Kinder zeigen auf einen Globus
© SKD

Linked worldwide

The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD) has a presence not only in Dresden, Leipzig, Herrnhut and other places in Germany where it presents temporary exhibitions; rather the network of fourteen institutions has active ties around the world.

[Translate to English:] Weltweit vernetzt

Its loan activities are central in this: In 2016, the SKD was able to grant 136 loans internationally, which were shown in such places as Melbourne, New York, Tel Aviv, Athens, Florence, Amsterdam, Budapest, Oslo and Tallinn. Risk is involved every time a work is transported, and so every inquiry is carefully scrutinized and every shipment meticulously prepared. For protection, paintings are transported in climate-controlled crates, and porcelain works and sculptures are sent in vehicles equipped with air suspension. In every case, works are accompanied by restorers.

[Translate to English:] Slider

[Translate to English:] Weltweit vernetzt

In addition to their loans, the SKD are also represented abroad in exhibitions, for example in 2011-2012 with the Art of the Enlightenment in Beijing; with Renaissance and Reformation: German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach in 2016-17 in Los Angeles; with The Dream of a King in 2011-12 in Doha; and in Seoul and Gwangju in Korea in 2017-18. Developing international projects, the SKD have cooperated with the national museums in Berlin and the Bavarian state collections in Munich multiple times. Conversely, collaborations with international partners, most recently the Galerie Rudolfinum in Prague, the Moscow Kremlin, the Vatican museums as well as the Goethe-Institut, result in exhibitions that are shown in Dresden.

[Translate to English:] Der Großmogul Aurengzeb hält Audienz

[Translate to English:] Weltweit vernetzt

 

Working to further international cooperation is an important branch of activity at the SKD. One important aim is to strengthen connections to neighbouring countries to the east, such as Poland and the Czech Republic. Over the past years, special exchanges have brought together SKD employees with colleagues from China, the USA and England for example. Front and centre in all of this has been the development of a professional network. The Dresden museums are also regularly involved in international research projects: Working with Indian restorers and scientists, for example, the holdings of Indian miniatures in the Cabinet of Prints, Drawings and Photographs were researched and restored. Two further examples are the participation of two professionals from Syria in the restoration of Dresden's Damascus Room and the research done by a scholarship holder from China on Chinese prints at the Saxon court.

Globus mit detaillierten Zeichnungen, auf einem Gestell
Willem Janszoon Blaeu, Erdglobus, um 1643

[Translate to English:] Weltweit vernetzt

 

The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden understand their national and international work to play a part in countering xenophobia and in fostering a society that is open-minded, tolerant and peaceful. For those who have lost their cultural heritage in their homeland due to political developments, the SKD has become increasingly meaningful. The ethnological collections in Dresden, Leipzig and Herrnhut in particular see themselves as an archive of world cultures. In the future, they want to work more closely with the institutions and scientists from the countries where the objects originate so that the holdings may be systematically researched and insight gained.

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