2023-12-06 09:45:44
Vienna (OTS) – Yesterday evening, the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Public Service and Sport invited people to a ceremony in the former state bank headquarters in Vienna’s Hohenstaufengasse to mark the 25th anniversary of the Austrian Art Restitution Act. The art restitution law, which is still unique in the world today, came into force on December 5, 1998. The ceremony, at which the anthology “Restituted. 25 Years of the Art Restitution Act in Austria” was opened by Art and Culture State Secretary Andrea Mayer and the Chairman of the Art Restitution Advisory Board, Clemens Jabloner.
In her speech, State Secretary Mayer emphasized the broad impact but also the topicality of the law: “I would like to thank all those people who ensure that provenance research in the federal collections and art restitution in our country have reached the highest quality, and who always keep an eye on the people behind the objects.”said the State Secretary. “At the same time, October 7, 2023 made us painfully aware of where the vanishing point of our culture of remembrance lies: in our willingness to stand up at any time once morest the very own form of exclusion and persecution of people – once morest anti-Semitism in all its varieties. Anti-Semitism has no place in our society. Against this background, a ceremony like the one we are celebrating today can only result in an appeal. It is the obligation of all of us to continue to assume our responsibility towards those who were once persecuted and their families – and thus towards ourselves.”
“Researching, retelling and documenting the fates of so many people from different social classes is an important and beautiful task. It is not only essential for Austrian memory, but also for the family memory of all those descendants who, following so many decades, not only receive a more or less valuable piece back, but also have part of their origins and identity confirmed. This is where the meticulousness, curiosity and commitment of the provenance researchers and their ministerial control prove themselves,” said Clemens Jabloner, chairman of the art restitution advisory board.
On the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Art Restitution Act, the anthology “Restituted. 25 Years of the Art Restitution Act in Austria” with numerous articles and case studies was published by Czernin-Verlag. It was presented by the two editors Birgit Kirchmayr and Pia Schölnberger. The author Sabine Loitfellner and actor Cornelius Obonya, who lent his voice to the late author Leonhard Weidinger, presented exemplary contributions from the volume.
The ceremony was musically accompanied by the singer Ethel Merhaut, accompanied by the pianist Belush Korenyi. Numerous guests – heirs of formerly persecuted collectors, museum directors, members of the art restitution advisory board and provenance researchers – took part in the festive event.
Questions & Contact:
Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Public Service and Sport
Mag. Mother Gayed, MA
Press spokesperson for the State Secretary for Arts and Culture
+4366478028677
ina. gayed@bmkoes.gv.at
www.bmkoes.gv.at
1701855958
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