FRANKFURT.- A month before the opening of the Städel extension wing for contemporary art, and after the reopening of the refurbished old building in late 2011, the financing of the entire project is now in place. The “Städelscher Museums-Verein” added the finishing touches today when it handed over a check for three million euros. One half (around 26 million euros) of the approx. 52-million euro project (34 million for the extension, 18 million for refurbishing the old building) was financed through the unprecedented support of companies, foundations, and by private donations by members of the public, and the other matched by public funding. As part of the “Frankfurt baut das neue Städel“ (Frankfurt is building the new Städel) campaign launched by the Museum, over the last two-and-a-half years there were numerous events in support of the largest extension (in terms of construction and content) in the Museum’s almost 200-year history.

As Prof. Nikolaus Schweickart, Chairman of the Administration of Städel Museum, emphasized, “with the successful conclusion of financing based on several pillars of society, in particular the patronage of members of the public and corporate bodies in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region, the Städel has succeeded in becoming a shining example of cultural financing, even in economically difficult times.”

Referring to the successful financing, Städel Director Max Hollein commented “we are proud and contented. The untiring efforts of all those involved with the project, the enormous support from members of the public, the corporate solidarity, not to mention a strong political will made it possible to yet again significantly advance the Städel Museum. We see this exemplary support as a mandate for the institution’s future.”

Sylvia von Metzler, Chairperson of the “Städelscher Museums-Verein” was delighted that the handing over of the three million euros the association had collected for the Museum completed the financing. “Our 6,500 members went about the task of collecting donations with enormous enthusiasm. Furthermore, the “Städelkomitee 21. Jahrhundert” (Städel 21st century committee) has purchased numerous new works for the Städel’s collection of contemporary art. In doing so the association, which was founded in 1899 and is the Städel’s oldest patron, once again demonstrated its great commitment to the Museum,” she continued.

Parallel to the construction of the underground extension, which was designed by the Frankfurt architects schneider+schumacher and provides an additional 3,000 sq. m. of exhibition space, the old Städel building (the Main and Garden Wings) were completely refurbished. The “Modern Art“ and “Old Masters“ collections were reopened in November and December 2011 respectively. The cost of the refurbishment was 18 million euros, of which the City of Frankfurt put up 11.4 million.

Overall, the extension and refurbishment project cost 52 million and was successfully realized as a public-private partnership, each party funding 50%, in around just two-and-a-half years.

The financing of the Städel extension
The assurance given in September 2007by the Hertie Foundation that it would donate up to seven million euros laid the financial foundation stone for the Städel Museum extension projects. In September 2008 the Frankfurt bank B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. and the Metzler family announced that they would support the Museum with the construction of the extension to the tune of three million euros. The project’s other main sponsors were KPMG, Stiftung Polytechnische Gesellschaft (1 million euros), PricewaterhouseCoopers (500,000 euros), Deutsche Bank (500,000 euros), the real estate company Tishman Speyer (500,000 US dollars), Fazit-Stiftung (250,000 euros), and the Royal Bank of Scotland (100,000 euros).

The private patrons who substantially moved the project forward also deserve great acknowledgement. The Erivan Haub family made the generous sum of 500,000 euros available to the Städel Museum, Fritz and Waltraud Mayer gave 400,000 euros and also donated important works from their private collection. Hilmar Kopper and Brigitte Seebacher put up a quarter of a million euros for the extension project, and the married couples Josef and Pirkko Ackermann, Carlos and Karin Giersch, Jochen and Brigitte Hückmann, and the Merz family 100,000 each. Furthermore, private donors who wish to remain anonymous gave millions of euros to support the Städel extension.

The overall project was likewise financed by the public sector. The City of Frankfurt gave 16.4 million euros (11.4 million for refurbishing the old building, five million for the extension). Five million euros were also received for the extension from the Hessen Special investment Program and one million from the State of Hessen’s budget. In June 2009 the neighboring town of Eschborn announced that it would be contributing a total of four million euros to financing the extension.

The “Frankfurt baut das neue Städel” donation campaign
In 2009 a major public campaign was conceived, which pursued two goals: To arouse interest in and enthusiasm for the extension project, and to help the overall financing by means of lots of donations, large and small alike. Under the leitmotiv “Frankfurt baut das neue Städel. Bauen Sie mit!“ (Frankfurt is building the new Städel. Be in on the act), from September 2009 various measures were conducted designed to get the public involved and make donations to the extension project. In addition to numerous enjoyable major and minor events to do with the yellow rubber boots (the campaign’s trademark), outstanding projects in the public campaign included an event staged by Schiller School in Frankfurt, which involved 1,200 pupils becoming patrons by auctioning pictures they had painted themselves, a charity evening initiated by Frankfurt’s Mayor Petra Roth and the Hertie foundation held in the Hotel Hessischer Hof with an address by the MoMA Director Glenn D. Lowry, and a charity concert with Diana Damrau, Andrea Marcon and members of the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra in Frankfurt Cathedral.

The “Städelscher Museums-Verein” demonstrated particular commitment, supporting the extension as it did to the tune of three million euros. The donation was made possible through numerous contributions from members, charitable members, creative events and two large seven-digit private donations.

The Städel was created by various generations. For 200 years the citizens of Frankfurt and the region have been building it up – hand in hand with the City of Frankfurt and the companies and foundations in the region. There have been repeated historical developments and opportunities for the Museum and its collection. The reopening of the institution is one such quantum leap. According to Hollein, “joint efforts have created a museum that has been fundamentally extended in terms of space and content, which befits the 21st century, and which can look to the future with enormous confidence. Our special thank go to all those who played a role in this.”

The extension will be presented to the public for the first time at Open Days on February 25 and 26, 2012.