I had a mission here

Dr phil. h.c. Ingrid Mössinger

An almost normal week for Dr phil. h.c. Ingrid Mössinger. "I'm just making a quick phone call. The sculpture catalogue still has to be finished. Then I'll be right there," the General Director of the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz asks her guests for patience, only to take a short time later to talk at length. These are questions that she has often answered in recent weeks. Because it's time to look back - a perspective that Ingrid Mössinger doesn't really like. But on 30 April, her professional engagement as General Director of the Art Collections in Chemnitz comes to an end.

Over 20 years of the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz: looking back, can you think of one particular highlight among the many that you remember with particular fondness?
Dr Ingrid Mössinger: There are many that I remember with fondness - a chain of highlights, so to speak. I hadn't even arrived in Chemnitz yet and a lady I didn't know called me and said: "I've heard you're going to be the new museum director. I would like to donate a painting by Franz von Stuck and one by Max Slevogt to you. I was of course completely surprised. Then it turned out that it was a granddaughter of the entrepreneur Vogel, who commissioned the Max Klinger painting for the council chamber in Chemnitz town hall in 1911. She wanted to donate the portraits of her grandfather and grandmother to the museum. I thought that was great, of course. That was an excellent start before I even began.
Then I arrived here and after three weeks I got the news that the sculpture "Head of a Thinker" by Wilhelm Lehmbruck was being auctioned at the famous Christie's auction house in London. It was donated to the Chemnitz Museum in 1923, but confiscated in 1937 as "degenerate art". I was seized by the ambition to buy the magnificent piece back for the museum. There were only three weeks and no purchase budget available - as auctions are not postponed. At first I thought, oh, I'll just shelve it. Without an acquisition budget, there's no point. But then I thought I'd better give it a try, because nothing more than nothing can happen. So I thought about it day and night, sought advice and asked around to see how I could raise the money.

That's what characterises Ingrid Mössinger: It can't be done - it doesn't exist. As long as you don't try, it can't work. With a charming tenacity, she has organised major exhibitions in Chemnitz and thus helped the museum to achieve international renown: Edvard Munch (1999), Lucas Cranach (2005), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (2007), the Peredwischniki (2012), Andy Warhol (2014), to name just a few major exhibitions. Incidentally, it almost goes without saying that she raised the money from several foundations and was thus able to buy the Lehmbruck sculpture at auction. "These successes at the beginning of my career, the Stuck and Slevogt paintings and the Lehmbruck, were so motivating that things went really well from then on," says Mössinger.

Where do the ideas for an exhibition come from?
I did a lot of research on Chemnitz and looked for unique selling points that can be found here. For example, it came as a surprise to me that Edvard Munch spent time in the city. He was Herbert Esche's family portraitist. With this world-famous artist, to whom we dedicated an exhibition in 1999, we were able to draw attention to the art collections. That was an unexpected highlight that immediately raised the city and the museum to an international level. And if Munch was such a success, Picasso was no longer completely out of reach. Then in 2002 we organised the exhibition "Picasso et les femmes". There had never been an exhibition of this breadth and selection before. In the end, we had 228 portraits of 36 women hanging in Chemnitz. It was an almost complete survey of all the women Picasso had ever painted or drawn. I think there were only three missing. Five of the women depicted even came to the opening.

After the opening, it was said that, despite the time that had passed, each of the women present could be recognised from the pictures.
Yes, Picasso did an excellent job of capturing the character of the people. Although the artistic depiction was up to fifty years old, the people were instantly recognisable. He was simply an exceptional artist.

The next exhibitions were directly connected thematically?
That's right. We showed pictures by Picasso's long-time companion Francoise Gilot. There must have been 50 female journalists at the press conference. They all wanted to see the woman who outlived Picasso (laughs).
Then, after the Picasso exhibition, I was interested in Cranach, because Picasso had spent 20 years working with and being inspired by the older and younger Cranach. So in 2005 we had the largest exhibition of Cranach works to date, with 72 paintings. 62 of them were on loan from the Old Masters Picture Gallery in Dresden. That was a wonderful co-operation.

How much time and work goes into a successful exhibition. Can you describe how you manage to show a Picasso, Munch or Bob Dylan exhibition in Chemnitz?
It takes two to three years of preparation. You have to have the confidence to do it. Both financially and lending the artworks is a big challenge, even if you have already had preliminary discussions. In this case, you need a certain amount of entrepreneurial thinking and a willingness to take risks.

Would cancelling the project have damaged your image?
Yes, that would have been very bad. You only do that once or twice at most, because then you lose credibility. But if it works, then of course it promotes the subsequent projects.

Do you speak to every lender personally?
Yes, with as many as possible or you have a good intermediary. There is also the financial aspect, which is very stressful. The owners of the valuable works have to trust the borrower and can expect the works to be adequately insured and shown in a catalogue.

The story of the dark museum is told and only your office is lit. Are you more of a person who likes to work at night?
Definitely. Because there's no phone ringing and you can concentrate well. I'm not someone who sits at my desk at six in the morning, I tend to start at nine, nine-thirty and then stay until around midnight.

Ingrid Mössinger has shaped the Chemnitz Art Collections since 1996, making them and the city better known throughout the world. When people talk about art, the name Chemnitz comes up between Paris, London, New York and Berlin. Under Ingrid Mössinger's leadership, the art collections were honoured for the best German museum concept in 2003 and named "Museum of the Year" by the art critics' association AICA in 2010. One of her greatest successes was certainly the Museum Gunzenhauser: she convinced the Munich gallery owner Dr Alfred Gunzenhauser to give his more than 2,400 works to Chemnitz despite further requests. In 2007, the museum, which was remodelled especially for the collection, was opened. With around 106,000 objects, the art collections are now among the largest municipal museums in Germany. But one of her greatest achievements is that the people of Chemnitz are proud of "their" art collections and are proud to show this to the outside world. "I had a real mission here and the art museum as a suitable instrument," says Ingrid Mössinger about her time in Chemnitz, during which she had to fight on many fronts for the acceptance of Chemnitz in connection with art. "For example, I had to explain to higher cultural officials that people in Chemnitz have the same right to culture as in Dresden. I had the impression that it was a real epiphany that flashed through the person and they said to themselves that they were actually right," says Mössinger, describing the initially difficult path and the hurdles she had to overcome to make the centre what it is today. "Because of the city's amazing past and the famous people who come from Chemnitz, I made every effort to ensure that the Chemnitz Art Collections were recognised regionally, nationally and internationally, so that they could stand alongside other major cities."

Should the people of Chemnitz therefore be more committed to their city again? There seem to be enough reasons, don't they?
There is no reason to walk around the city depressed. On the contrary, there are many things to be proud of. Inventions, personalities, works of art. You just have to take a look at the city.
To stay with art: The artists' group "Brücke", which is considered a pioneer of German Expressionism, originated in Chemnitz and not, as many believe, in Dresden. Karl Schmidt-Rottluff was born in Chemnitz, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Erich Heckel went to school in Chemnitz.
Another nice point is our chimney. According to my research, it is the fourth tallest in the world.

Away from the museum. Your working week must have seven days?
Something like that.

Nevertheless, you regularly received guests from outside. What did you show them? Do you have a favourite place in the city?
Most recently, the French ambassador, H.E. Philippe Etienne, was here and spent a whole day in Chemnitz with his wife.
We always have attractive exhibitions at the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz with a large collection of Schmidt-Rottluff paintings. Then there's the Gunzenhauser Museum and I also like going to the Schloßbergmuseum with its outstanding late Gothic sculptures. You can spend a few hours there.

In his speech on awarding you the Federal Cross of Merit in 2016, the then Federal President Joachim Gauck described the museum as the city's cultural calling card. Does that give you hope for the bid to become Capital of Culture 2025? How do you see the chances?
Well, I think the chances are actually very good. I think we have a good concept. We should also emphasise Chemnitz's strong past, which nobody or far too few people know about. There are marvellous opportunities to do this here. With the Chemnitz Art Collections and the Opera House, we have a strong cultural centre in the city. This also strengthens the economy. Because entrepreneurs want to settle in places that have an intellectual centre.

With your honorary citizenship and the art collections, you will always be associated with Chemnitz. Will you still be seen in the city in the future?
Yes, of course!

Your successor will be taking over a huge legacy from 1 May. What do you wish him?
I think that Dr Frédéric Bußmann is a very good choice. He will have a strong museum with four buildings and will be able to support the Capital of Culture project, for example. I wish him every success in the many tasks that lie ahead.

When do you actually start packing your boxes?
As you can see in my office, I still have a lot of packing to do. A lot of it is going into the archive.

What will you be doing from 1 May?
In any case, I'll still be here in May and June because I also have to do some private packing.