Akademie-Galerie
Akademie-Galerie on the first floor of the building at Burgplatz, photo: Babette Bangemann
The Kunstakademie has created its own, public place with the "Akademie-Galerie – Die Neue Sammlung" (Academy Gallery - The New Collection) to collect and exhibit works by teachers and outstanding graduates of the academy. The gallery serves to preserve the memory of the academy, the continuous self-reflection and the aim of setting new accents in the art scene of the city.
The idea and initiative to donate a new gallery to Kunstakademie after 1945 was thanks to the longtime rector Markus Lüpertz. The term "gallery" dates back to the electoral collection of Jan Wilhelm. Markus Lüpertz linked the founding of the "Akademie-Galerie – Die Neue Sammlung" to this historical context.
The first director of the newly founded Akademie-Galerie was the former director of the Ludwig Museum and professor of modern art history Siegfried Gohr, who implemented Lüpertz' ambitious plan in practice. From 2004 onwards, with the help of the state of NRW and the city of Düsseldorf, five room segments of a total of about 650 square meters plus office and storage space were set up for exhibition purposes in the former building of the registration office at Burgplatz 1 in Düsseldorf's old town. The location of the gallery thus historically almost corresponds to the old location of the Electoral Gallery. On February 17, 2005, the rooms of the "Akademie-Galerie – Die Neue Sammlung" were presented to the public.
As the city of Düsseldorf already has an attractive range of museums, the Akademie-Galerie focuses on collecting and exhibiting works of the teaching staff and known graduates of the Kunstakademie. The exhibitions take place annually, each in the summer semester and the winter semester. The Akademie-Galerie has an extensive archive that manages publications, information on teachers and successful students of the house and takes care of the estates of former teachers. The plan to receive a main work and hand drawings as a donation from every professor who taught at the Kunstakademie since 1945 was largely fulfilled by Gohr. The collection of the Akademie-Galerie consists of painting, sculpture, photography, video and installations as well as graphics and hand drawings. Currently, the Akademie-Galerie houses about 1000 works of art.
You can find the Instagram-Account (external link) of the Akademie-Galerie here.