Prof. Dr. Stefan Schweizer is Scientific Director and Director of the Benrath Palace and Park Foundation.
As a producer and mediator of knowledge, it shapes the cityscape of Düsseldorf and is exemplary for interdisciplinary cooperation.
In an interview with Wissensregion Düsseldorf, Prof. Dr. Schweizer reports on the plans for Schloss Benrath in the future, where cooperation with other knowledge institutions in the region is already underway and the role of museums as knowledge producers.
In recent years, universities have increasingly been offering knowledge transfer formats for the wider community as part of their “third mission”.
In Düsseldorf, contact with citizens is sought through the Citizens’ University program, for example.
The Night of Science 2019 was a huge success.
For a museum, on the other hand, imparting knowledge to citizens has always been part of its daily business.
What do you think of the universities’ efforts to bring science “to the people”?
Could there even be competition here?
[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]I have always been convinced that science needs to be communicated widely.[/perfectpullquote] I wouldn’t see it as competition.
My conviction has always been that science must be widely communicated to those who ultimately finance it through taxes.
This also makes its prerequisites and modes of action comprehensible.
We have just seen in the Covid-19 discussions that scientific debates cannot be translated one-to-one into political action.
In the end, the BILD newspaper scandalized a completely normal debate among scientists and thus produced an idea of scientific unambiguity that is simply nonsense.
Convincing citizens that science often boils down to “both and”, that findings have their conditions and half-lives, is a great cause. How do you assess the role of museums as producers of knowledge for the region? That always depends on the respective institution.
Art museums bring the big world into the city – just think of the exhibitions at the Kunstsammlung NRW with Cao Fei and Ai Weiwei in the last two years.
In a historic palace and park complex, you are more responsible for regional history and art history knowledge and in the natural history collections you are more responsible for local natural history.
But over the next few years, we also want to consistently spatialize this – regionally, continentally and globally.
The raw material for our silk wallpaper, which was made in France, may come from China, while the mahogany or rosewood for our baroque furniture certainly comes from the Pacific region or South America.
There are numerous trees in the park that originate from other continents.
Our master builder came from France, the plasterers came from Italy, the Electress’s chinoise porcelain was inspired by models from China, where our citrus plants also come from.
With the ornithological specimens of our migratory birds, we can illustrate intercontinental bird migration routes, just as we can make animal and plant migrations understandable as a normal case.
We want to subject the collections and the building and park furnishings of Benrath Palace to a “mapping” in order to thematize the interconnectedness of the early modern world and project it onto a specific place like Benrath. Do you cooperate with other knowledge institutions in the region?[perfectpullquote align=”left” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Museums have a great deal of experience in dealing with the interests of visitors and therefore also an understanding of knowledge transfer – joint projects could benefit from this.[/perfectpullquote] For years, most recently with the HSD, which programmed and designed a computer game for us.
In cooperation with HHU, we have organized numerous joint conferences and joint exhibitions, including those by students.
I have supervised or co-supervised several bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral theses whose topics were closely related to our collections and museums.
We benefit greatly from this, and also from the fact that we have been able to generate third-party funding from science funding institutions through these collaborations. In which areas would you like to see more cooperation? The vast majority of research projects tend to be configured within the university.
Too little work is still being done with museum collections and joint perspectives are being sought.
Museums have a great deal of experience in dealing with the interests of visitors and therefore also an understanding of knowledge transfer – joint projects could benefit from this. The Benrath Palace and Park Foundation is very interdisciplinary, as you also house a natural history museum, a garden art museum and temporary exhibitions in addition to the historical buildings and the park.
Does it make a difference whether you produce and impart knowledge in the field of natural sciences or, for example, in historical state rooms? Yes and no.
The inhibition threshold for family museum visits to natural history museums is often lower because many parents believe that they can teach their children about natural science more easily than about cultural history, which I think is a capital fallacy.
Interest in cultural history is also more dependent on the level of education; the fact that topics such as baroque life culture can be based on pop-cultural adaptations, such as historical films, advertising, etc., seems to be an advantage. After Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette film, the Petit Trianon in Versailles became a place of pilgrimage for young women who identified with the fate of the queen, although the image of history conveyed in this film also needs to be discussed. [perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Local identity, social and cultural integration, aesthetic education for all ages, knowledge and entertainment – this is far more than just the glue that holds a society together![/perfectpullquote]
The coronavirus crisis has hit cultural institutions hard.
What is the best way to support museums now? You visit as far as you can!
It is already foreseeable that there will be battles over the distribution of financial resources at all levels.
Cultural institutions and artists must be granted a special role here.
We cost the public purse comparatively little, so budget cuts in the cultural sector would be all the more devastating.
Düsseldorf’s cultural budget is around 175 million euros, out of a total budget of around 3 billion – just under 6 percent.
This 6 percent produces local identity, social and cultural integration, aesthetic education for all age groups, knowledge and entertainment – that is far more than just the glue that holds a society together!
Many thanks to Prof. Dr. Schweizer for the interesting interview!
You can find more information about the Benrath Palace and Park Foundation at https://www.schloss-benrath.de/.
