Friends with art for 25 years

Dr Stephan Scholz

Ten years ago, exactly on 1 December 2007, the Gunzenhauser Museum was officially opened with all kinds of celebrities, including the then Federal President Horst Köhler. There is great pride in this collection in Chemnitz. After all, several major cities, such as Berlin, Leipzig and Munich, competed for Dr Alfred Gunzenhauser's favour. "The museum is a stroke of luck for Chemnitz," says Dr Stephan Scholz, Chairman of the Friends of the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz e. V. (Friends of the Chemnitz Art Collections), who has closely followed the difficult path until the museum moved into the former headquarters of the Chemnitz Sparkasse. "We owe this to a dedicated general director of the art collections, Ingrid Mössinger, and the committed mayor at the time, Dr Peter Seifert," says Scholz, who also celebrated an anniversary with his association this year - 25 years of the Friends of the Chemnitz Art Collections. In the Makers of the Week interview, he spoke about the quarter of a century of the association, Chemnitz as a city of art and the time after Ingrid Mössinger.

How was your anniversary event?
Dr Stephan Scholz: It was great. The anniversary day was a museum celebration. It went well with the big exhibition opening by Jacques Lipchitz. There were almost 1,000 enthusiastic people in total. We had a great programme, especially a nice children's programme for the many young families who were there.

You founded the Friends of the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz e. V. 25 years ago. How did that come about?
I met the director of the art collections at the time, Susanne Anna. She said that she needed a circle of friends - every museum has one. I had friends and acquaintances who were interested in art, and she had a few too. So we were seven members who were able to found the association. These founding members then elected me as chairman. At the time, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
But my grandfather owned the Gerstenberger Gallery here - some of his paintings are also in the art collections. So the museum wasn't too far away from me. So we just got started.

How has the association developed since then?
Excellently. I think the association is now the largest art association in the East. We still have 1,100 members. Fortunately, we fill the gaps that arise due to age and people moving away.

Why does a museum in Chemnitz, of all places, have the association with the most members in the East?
We have attached great importance to being as broad-based as possible and not so elitist. There are art associations that are elitist. You can easily pay a membership fee of 500 to 2,000 euros there. That might have worked in Chemnitz, but then we would have been a very small association. We didn't want that. We wanted to get everyone who is interested in art in Chemnitz and the region to join us - a kind of meeting place for people interested in art. We achieve this by constantly drawing attention to ourselves and offering good events for a reasonable membership fee - which is 50 euros.
It is still a no-go that members of the association have to pay admission to the museum they wish to support. This is unique in Germany and nobody understands it. We are constantly trying to draw attention to how counterproductive this is. We want to encourage our members to make donations in addition to their contribution in order to support one or other of the art collections' projects. Of course, this works much better if I know that as a supporting member I get free admission to the facilities.

What are the tasks of the Friends' Association?
We support the art collections in every respect. Of course, we have acquired a lot of art over the 25 years and donated it to the art collections. But what I consider to be even more important: We have provided the initial impetus to ensure that our own funds are available and that works of art can be acquired. If we have our own funds and funding organisations realise that people are interested, they have a much better opportunity to contribute from their funds.
It has very often happened that works of art and collections have come into the art collections where we as a funding organisation have provided our own funds and then something else has come in from all sides.

One of the milestones for Stephan Scholz is the permanent loan of the Neo Rauch painting "Die Abwägung", which has adorned the council chamber of Chemnitz Town Hall since March 2013. "We raised a large sum of money for this in a very short space of time. In addition to the association, it was all entrepreneurs from Chemnitz and the region who contributed. I am very happy about that." Together with other sponsors, it is thanks to them that the 1.77 metre high and 3.52 metre wide work by the well-known Leipzig artist attracts tourists from near and far to the town hall.

What are the other highlights of the association's 25-year history?
The major exhibitions in the art collections, of course, which I associate with very special experiences. I particularly remember "Picasso et les femmes", which was on show in 2002/2003. Because four or five women that Picasso painted in his various periods were also guests in Chemnitz. Of course, they were quite a bit older, but you could immediately recognise who belonged to which painting. That's when you realise what a special artist Picasso was.
Of course, there are a number of other events that were very important for the region and the association. For example, we organised the association's first summer night ball in Lichtenwalde in 1994, when the castle had already been abandoned. Simply to emphasise that it should not simply be allowed to fall into disrepair. We organised the ball in the empty rooms. Fortunately, the castle is still there.

The Gunzenhauser Museum is now celebrating its tenth anniversary. You were always there to support it in the early days. What is your interim conclusion for the museum?
The collection is fantastic. I would like to see it attract more visitors.

In 2003, the Munich gallery owner Alfred Gunzenhauser donated his collection of more than 2,000 exhibits to Chemnitz - a masterpiece by General Director Mössinger, who, with the help of the city council, made him an offer he couldn't refuse: a museum of his own. "What collectors like to do - they want to keep their collection together and, if possible, have a representative exhibition of their works. This is not possible in most large museums," says Scholz, paying tribute to Ingrid Mössinger's negotiating skills. Thanks to the 290 works by the important German painter Otto Dix in the museum's collection, Chemnitz can boast the world's largest museum collection of works by the artist. After more than 20 years of exceptionally successful work by Dr Ingrid Mössinger as General Director of the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, the handover of the baton to her successor is slowly approaching. The time is expected to come in the course of next year. "Filling these shoes will be very difficult," says Stephan Scholz.

How do you see the time after Ingrid Mössinger?
Ingrid Mössinger has made a great contribution to the art collections and the city. It is very difficult to fill the position. It doesn't matter who it is, the succession will be difficult. She has been in Chemnitz for over twenty years, which is a very long time for such a position. She has shaped the art collections like no other. I would like her successor to be someone who is very well connected. I don't know if that will work.

How can you get more people interested in the art collections?
You just have to try it out. There's not really a recipe. One way is to say that you can break down barriers and try to offer something for all age groups. Museums are also educational centres, no matter what kind. And of course we want to break down these barriers. For example, offering free admission, like in London. It's great when you come to such a huge museum and there's a big crowd.

Where do you get your motivation for volunteering?
When you are very involved in your job, your focus becomes very narrow. It's very easy to think only in terms of your professional environment. It's important to broaden your perspective. An occupation like this is a wonderful way to do that. Art has the great advantage that it is international. It also gives you a broad view of historical, historic and philosophical contexts that might otherwise be closed to you.

The medical chemist started his own laboratory shortly after reunification and developed it into the largest in East Germany. Diagnosticum covers all areas of laboratory medicine and pathology. "I would like to see more success stories from medium-sized companies in the region. There are so many of them here and they fly under the radar," says Scholz, who has now handed over the reins of management to his son. At 69, however, he is not yet thinking about retirement.

What's it actually like to be a man of culture in Chemnitz?
Good. Everything I want to see, hear and experience in terms of art and culture, I can do here and I can do it from here. The density of culture in Saxony is remarkable. You only realise that once you've been to another federal state. You realise that much more has been thinned out there.

How do you feel about the bid to become Capital of Culture?
I very much welcome it. Because the cities that have become Capitals of Culture so far have really taken off. Nobody knows whether Chemnitz will be. But I think the application is a good one. And I take a very pragmatic view: if you apply to be European Capital of Culture, you have to do your homework. And that primarily involves showing what Chemnitz and the region have to offer in terms of art and culture.

Where do you see your association and the city of Chemnitz in 2025?
I would like to see the association in a good position in 2025, perhaps with a new chairman. Of course, the art collections with a new management team that continues to play an important role in the difficult environment in Germany and Europe.
In recent years, we have seen that art museums are seen as certain symbols of a flourishing municipal or state structure. You have to be careful not to fall behind. That's why I can only say that we should think about setting an example in this competition and say that we have a huge treasure trove of collections in the art collections, which should also be more widely represented.
But we can also think about unconventional possibilities. What makes Chemnitz famous is the loans. Large exhibitions often include works from the Chemnitz art collections. And I see them there from time to time.
I was recently at the Museum Barberini in Potsdam. There were also works on loan from Chemnitz. Of course, that alone is not enough. If people interested in art don't come to Chemnitz to the same extent, then the works come to the people who are interested, similar to the MoMA (editor's note). Museum of Modern Art, which is based in New York and exhibited its masterpieces in Berlin during a remodelling project). That would also be an idea, because then visitors would realise that Chemnitz is worth a visit.