Kunstpalast Düsseldorf

© Jonathan Kemper

The "Deutsches Fotoinstitut" - German Photoinstitut - is to become a center of excellence with worldwide appeal and protect the cultural heritage of photography. The state capital of Düsseldorf has formed new alliances in its efforts to become the home of the German Photo Institute.

New supporters are the Düsseldorf Art Academy, which together with DFI e.V.. (Verein zur Gründung und Förderung eines Deutschen Fotoinstituts e.V.) and the Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur from Cologne are supporting the process of planning and establishing the "Deutsches Fotoinstitut" in Düsseldorf. On November 19, 2021, a letter of intent was signed by Chancellor Johanna Boeck-Heuwinkel and the Rector of the Düsseldorf Art Academy, Prof. Karl-Heinz Petzinka, confirming the Academy as a cooperation partner. 

The background:

Contemporary photography is in crisis. Guidelines and standards for the storage and preservation of its analog and digital support material are urgently needed, because their durability is a major problem. Prints are beginning to bleach, lines are starting to develop, and colors are changing. The problematic shelf life threatens the market and discourages collectors. Difficulties also arise with archival storage. Is digital storage the solution? 

In 2013, photo specialist Thomas Weski first conceived such an institute for Düsseldorf and sent his plans to Berlin. Much later in the summer of 2019, at a conference hosted by Monika Grütters, Minister of State for Culture, there was much more extensive discussion about safeguarding photography as a cultural asset. She explicitly acknowledged the need for a photo institute to safeguard cultural heritage. According to a group of experts appointed by her, which also included Thomas Weski, Essen was initially desired as a location, partly because of the Folkwang University and the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex as a suitable site.

However, an association for the foundation and promotion of the "Deutsches Fotoinstitut" had already been founded in Düsseldorf on the initiative of the renowned artist Andreas Gursky. Among the founding members was Max Becher, son of Bernd and Hilla Becher and himself a photographer. The first chairman is the artist Moritz Wegwerth. 

Finally, on November 14, 2019, the German government provided 41.5 million euros for a "Deutsches Fotoinstitut". In these plans, it was foreseen that the city of Düsseldorf would contribute a plot of land at the Ehrenhof to the financing package.

Unfortunately, political decisions are still in full swing today, but the declaration of intent by the Kunstakademie, DFI e.V. and the Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur from Cologne are further positive steps in this direction.

The location in Düsseldorf is predestined for a "Deutsches Fotoinstitut". Artists in the vicinity of the Düsseldorf Art Academy are involved in the history of photographic art. The world-famous Düsseldorf School of Photography must also be mentioned in this context.

The infrastructure of the state capital with the Kunstpalast, the art collection of North Rhine-Westphalia, and the art academy as well as internationally established galleries also make Düsseldorf predestined for such a project. The "Photography Collection" of the Kunstpalast with around 3,500 photographs is also very important, most of which comes from the acquisition of the "Kicken Collection".

According to the declaration of intent of November 19, "Deutsches Fotoinstitut" is to be an open place that closes the gaps revealed by the network of often individually acting, federally organized photo collections and archives. One of the core tasks of the planned competence center is to enable experts and a broad public to encounter the complex medium of photography and the future-oriented discourses associated with it. Such an institution would be unique and visionary worldwide."

Source: City of Düsseldorf

www.duesseldorf.de

Art -  5 December 2021 - By C. Mauer