This week, 36 museum directors criticized the new ‘lockdown light’ measures in an open letter to the government. They pointed to the perplexing logic behind keeping non-essential shops, including commercial art galleries open while museums, with their spacious galleries and corona-friendly measures in place, have to close.
Meanwhile, musicians and orchestras staged their own protest across Germany during their last performances before lockdown. Under the slogan of ‘ohne Kunst & Kultur wird's still’ ('without art and culture there will be silence'), the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and Staatskapelle Berlin, among others, took to the stage for 20-minute performances of complete silence.
Culture minister Monika Grütters has since set aside €10 billion to support institutions for up to 75% of revenue lost due to new restrictions, recognizing the catastrophe they represent for German culture. It’s back to virtual exhibitions for the time being, but for those in Cologne, head on over to Kölnischer Kunstverein. They have displayed works from their new exhibition of Dorothy Iannone and Juliette Blightman in such a way that onlookers can view them through the windows!
Big windows, no problem: Kölnischer Kunstverein invites visitors to press their noses to the glass for their exhibition during lockdown. Source: https://koelnischerkunstverein.de/en/