Culture
Federal President Steinmeier at the ceremony in the Museum Folkwang
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender as guests at the Museum Folkwang in Essen. Photo: Oliver Berg/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The Folkwang Museum in Essen is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Federal President Steinmeier is a guest at a ceremony on the evening before the official opening of the impressive anniversary exhibition.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Museum Folkwang in Essen, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier emphasized the importance of the building.
In his speech at the ceremony, he recalled the time of industrialization at the beginning of the 20th century and the origin of the collection. At that time, something began to shine in the Ruhr area “that has not stopped fascinating visitors to this day,” said Steinmeier on Saturday evening in the Essen Philharmonic Hall. The Folkwang is “one of the most important museums of modern art in Germany”.
Essen could serve as an example for other places in the country to emulate, said Steinmeier. He emphasized that the extension remained on schedule and within budget. “If you come from Berlin, that alone is a reason to be amazed,” said Steinmeier and earned many laughs for the allusion. The Federal President particularly emphasized that admission to the permanent exhibition in the “Volkshalle” of art is always free. The city of Essen is waiving entrance fees. “She obviously knows what kind of treasure she has here – and that this treasure should be accessible to as many people as possible. My congratulations on the centenary therefore include a big thank you for this exemplary commitment.”
Steinmeier had previously admired the anniversary exhibition “Renoir, Monet, Gauguin – Pictures of a Flowing World” together with the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrik Wüst (CDU) during a tour of the museum. “We in North Rhine-Westphalia are proud of the Folkwang Museum. It radiates far beyond the borders of Essen,” said Wüst. North Rhine-Westphalia and the Ruhr area have developed into a cultural center with a wide range of activities over the years. In the past two years of the pandemic, however, “art and culture have suffered”.
The more than 120 works, in particular by famous French artists, but also by other international artists, are open to the public from this Sunday until May 15 in the 1,400 square meter museum in the Ruhr metropolis in 14 exhibition rooms.
The large Impressionist show with the collections of Folkwang founder Karl Ernst Osthaus and Japanese art collector Kojiro Matsukata from the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo marks the start of numerous events in the anniversary year of the museum, which moved from Hagen to Essen in 1922.