More money for provenance research: The German Lost Art Foundation expands its research funding
In 2021, the German Lost Art Foundation will receive a total of 1.5 million Euros more than last year. The additional funds will be provided by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Prof. Monika Grütters. This will enable the foundation to again increase its funding for research into unlawfully seized cultural property in 2021, with funding for the investigation of Nazi-looted property continuing to account for by far the largest share, now a good 5 million Euros.
Prof. Gilbert Lupfer, Executive Board of the German Lost Art Foundation, welcomed the increase: "This decision enables institutions and private individuals in Germany to research unlawfully seized cultural property even more intensively than before. And it also shows that provenance research, and thus coming to terms with injustices that have occurred, continues to enjoy high priority in cultural policy."
At its most recent meeting in December, the Foundation's Foundation Board decided to adjust the guidelines for funding in the areas of cultural property seized as a result of Nazi persecution and cultural and collectible property from colonial contexts. Among other things, the maximum funding amount for short-term projects was increased from 15,000 Euros to 25,000 Euros. In the area of Nazi-looted art, funding for so-called First Checks is now also possible for private individuals. The purpose of such a First Check is to determine whether there is a suspicion of Nazi-conficated art in a collection. In this way, the need for further, long-term provenance research can be determined or ruled out. First Check projects can now also be funded for provenance research on cultural and collection items from colonial contexts. In addition, certain privately funded institutions in this area will also be able to submit applications for funding in the future. The Foundation Board also decided to increase funding for historical context research on cultural property confiscations in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR from up to 300,000 Euros to up to 500,000 Euros for 2021.
At the meeting, Dr Günter Winands, Chair of the Foundation Board, thanked the previous Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dr Ute Haug, for her great dedication and commitment to the Foundation. The membership of the Foundation's Board of Trustees changed regularly after five years in November 2020.
The German Lost Art Foundation in Magdeburg, which was founded on January 1, 2015 by the federal government, the states and leading municipal associations, is the central point of contact in Germany for all questions concerning unlawfully seized cultural property. The Foundation receives institutional funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, from which it also receives funding for its projects. The Foundation's main focus is on cultural property expropriated as a result of Nazi persecution, especially from Jewish owners. In addition, the Foundation's fields of activity include cultural property and collections from colonial contexts and cultural property displaced as a result of war, as well as cultural property confiscated in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR. Applications for longer-term projects can be submitted by January 1 and June 1 of each year.