate of historical Babylon or Rembrandt masterpieces, however they nonetheless path international counterparts in reputation — and the coronavirus is making issues worse.

Millions of euros have been poured into the establishments, but the 19 museums managed by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) attracted simply 4.2 million guests final yr, whereas the Louvre alone drew 9.6 million.

Alarmed by lacklustre public curiosity, Germany is planning a significant shake-up after a report commissioned by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s authorities slammed the inspiration as dysfunctional, outdated and out of contact.

For Joerg Haentzschel, a tradition journalist on the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, the capital’s museums are suffering from “a persistent culture of exclusivity, lack of transparency and institutional arrogance.

“Those responsible for museums are still serving their own peers first and foremost, rather than bringing everyone in — children, people with dementia, people from other origins and educational backgrounds,” he mentioned.

– Quiet halls –

Around the nook from Potsdamer Platz within the metropolis’s bustling enterprise district, the Gemaeldegalerie sits quietly within the shadows of shiny high-rises, its exhibition halls usually dotted with only a handful of holiday makers.

The museum boasts world-famous masterpieces by Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Vermeer — and but it attracted solely 310,000 guests final yr. And that was earlier than the pandemic hit.

The Gemaeldegalerie is certainly one of 19 museums managed by the SPK, probably the most necessary cultural establishments on the earth with 15 collections and 4.7 million objects.

The SPK’s most treasured possession, which has pleasure of place within the Neues Museum, is a limestone bust of Nefertiti, thought of by some to be essentially the most well-known depiction of a feminine face on the earth after the Mona Lisa.

But comparisons with the Louvre finish there. At the Gemaeldegalerie, there aren’t any crowds jostling for a glimpse of the traditional Egyptian queen.

– ‘Institutional arrogance’ –

And this regardless of Berlin’s fame as a vibrant cultural hub, attracting artists in droves from everywhere in the world — and a tourism trade that has exploded over the previous decade, although now hobbled by COVID-19.

In the damning report, specialists referred to as for the SPK to be abolished and changed by 4 separate our bodies.

With round 2,000 staff and a price range of 335 million euros ($381 million) this yr, the SPK is the most important cultural sector employer in Germany.

The specialists pointed specifically to failures within the digital area, accentuated at a time when lots of the world’s museums are relying on the web on account of worldwide journey restrictions.

“Many international museums have a large number of followers on social media,” Marina Muenkler, who chaired the working group behind the report, informed the Tagesspiegel newspaper.

“Museums need to be in contact with the public before they come to the museum … Apps can be created for exhibitions. But this is often no longer possible in Berlin, because many museums do not have wi-fi.”

The report criticised a reliance on “ partly … outdated ideas about museum work” and a failure to mirror the “diversity of the world”.

As a end result, Berlin’s museums “have partly lost or risk losing touch with international developments,” it mentioned.

The criticism comes regardless of thousands and thousands of euros spent on bold cultural initiatives within the German capital in recent times.

Take the James Simon Gallery, the brand new entrance constructing to Berlin’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed Museum Island designed by star British architect David Chipperfield — at a value of 134 million euros.

Or the Neue Nationalgalerie with its Expressionist gems, on account of reopen subsequent yr after greater than 5 years of renovation work, additionally led by Chipperfield.

For Culture Minister Monika Gruetters, the report marked a “first, very important step towards making the foundation future-proof”, or tailored to future challenges, as she promised to reform the SPK inside three to 5 years.

(This story has been revealed from a wire company feed with out modifications to the textual content. Only the headline has been modified.)

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