ART PLATFORM JAPAN Research Portal for Art in Japan by NCAR

Drawing Lessons from the Museum Ludwig Collection: Vibrant interactions between the museum and the public

June 30, 2022

symposium

The event archival video is now online.

Bunka-cho Art Platform Japan Symposium

Aims

Germany is a country where its citizens are intimately involved in the activities of public art museums, as seen in the tradition of kunstvereine, the civic art associations that emerged in the late 18th century. The Museum Ludwig, operated by the City of Cologne, is a prime example of public art museums whose establishment and activities have been largely driven by the citizenry. This museum traces its beginnings to 1976, when Peter and Irene Ludwig donated some 350 artworks—predominantly Pop art and Russian avant-garde—to Cologne. Its holdings were built up by gifts from many other private collectors as well, including the works of Expressionism, New Objectivity, and other German modern art movements that Cologne lawyer Josef Haubrich gifted to the city in 1946, and the large photography collection that began with donations from Leo Fritz and Renate Gruber.
The Museum Ludwig’s array of contemporary art was assembled in large part through the efforts of Gesellschaft für Moderne Kunst am Museum Ludwig Köln e.V. Launched in 1985 to promote contemporary art and support the Museum Ludwig, this society now comprises roughly 650 members and has run an international chapter in the United States since 2018. Its activities include hosting a wide variety of programs and events, and assisting the museum’s acquisition of artworks. The growth of the museum’s collection has also been greatly aided by the foundation Kunststiftung im Museum Ludwig. Established by the City of Cologne in 2008, it is among the first foundations in Germany to be set up by a local government. It has helped to expand the Museum Ludwig’s holdings by supporting collectors interested in donating their pieces.
As these examples illustrate, the Museum Ludwig’s various systems function robustly thanks to the citizenry’s support. In this symposium, the museum’s director, Dr. Yilmaz Dziewior, will talk about the vibrant interactions between the museum and the public, and the successes achieved through that engagement, with the aim of considering the museums in Japan.

Program Overview

Presentation: Yilmaz Dziewior, Director, Museum Ludwig
Moderator: Kataoka Mami (Chair, Contemporary Art Committee Japan / Executive Advisor, The National Art Communication Center (tentative name) / Director, Mori Art Museum)
Date & Time: Thursday, June 30, 2022, 5:00 pm–6:30 pm (doors open at 4:45 pm)
Venue: The National Arts Center, Tokyo, 3F Auditorium + Live streaming on YouTube Live
Language: English and Japanese (with simultaneous interpretation)
Registration: Free registration
How to join: ①In-person at the National Art Center, Tokyo, 3F Auditorium (Capacity: 70, first-come-first-served basis) Address: 7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Please register from the link below.
https://forms.office.com/r/kNeX1bBkJx

②Virtually via YouTube Live English channel:


Speakers’ Profiles

Yilmaz DziewiorDirector, Museum Ludwig

©Falko Alexander

Dr. Yilmaz Dziewior has been director of the Museum Ludwig in Cologne since February 1, 2015. From 2009 to 2015 he was director of the Kunsthaus Bregenz (KUB), a leading exhibition venue for contemporary art in Europe. As commissioner, Dziewior curated the Austrian pavilion for the 2015 Venice Biennale and is the curator of the German pavilion for the 2022 Venice Biennale. Dziewior has also been a regular contributor to Artforum (New York), Camera Austria (Graz), and Texte zur Kunst (Berlin). He has edited more than fifty books, including exhibition catalogues, on twentieth- and twenty-first-century art and has also contributed essays to catalogues published by museums around the world. Dziewior’s work is characterized by a focus on social issues, including identity politics and cultural attributions, and he has a strong interest in art from the African continent, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia. Recent exhibitions include Haegue Yang: ETA 1994–2018 (2018), We Call It Ludwig (2017).

Moderator: Kataoka MamiChair, Contemporary Art Committee Japan / Executive Advisor, National Art Communication Center (tentative name) / Director, Mori Art Museum

©Ito Akinori

Kataoka Mami joined the Mori Art Museum in 2003, taking on the role of Director in 2020. Beyond Tokyo, Kataoka has held positions at the Hayward Gallery in London, where from 2007 to 2009 she was the institution’s first International Curator; she has also acted as Co-Artistic Director for the 9th Gwangju Biennale (2012), Artistic Director for the 21st Biennale of Sydney (2018) and is currently Artistic Director for the Aichi Triennale 2022. Kataoka has been serving as a Board Member of CIMAM [International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art] (2014-) and currently the President of CIMAM.