Friday, January 27, 2012

Enwezor's Plan for Haus der Kunst, Munich

Since last year when the Haus der Kunst, Munich hired Okwui Enwezor to direct the museum, many wondered what this was all about. Certainly, hiring one of the most visible and accomplished curators in the world today to run a major art museum was not necessarily brow-raising. But for an institution with such a controversial history--a history that dates back to its origins as the premier site for celebrating the Nazi's idea of art--it seemed all too clear that with Okwui, Munich and the Bavarian State was now ready to reinvent its museum along with its troubled past. After all, no one hires Okwui and expects to continue with business as usual! (And I am sure the Munich authorities looked at what he did at Documenta 11 and at the San Francisco Art Institute!). If his big ideas positively changed how these two different institutions imagined themselves, how would they transform that most conservative of institutions, the art museum, particularly one with such a long, fraught history no one seemed willing or able to tackle in any meaningful way for the past 75 years?
Well, a few days ago, Okwui convened a press conference (with more than 200 journalists in attendance) in Munich to speak about his plans for Haus der Kunst. Here is a brief outline of his vision for the museum in the years ahead, as reported by ARTINFO
Good luck my friend! 

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