After it had rained for almost the entire day, it almost seemed as if this year's NIGHT OF THE MUSEUMS would literally fall into the water. But not only did the rain let up towards the evening. It also did not manage to dampen the interest of many thousands of visitors in the cultural offerings of this night. And so those responsible in over 40 museums and exhibition halls in Frankfurt and Offenbach were once again able to enjoy a real rush of visitors this year. Head of the Department of Culture Dr. Ina Hartwig was pleased to be able to draw such a positive conclusion at the end, despite the unpleasant weather: "Once again this year, the city was transformed into a nocturnal art mile. Around 35,000 people immersed themselves in the special atmosphere of NACHT, listened to live sounds from all over the world, marvelled at impressive performances and visited the cultural institutions at night. I was particularly pleased that Frankfurt Zoo was there with its new penguin enclosure," said Hartwig. In buses, by bike, on a boat or on the historic tram, art enthusiasts visited the diverse range of exhibition houses along and off the museum shore.
There were plenty of highlights, of course. But a few highlights stood out in particular. These were the places that opened their doors exclusively or for the first time at NIGHT: In the Struwwelpeter Museum in the new Old Town, curious visitors sniffed the scent of fresh paint and wood as they previewed the new rooms. In Eschborn, art lovers explored the Deutsche Börse photo collection on the occasion of its 20th anniversary. Tours of the Kaisersaal in the Römer, the new Old Town, the hidden fishing vaults and the main railway station also provided rare glimpses of the city's cultural happenings and proved very popular.
Many flaneurs were drawn to the large exhibition buildings around the Römer and on the southern bank of the Main: the exhibition opening of Sagmeister & Walsh: Beauty at the Museum Angewandte Kunst was particularly popular. While Bruno Gironcoli's monumental sculptures were given a fitting send-off at the Schirn, the bizarre plasticine animations by Djurberg and Berg caused astonished faces. Renaissance paintings by Titian and a preview of the upcoming exhibition "Making van Gogh" attracted numerous visitors to the Städel, and at the Senckenberg Naturmuseum the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company, which danced among dinosaur skeletons, caused a sensation. There was also a big crowd at the Film Museum. Here, 70 years of the DFF - Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum were celebrated with cinematic anecdotes and a participatory comedy show, while The OhOhOh's encouraged dancing.
The Health Department drew night owls to the Allerheiligenviertel with an extensive program of exhibitions, music, discussions and an amusing show by Badesalz veteran Henni Nachtsheim. Young, urban art could be discovered at Tor Art Space and an experimental young exhibition programme with installations and photographs attracted numerous curious visitors to the Yard/Off.Yard, before all party-goers danced here to electronic DJ sets until the early morning.
The now traditional charity auction "Young Art with a Future" was celebrated by EY in its 100th company year at the Museum Angewandte Kunst. In this context, 26 selected works by young artists* from Frankfurt's Städelschule and Offenbach's Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG) were auctioned off for a total of 68,100 <x>ampersand</x>euros. The highest sum was achieved by the voucher of the Städelschule with 5,500 €.
Musically, the wild polka sounds of "Thee Watzloves" ensured the best mood in the House of City History in Offenbach and in the nearby German Leather Museum, the dancing leg was swung to the sound of the golden 20s. In the Haus am Dom many listened to the light-hearted songs of "Fee", in the Geldmuseum the poppy band "So Green" provided for dancing mood and in the Museum für Kommunikation "Timcat und Balduin" led electroswingend through the night.
It was thus again a completely successful night, which let the cultural offer of the city of Frankfurt shine once more in completely special light. We can already look forward to the next NIGHT OF THE MUSEUMS.
