Winfried Nerdinger, 77, was re-elected President of the Academy of Fine Arts in May. This has not brought peace to the academy, which is characterized by internal struggles. Members such as the composer Moritz Eggert and the writer Petra Morsbach continue to criticize the management style of the former founding director of the Munich NS Document Center and professor emeritus for the history of architecture and building construction. Until Nerdinger finds time to answer questions that arise in this context, he requires a few weeks’ time. But he gives it.
SZ: Congratulations on your re-election. Do you find it unfortunate that you had no opponent?
Winfried Nerdinger: Why should I regret that? All members entitled to vote were invited in writing to run for office and be elected, and obviously there was not the slightest interest in running for office again. It is therefore a clear sign of trust.
68 percent of the members voted for you. That means a third of the members are not behind you. Do you have an explanation as to why many are so critical of you?
That’s a wrong conclusion. 87 members voted yes and 27 voted no. That is a majority of 76 percent. In a heterogeneous artists’ partnership like the Academy, this is a great result, which honors and supports me immensely.
They ignore those who didn’t vote at all. But let’s move on to your plans for your next few years as President. What will be the focus?
The academy’s program is planned by the members of the five departments and implemented by the respective directors. The president can set accents with his own events, I just did that with a series of lectures on the burning question “Is there a right to housing?”, and I will continue that with a series on “National culture? Abuse and instrumentalization” as well as with Lectures on endangered culture in Ukraine. I am also preparing a “Young Academy” program with scholarships and a stay in a house recently inherited from the Academy.
When you took office, you announced that you wanted to increase the proportion of women. Was that successful?
New members are proposed by the individual departments and elected in a secret ballot by all full members of the entire academy. Direct influence is therefore not possible. However, the proportion of women is increasing steadily, this year more women than men were newly elected.
According to the Academy’s rules of procedure, members are forbidden, under threat of temporary exclusion, from discussing the content of the meetings or the course of the meeting with third parties. What reason was there for tightening the Rules of Procedure in 2020?
You are misinformed there. The rules of procedure were not tightened, but only introduced for the academy in 2020. This happened at the request of the music department because a member published personal internal information. According to its task, the academy awards prizes, honors, grants and commissions, reports are drawn up, exhibitions are evaluated, events are planned and new members are elected. People are therefore constantly being discussed in the departments, so discretion is not only necessary for the protection of personal data, but is also legally imperative. Incidentally, this is not an exclusion from the Academy, but a short-term restriction on participation in department meetings.
Have members been asked about this?
The Board of Directors, i.e. the elected representatives of the Academy, unanimously decided to introduce the rules of procedure customary for corporations.
The academy laments its low financial resources. According to a statement by the ministry, the Academy of Fine Arts received a total of around 865,000 euros from the Free State of Bavaria in the 2020 budget year, and the rooms in the residence are available rent-free. How much of this sum is left for events?
The academy does not complain, but, like any organization or corporation, strives to ensure that the current budget is adjusted to the constantly increasing costs. Most of the state’s funds are tied up in fixed costs for staff, building maintenance and many other things. Around 60,000 euros per year are available from the state budget for events.
Another important sponsor is the Baur Foundation, which supports the academy with a fifth of its foundation income. Yields will certainly fluctuate, but can you give us an order of magnitude within which this sum ranges?
The chairman of the foundation will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the Baur Foundation.
Is there a contract or a written stipulation as to how much of the donations from the Baur Foundation for the promotion of culture must go back to Upper Franconia?
The foundation has its own Upper Franconia budget, which we do not have.
How much money is spent on events in Munich on average, how much in Upper Franconia?
The academy holds around 70 to 80 public events every year. With a visit that is usually free, it offers one of the best and most varied cultural programs in Bavaria. Depending on the department, the events cost between 1,500 and 8,000 euros, and considerably more for exhibitions. The foundation is responsible for the costs of the events in Upper Franconia.
Is it true that the concerts in Upper Franconia are rewarded much better than in Munich?
It is not concerts that are paid, but artists’ fees, about which no public information is given as a matter of principle.
What is the task of the academy at the Festival Lied & Lyrik?
It is a festival organized by the Baur Foundation in collaboration with the Academy, which makes suggestions. The foundation makes the decisions, and both institutions are involved in the organisation.
In some local press reports about the festival, the general secretary of the academy is named as the artistic director. Was she appointed to do this by the academy?
The Secretary General has taken on the task of looking after this on a voluntary basis and at the request and request of the previous presidents and the Baur Foundation and in coordination with the directors, i.e. the elected representatives of the members, since no member made himself available for this immense work.
Were or are the members regularly asked to get involved?
Every member was and is informed about the events or can obtain information and always has the opportunity to submit an application for participation. About 30 members from all departments have been involved in the events in Upper Franconia over the years. Everyone has to get involved themselves.