SALZBURG.- The Museum der Moderne Salzburg and the Generali Foundation are announced a unique, long-term partnership. In spring 2014, the Generali Foundation will continue its activities for the promotion of contemporary art at the Museum der Moderne Salzburg. This partnership has been set up for an initial term of 25 years and encompasses several areas.
The Generali Foundation Collection will be entrusted to the Museum der Moderne as a permanent loan. One gallery floor of the Museum der Moderne building on Mönchsberg will be specially dedicated to this collection, which will be presented all year round in a series of temporary exhibitions. Selected works from the collection will be put in dialogue with other works from the museum's holdings. Furthermore the collecting activities will be continued in collaboration with the Museum der Moderne. In the medium term, the comprehensive library and archive of the Generali Foundation will also be made accessible to the public at the premises of the Museum der Moderne. Generali Group Austria will remain responsible for the Generali Foundation and provide adequate funds to the Museum der Moderne for the human and financial resources required for these activities.
By establishing this comprehensive partnership, Sabine Breitwieser, who has been director of the Museum der Moderne since September 2013, sets a milestone in the thirty-year history of the museum. She has successfully brought one of the most prominent and internationally acclaimed private art collections in Austria to Salzburg and thus created the conditions for making the Museum der Moderne competitive on an international scale. The museum's holdings are significantly enhanced and expanded and allow the museum to sharpen its profile. As a result, the museum will be able to position itself as a player in the international field.
“The integration of the seminal and consistent Generali Foundation Collection into the holdings of the Museum der Moderne Salzburg will make the province of Salzburg even more attractive for art lovers from all over the world,” says governor Wilfried Haslauer, who greatly welcomes the establishment of this cooperation. “Salzburg will be able to position itself more strongly as an internationally recognized venue for first-rate contemporary visual art. The archive and library of the Generali Foundation, which will also be relocated to Salzburg, will provide further valuable impulses for the research and study of visual art. My thanks are due to Director Sabine Breitwieser, President Dietrich Karner and Chairman Peter Thirring,” the governor emphasizes.
“This partnership will guarantee both the continuation of the art sponsoring activities of the Generali Group Austria and the presentation of the international Generali Foundation Collection in the long term. I greatly appreciate that the Generali Foundation has found such a competent partner in the Museum der Moderne Salzburg under the visionary leadership of Sabine Breitwieser," underlines Dietrich Karner, President of the Generali Foundation and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Generali Holding Vienna AG and Generali Versicherung AG.
The holdings of the Museum der Moderne are not only substantially increased, but also achieve a new dimension in terms of quality. “The Museum der Moderne Salzburg is eventually able to compensate major deficits in its collection with regard to international art from the 1960s to the present. In the future, we will be responsible for one of the most comprehensive collections of works by prominent international artists, such as VALIE EXPORT, Harun Farocki, Andrea Fraser, Isa Genzken, Bruno Gironcoli, Dan Graham, Hans Haacke, Sanja Iveković, Július Koller, Gordon Matta-Clark, Walter Pichler, Adrian Piper, Martha Rosler, Allan Sekula, Franz West or Heimo Zobernig, to name just a few of the 250 artists in the collection with about 2,100 works in total," Sabine Breitwieser, Director of the Museum der Moderne Salzburg, emphasizes.
“The top-calibre, internationally acclaimed Generali Foundation Collection substantially enhances the potential of the Museum der Moderne Salzburg. It adds a new dimension in terms of content and quality, for the benefit of the museum, its visitors and everyone interested. It also helps the Museum fulfil its information and education mandate more effectively. As councillor for cultural affairs of the province of Salzburg I greatly appreciate this invaluable expansion of the Museum der Moderne and would like to thank the Generali Foundation and everyone who has made this cooperation possible,” Heinrich Schnellhorn, councillor for cultural affairs of the province of Salzburg, points out.
Generali Group Austria has deliberately chosen the Museum der Moderne Salzburg as new strategic location for its art activities. “We are extremely proud to take on a pioneering role with this exemplary cooperation between public and private sector and to contribute to the promotion of contemporary art on an international level. The Museum der Moderne Salzburg is an ideal partner for us, with an impressive premises right in the heart of Europe,” Peter Thirring, CEO of Generali Holding Vienna AG and Generali Versicherungs AG, explains this decision.
At the end of April 2014, the Museum der Moderne Salzburg will organize the first presentation of works from this newly acquired collection in its museum building on Mönchsberg mountain.
