2023-12-19 11:59:13
The success of visitors is obvious: the Upper Belvedere is as busy as a Christmas market. “The visitors are back. I say that with great relief. We didn’t expect things to happen so quickly following the pandemic,” said Wolfgang Bergmann, economic director of the Belvedere, at today’s annual press conference. The 2019 number of visitors was already reached last weekend. And that means: new visitor record!
By the end of the year, 1.3 million people are expected to live in the Upper Belvedere, 60 percent more than last year. This makes it “currently the most visited art museum in Austria,” it said. Including the Lower Belvedere and Belvedere 21 locations, around 1.8 million visitors are expected by the end of the year. The frontrunner so far was 2019 with 1,721,399 entries. “The mix has changed significantly,” said Bergmann. Before the pandemic, South Korea was the number one source of visitors and has now been replaced by Italy. “Poland and Hungary are also growing strongly in terms of visitors. We are adapting our audio guides accordingly.” The proportion of visitors from Austria increased from 17 to 20 percent, while Asia recorded a decrease of 60 percent.
The rush causes spatial problems, especially in the entrance area – which is why a new “Visitor Center” has been planned for a long time, for which the federal government gave the green light this year. The ongoing architectural competition is scheduled to conclude in March 2024. For the implementation, an 18-month planning and submission phase and an equally long construction period are expected. Bergmann presented the more detailed site plans today: In the future, the “Cavaliers Wing” along Prinz-Eugen-Straße will function as the entrance area. From there you reach a new entrance hall, which is being built under the area on the belt side that is currently being used by a Christmas market. “It will be a mighty hall, with an entrance worthy of this baroque complex,” said Bergmann, who expects that the museum will be able to operate undisturbed during the first construction phase, but that the Upper Belvedere will then have to close for six months to a year. During this time, the collection highlights such as Klimt’s “The Kiss” will be shown in the Lower Belvedere. The opening is expected for 2028, and smaller areas in the palace can then be used for exhibitions once more.
How high the share of equity capital will be in the expected 35 million euro construction costs has not yet been negotiated, said Bergmann. Thanks to the ticket revenue, which will amount to around 18 million euros in 2023, we are a financially strong house whose self-coverage ratio will reach 70 percent this year. However, one will also benefit from the increase in the basic compensation for the federal museums (5.17 million euros): the basic compensation for the Belvedere will increase by 498,000 euros to 11.198 million euros in 2024. Investments include energy and sustainability measures. The conversion to LED is continuing in Belvedere 21 and the installation of a photovoltaic system on the roof is planned. A connection to district cooling is in preparation.
The second important turning point for the Belvedere in the 300th anniversary year took place in Salzburg this year: The construction of the “Belvedere Salzburg” art gallery under the second inner courtyard of the New Residence began in October. The financing is provided by the city and state of Salzburg as part of the investment program for cultural buildings. “It’s getting there,” Belvedere General Director Stella Rollig said optimistically regarding the construction progress. The premises are scheduled to be handed over at the end of 2026. The planned presentation of 800 years of art history from the Belvedere collection can then begin. The planned opening date is spring 2027.
In the exhibition program for 2024, the Austrian Gallery Belvedere offers, among other things, views of the art scene in Ukraine, Finland, Japan, Ghana, Georgia and Great Britain. “The 2024 program addresses topics such as diversity and inclusion, political crises and identity constructions, ecology and sustainability, digital cultures and transformations as well as re-presentations of historical avant-gardes,” says the press release. “The Belvedere specifically focuses on cooperation with established European partner institutions in order to exploit synergy effects and strengthen international networking.”
The exhibition “In the Eye of the Storm. Modernisms in Ukraine” opening in the Lower Belvedere in February is “a large project that originally started in Madrid as an initiative of the Thyssen Museum,” said Rollig regarding it. “most comprehensive presentation of Ukrainian art from the early to mid-20th century shown outside of Ukraine”. From June 21st, the important German graphic designer, painter and photomontage artist Hannah Höch (1889-1978) will be honored in connection with the experimental film of her time. In autumn 2024, the Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo will present his first museum exhibition in Europe in the Lower Belvedere. From March 15th, Broncia Koller-Pinell (1863-1934) can be seen in the Orangery as “a key figure of her time”, and from September 27th, Klimt’s Finnish contemporary Akseli Gallen-Kallela.
The Belvedere 21 shows individual presentations by Oliver Ressler, Angelika Loderer, Tamuna Sirbiladze, Kazuko Miyamoto and the British artist Monster Chetwynd, an exhibition that brings Friedrich Kiesler and Walter Pichler into dialogue in a contemporary display and will host the media art festival CIVA from October 2nd. Rollig: “We want to give more space to the digital arts at Belvedere 21 and host the festival here annually in the future.”
New exhibitions at the Belvedere 2024:
| Exhibition title | Ort | Period |
| In the Eye of the Storm. Modernismen in der Ukraine | Lower Belvedere | February 23rd to June 2nd, 2024 |
| Oliver Ressler. Dog Days Bite Back | Belvedere 21 | March 1st to June 2nd, 2024 |
| Angelika Loderer. Soil Fictions | Belvedere 21 | March 6th to September 15th, 2024 |
| Broncia Koller-Pinell. An artist and her network | Orangery | March 15 to September 8, 2024 |
| His Alex Reed is Sirbiladze. Not Cool but Compelling | Belvedere 21 | March 22 to August 11, 2024 |
| IM BLICK: Franz Anton Maulbertsch | Oberes Belvedere | April 12 to September 29, 2024 |
| CARLONE CONTEMPORARY: Dara Birnbaum, Bruckner: Symphony No. 5 in B-Dur | Oberes Belvedere | ab 25. April 2024 |
| Hannah Hoech. Assembled worlds | Lower Belvedere | June 21 to October 6, 2024 |
| Visionary spaces. Walter Pichler meets Friedrich Kiesler in a display by Sonia Leimer | Belvedere 21 | June 28th to October 6th, 2024 |
| Kazuko Miyamoto | Belvedere 21 | September 12, 2024 to January 19, 2025 |
| Akseli Gallen-Kallela | Orangery | September 27, 2024 to February 2, 2025 |
| CIVA FESTIVAL. Contemporary Immersive Virtual Art | Belvedere 21 | From October 2, 2024 |
| Amoako Helper. Proper Love | Lower Belvedere | October 25, 2024 to January 12, 2025 |
| Chetwynd Monster | Belvedere 21 | November 7, 2024 to February 9, 2025 |
(S E R V I C E – www.belvedere.at)
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