Committees

The Board of Directors

Christian Kohorst, Chairman

“Art trains the eye, trains empathy, broadens the horizon and shapes attitudes. I firmly believe in the transformative power of art, and thus also in the mission of the Nationalgalerie to make art accessible to as many people as possible. We as Friends want to support the Nationalgalerie wherever we can, and this is a task I am happy to take on as member of the board.”

H.-G. Jan Oelmann

“Art is crucial to people’s intellectual engagement and well-being. Supporting the Nationalgalerie, with its great art historical scope, means promoting a flagship of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and my beloved hometown of Berlin. For this, every form of patronage is worthwhile.”

Dr. Anja Böckmann, Treasurer

“Art – especially 20th century painting – has accompanied me since my childhood. The Nationalgalerie Berlin with its various houses and its broad spectrum has often brought me closer to positions of art that I might otherwise have missed. The Freunde der Nationalgalerie are uniquely capable of supporting the Nationalgalerie and thus the culture of my hometown of Berlin.

The commercial success of the big blockbusters always makes it possible to finance the unusual, which is what makes art and the study of art so exciting. With my involvement with the Friends I am able to follow the desire to contribute my share to ensure that the Friends’ success story can continue for a long time to come.”

Dr. Christian Bauschke

“Should you turn a hobby into a profession? I have been interested in art and exhibitions since my high school days. I bought my first work of art in 1989 (I still like it). Then, in 2004, I decided that in the future, as a lawyer, I would deal exclusively with art-related topics – and with interesting people: Artists, collectors, art dealers, museum people. I have never regretted this decision. The Freunde der Nationalgalerie are one of the most honorable sponsoring associations of all. Supporting them in their tasks is a great pleasure for me.”

The Board of Trustees

Rebecca Casati

“In my years in cultural journalism, I’ve learned that the greatest people of conviction are to be found in the sphere of the visual arts. Because people who have once become addicted to art henceforth think it, breathe it, include it in everything and in everything. Because they have found something that fulfills them, disturbs them, carries them away, irritates them and makes them happy, at all times. Because art is a compass of life, and at the same time an analogy to life itself.

It is a great privilege to belong to these people of conviction and to be able to pass on these experiences. It is with pleasure that I would like to do this also for the Freunde der Nationalgalerie.”

Dr. Friederike Gräfin von Brühl

“What do art museums and cathedrals have in common? That they are spaces for the search for the absolute. That people can make a pilgrimage there and be inspired, touched, moved – sometimes even so incisively that they are no longer the same when they leave the building again. In this sense, the Nationalgalerie, with its world-class collections, truly has a mission. As part of this mission, the Freunde der Nationalgalerie have repeatedly set groundbreaking impulses and moved a great deal in the past – more than almost any other group of museum friends, even internationally. I would like to continue and develop this legacy.”

Claudia C. Hornemann

“When I came to Berlin from London after my studies in 1991, I was immersed in a lively unconventional art scene that inspired me greatly. In the mid-90s, on the recommendation of Erich Marx, I became a member of the Freundeskreis. After the much too early death of Männe Stober, it was a matter of the heart for Peter Raue to found a circle for young members. I had the great pleasure to lead this circle on a voluntary basis until I moved to Düsseldorf. From 2001 on, I worked for the Kunstsammlung NRW for 10 years in a leading role in sponsoring and fundraising. Inspired by the Berlin Model, I became actively involved in the founding of a young sponsoring association. For more than 18 years I have been advising cultural institutions as well as companies and creating long-term cooperations. I am grateful to be able to actively contribute again after 20 years.”

Jürgen Lucius

“The visual arts have enriched my life since my earliest youth. Here I find the balance to my profession, and my senses are steered in other directions. Among other things, I use my professional connections to find economic supporters for our ambitious exhibition projects and to promote the important function of this extraordinary association.”

Marc Müller

“The promotion of art and culture has been an important concern of mine for many years. As a man from the business world, I stand for the connection between entrepreneurship and the promotion of open access to art and cultural diversity. Art trains empathy, broadens horizons, promotes diversity and shapes attitudes. For me, art and culture have an outstanding significance for society. They reflect social debates, they offer discourses for dealing with reality, and they point beyond everyday events.

I firmly believe in the mission of the Freunde der Nationalgalerie to make art and culture accessible to as many people as possible and to enable participation, perspectives and opportunities. With my commitment, I would like to contribute to making the different perspectives and social currents of art and the cultural diversity in Berlin’s civil society even more visible. In addition, I would like to contribute my network of business, start-up scene and culture to the promotion of Berlin’s art scene, as well as to advance the importance of Berlin as an exhibition metropolis. There is no better place for these concerns than the Freunde der Nationalgalerie. I would like to contribute wholeheartedly to these goals.”

Ingeborg Neumann

“My life is shaped by an industrial environment. My involvement with art, especially visual art, gives me the necessary balance: here the economic world with its deterministic processes, there the world of art with its images. In this way, I create inner freedom for myself, and the confrontation with artists and their works sharpens awareness and stimulates creativity. That can be addictive. And what better place to do that than here? Hence my commitment to the Friends.”

Martin Reichert

“How could one not be a friend of the National Gallery? Because of the architecture alone! It’s not for nothing that Mies van der Rohe’s Temple of Modernism is still the Friends’ flagship and without question Berlin’s most beautiful building of the 20th century. Even 60 years after its opening, the building has lost none of its casual grandeur. Contrary to what its name suggests, the National Gallery is not a stately institution, but a cosmopolitan and lively exhibition venue completely in tune with the present. This should continue to be the case. That is what we are committed to.”

Gabriele Quandt

“After nine eventful years as chairwoman of the association, I would like to continue to accompany the ways of the FREUNDE from the board of trustees, because this association is something very special and a matter of the heart for me!”

Christian Kaspar Schwarm

“I am already fascinated by the history of the association: founded in 1929, re-founded in 1977 – both times to make extraordinary art experiences possible that would otherwise have been denied to many people. Translating this unconventional attitude, in the best and most beautiful sense, into a near and distant future … that’s what I want to work on.”

Dr. Alexandra Stender

“Art should connect people, provoke dissent and show new perspectives. Promoting this in the spirit of friendship and community and experiencing it together are the driving forces of our association. With my work in the board of trustees I would like to contribute to this goal.”

Julia Stoschek

“The Nationalgalerie and Berlin have always represented the avant-garde. In times like these, progressive and contemporary art as a moral compass are more important than ever. That is why I would like to contribute my experience and knowledge in this field, so that the Nationalgalerie can continue to live up to this role in the future.”