According to Rostock’s art gallery director Jörg-Uwe Neumann, the way art and museums were treated during the coronavirus pandemic has so far been inadequately evaluated and processed. Corona was terrible and caused a lot of suffering for many people. “But the way museums and art were treated was also terrible and dramatic. The museums were among the first to have to close and among the last to be allowed to reopen. That was also symbolic politics,” he told the German Press Agency. In retrospect, it must be clarified why such decisions were made and how they were justified.
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Neumann, director of the Kunsthalle since 2009, pointed out that the rules were applicable in different areas. “A good hardware store has more visitors in one day than the Kunsthalle has in a month. But the hardware stores stayed open at the time. For me, that was a very difficult way of dealing with art.” Museums, with their large areas, could have ensured compliance with distance rules or the requirement to wear masks very well. “We also have a restaurant in our building. I could have reopened that, but not the museum. It was absurd,” the 63-year-old recalls.
The necessary evaluation and review process is not about being a know-it-all. The situation was new for everyone at the time. “But you have to ask yourself: why did museums have to be closed for such a long time?” Only if the procedure is explained well can it be understood in retrospect, stressed the head of the art gallery. If it cannot be explained, then the necessary conclusions must be drawn so that such mistakes are not repeated in comparable situations.
According to Rostock’s art gallery director Jörg-Uwe Neumann, the way art and museums were treated during the coronavirus pandemic has so far been inadequately evaluated and processed. Corona was terrible and caused a lot of suffering for many people. “But the way museums and art were treated was also terrible and dramatic. The museums were among the first to have to close and among the last to be allowed to reopen. That was also symbolic politics,” he told the German Press Agency. In retrospect, it must be clarified why such decisions were made and how they were justified.
