"It's a good day for us," beams Felix Krämer, the museum director of the Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf. The museum reopens to the public on Wednesday.

Visitors must register online and enter their personal data to receive tickets. Once in the museum, keeping distance and wearing an FFP2 mask is obligatory. The response from potential visitors quickly overwhelmed the online ticket store.  

The birthday exhibition of the German artist Heinz Mack, who turned 90 on March 8, was launched digitally two days before the museum is allowed to once again open its doors to visitors. Everything had already been prepared for the online version, and the government's new opening regulations, decided upon last week, came too late to reschedule the start of the exhibition. 

As of Wednesday, the exhibition "Caspar David Friedrich and the Düsseldorf Romantics" can be visited in person in Kunstpalast, as can the long-awaited "Andy Warhol Now" show in Cologne's Ludwig Museum. The galleries in both cities will also be reopening.

Culture with conditions

Most museums and exhibition halls in Germany, however, need more time to prepare for the in-person reopening of their exhibitions in a way that is safe for the public.

Museums in Germany closed in November as the second wave of COVID infections hit, and after four months of lockdown, many need time to make sure the spaces are properly equipped. Ventilation systems, plexiglass barriers and safety devices in public museums need a thorough check to make sure they comply with regulations.

Starting March 16, the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn, will be open to the public once again. Works by German painter Max Klinger will be on display until the beginning of April, while the biographical exhibition on political thinker and philosopher Hannah Arendt will run until May 16. Another exhibition about art historian Aby Warburg, titled "Atlas Mnemosyne — the Original," will run until July 25.

"Art and culture are not only balm for the soul, they also serve to educate and inspire," and help one better understand oneself, says Eva Kraus, artistic director of the Bundeskunsthalle. "Visiting an exhibition is a meaningful alternative to going for a walk or the digital world: It is safe and enriching."

On stage again

Minister of State for Culture Monika Grütters expressed relief that the urgent appeals to the German government, Chancellor Merkel and those advising on coronavirus-related strategy was a success. "I am pleased that a quick re-opening is now possible for bookstores, but also for museums, galleries and memorials under certain conditions. There are also concrete plans for cinemas, theaters, concert halls and opera houses," she said.

But it will still take time. Concertgoers and opera lovers will have to be patient until March 22, when events may be allowed to begin again if case numbers remain low.

In any case,it's not so easy for freelance musicians, actors and orchestras to jump in at a moment's notice: Venues and productions have to be prepared and decisions made about what performances will be shown, since many engagements have been cancelled or rescheduled. 

Box office and admissions staff have mostly been put on contracts that grant them few working hours, and concert halls and opera houses were completely closed during the second-wave lockdown.

Live concerts streamed online without an audience, such as at the 2020 Leverkusen Jazz Days, remained the exception.

Germany, a patchwork of cultural policy

"Germany needs culture, especially in these times because it creates space for debate and democracy, empathy and energy," Grütters stressed in a recent statement. "That's why I expect the states to put the phased plan for culture into action very quickly," she added.

There's one hurdle, however: Germany, as a federal republic of 16 states that must agree on pandemic strategy — seems to have had difficulty coming to decisions and implementing regulations in the arts in culture industry.

Abroad, in centrally-governed countries like France, Great Britain or Italy, the re-opening entities in the cultural realm, such as museums, memorials and opera houses, is determined by regional leadership; and each region handles this differently. 

In Berlin-Brandenburg, some museums, galleries, planetariums and libraries will open again starting Tuesday, March 16, requiring visitors to make an online appointment which will allow them to visit only at specific times. The same applies in Bremen, Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia. In Lower Saxony, cultural openings can occur only when there is a stable seven-day infection incidence of less than 50 people out of 100,000 people.

Bavaria has also opted for a more cautious reopening strategy: As long as a stable seven-day infection incidence of less than 50 people out of 100,000 people exists in a district, museums, zoos, botanical gardens and memorials are allowed to welcome visitors again.

Art as a cure for the pandemic blues

Minister Monika Grütters pushed for a swift opening of all other cultural institutions. "Not only because the cultural and creative industries are such an important economic element, but also because culture is not a luxury that you only indulge in when times are good." 

Berlin's Senator for Culture and Europe, Klaus Lederer, also feels re-opening the cultural industry is vital and should be prioritized: "If we are talking about opening up hardware stores but not theaters and opera houses, you can't communicate that to anyone," Lederer warns.

Incidentally, anyone from abroad who wants to attend an interesting performance or exhibition in Germany may have to invest a lot of money in testing and be prepared to quarantine for 10 to 14 days.

 

This article was translated from German by Sarah Hucal.