Dialogue Museum to move to B-Level of Hauptwache
Timed to the festive season, there is good news for the operators and all friends of the Frankfurt Dialogue Museum: Mayor and City Treasurer Uwe Becker, Head of the Department of Culture Ina Hartwig, Klara Kletzka, Director of the Dialogue Museum, and Thomas Wissgott, Managing Director of Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main (VGF), have found a joint solution to preserve the Frankfurt Dialogue Museum.
For over a year now, the city has been supporting the Dialogue Museum in its search for new premises, examining various options. For some time it looked as if this institution might soon no longer exist. But now the decision was made for a location on the B-level of the Hauptwache.
In addition to institutional funding, additional funds will be made available from 2019 to cover the higher ancillary costs associated with the location. After successful negotiations and the presentation of an attractive rental offer on the part of the VGF, the Dialogue Museum can thus remain in Frankfurt.
"The new location is ideal for the Dialogue Museum. On the one hand, it is a gain for the location and on the other hand, the museum will also benefit from the revitalized location through more spontaneous visitors," says Mayor Becker. "Personally, it was very important to me to support the preservation of this institution, which is known far beyond Frankfurt. The Dialogue Museum is not only a unique experience for visitors, but a job for employees that must be preserved."
At a joint meeting, all parties agreed that the Dialogue Museum is an asset both as a social and cultural educational institution for the city of Frankfurt and for the B-Level at Hauptwache.
"The Dialogue Museum is saved! On December 2, the museum will celebrate its 13th birthday, and the museum and the city of Frankfurt can hardly imagine a better present. The Dialogmuseum has long been in the hearts of its visitors, and now it has also arrived in the heart of the city," said a delighted Head of the Department of Culture Hartwig. "In times of discrimination and exclusion, the work of the Dialogue Museum is more important than ever. Because this is about promoting tolerance and understanding for the topic of disability in the public."
The Dialogue Museum has been implementing the internationally successful exhibition concept "Dialogue in the Dark" for almost 30 years in Frankfurt and for 13 years at Hanauer Landstrasse. In the lightless rooms, exhibition visitors are guided by blind staff into different everyday situations. The visitors' senses are sharpened and a dialogue at eye level is initiated. They experience something familiar in a new way and thus have a completely new experience. Since its opening, around 920,000 people have visited the museum, with more than half of the visitors being children and young people. Apart from Frankfurt, there is only one other "Dialogue in the Dark" in Germany.
"We are very pleased that Frankfurt is offering us a long-term perspective. For me, this is a great wish come true, because after all, the exhibition concept that is now internationally successful was developed here 30 years ago. The past 13 years in Hanauer Landstrasse have not been easy for a private social enterprise like us. But it has been worth it," says museum director Kletzka.
The exhibition concept will be adapted and updated for the new location and will be a great addition to the B-level at Hauptwache. The Dialogue Museum aims to contribute to revitalization through a young, open and international audience as well as to be a showcase in the field of inclusion.
"Our sincere thanks go to Mayor Becker and Cultural Affairs Director Ina Hartwig for their active support of this project. We are looking forward to working with the Dialogue Museum at the Hauptwache location," emphasizes Thomas Wissgott, Managing Director of the VGF.
The Frankfurt Dialogue Museum is scheduled to move to the B-level at Hauptwache in the course of 2019. Before that, the premises must be renovated for the new and much more interactive Dialog im Dunkeln. The museum is bearing the costs for the necessary investments with the support of the Landeswohlfahrtsverband Hessen and Aktion Mensch. The final solution now still has to be approved by the city and VGF committees, but everyone involved is confident that the solution found will meet with broad approval.
