BERLIN.- The Museum Berggruen, which since 2000 has been a component of the Nationalgalerie in Berlin under the authority of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK)—will expand its programming and leadership, operate with greater curatorial autonomy, begin a renovation of public spaces by HG Merz inside its Neoclassical building designed by Friedrich August Stüler, and tour highlights from its renowned collection.
On September 10, the SPK Foundation Council accepted the Berggruen Family commitment of vision, resources, and financial support—now to include annual funding of €1 million—working together to enrich the site and its offerings in Berlin.
This new setup comes amidst an ongoing restructuring process aiming to increase the operational capacity of SPK’s various institutions, including the State Museums Berlin, Nationalgalerie, and Museum Berggruen. It will take effect with the re-opening of Museum Berggruen in 2025 after major renovation works which will result in a better experience for its visitors.
In recognition of the change in the institution’s status, Gabriel Montua, who is currently the collection’s curator, will assume the title of Leiter (Head) of the Museum Berggruen. Under his leadership, the museum will present additional exhibitions and accompanying programs in partnership with other museums, and cultural institutions, and engage in a more intensive dialogue with its visitors and its community.
Gabriel Montua said, “I am grateful to the Staatsministerin für Kultur, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, and to the Berggruen Family for the opportunity to broaden the programmatic capacities of the Museum Berggruen. It’s wonderful to think this new arrangement will allow us to realize more exciting exhibitions such as the recent Picasso & Les Femmes d‘Alger. It’s the best of two worlds. Our being part of Nationalgalerie is a constant reminder of the high curatorial standards this institution has been developing in exhibitions throughout its 150 years of existence. At the same time, the Berggruen Family’s enthusiasm, financial and networking support is instrumental in raising the exhibitions to another level and give it the success we have just seen.”
Measures are now being financed to make the museum's offerings accessible to the public during the upcoming period of renovation. Highlights from the collection will tour internationally, beginning in Asia, starting at the end of 2022. Tour dates and venues will be announced at a later date. Gabriel Montua remarked, “Now we’ll be able to engage in discussion about how to present the Modernist heritage at Museum Berggruen with today’s expectations. What an outlook to celebrate the collection’s 25 years in Berlin!”
The change in status is the result of discussions held by Nicolas and Olivier Berggruen, as representatives of Bettina Berggruen and the rest of the family, together with the chairwoman of the SPK Foundation Council, Minister of State Monika Grütters, and the President of the SPK, Hermann Parzinger. The use of the funds to be provided annually by the Berggruen family will be decided by a committee comprised of family representatives, the SPK, and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM).
State Minister of Culture Monika Grütters said, "Even among the numerous top museums that Germany's cultural landscape has to offer, the Museum Berggruen is a gem. I would like to thank the Berggruen family very much for the generous support they will be giving to this museum in the future. With this very substantial financial contribution, which will further enhance the charisma of the Museum Berggruen, the Berggruen family is continuing Heinz Berggruen's impressive commitment to his hometown of Berlin. The Museum Berggruen will gain even more autonomy in line with the ongoing reform process of the SPK."
In 1996, the legendary art collector Heinz Berggruen (1914 - 2007) moved with his collection back to his hometown, which he had to leave after the National Socialists seized power. To house his collection of works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Alberto Giacometti, Paul Cézanne, and Paul Klee, the State Museums Berlin (SMB) offered him the western Stülerbau, a Neoclassical building by Friedrich August Stüler originally designed for the officers of the Prussian King’s guard just opposite Charlottenburg Palace. In 2000, the SPK acquired the extensive collection of 167 works with funds from the federal government and the state of Berlin. On the death of Heinz Berggruen, his wife Bettina and the children had immediately decided to continue the legacy and support the museum by permanent loans to the museum of works belonging to them. Now, this support has reached another dimension.
Nicolas Berggruen said, "The family considers it a profound responsibility to our father Heinz Berggruen to support the museum to which he entrusted his collection as a legacy. We have been doing so for years through the Friends Circle we founded, an International Council, and our international network, among other means. With the success of the recent exhibition Picasso & Les Femmes d'Alger, we have taken our cooperation with SPK to a new level, which we want to make permanent. The goal of the financial contribution we are announcing is for the Museum Berggruen to set an example for modern, creative, and future-oriented museum work while encouraging people to become involved in Berlin's culture."
Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, added, "For years, the Foundation and the Nationalgalerie have maintained a close and special relationship with the Berggruen family. The museum has become a very special brand within the Nationalgalerie. This is even more impressive because this name once again belongs to a city from which Heinz Berggruen was once expelled. I am delighted that with his family we can strengthen and further develop the museum and thus also our location in Charlottenburg as a whole. I thank Nicolas, Olivier, and Bettina Berggruen very much for this commitment, which is not at all to be taken for granted in these times. Heinz Berggruen's legacy lives on in a very wonderful way into the next generation, which is both a joy and an honour for us."
