WHY DÜSSELDORF – TATJANA KIMMEL?
Tatjana Kimmel has called Düsseldorf home for 25 years and lives here with her husband and two daughters. Born in Koblenz, she studied art history, politics and sociology before embarking on a career in journalism, primarily covering political topics for publications such as SWR, Die Zeit and Welt am Sonntag. Subsequently, she redirected her professional focus towards her profound passion for art and culture. Since summer 2021, Tatjana Kimmel has been the managing director of the Förderverein Freunde Museum Kunstpalast (Friends of the Kunstpalast museum association). During her tenure, the association has grown from around 1,000 to over 6,000 members, including many young people.
What makes Düsseldorf special?
Thanks to its location on the Rhine and its proximity to the metropolitan regions of Cologne and the Ruhr area, as well as being the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf is an important business location where politics, culture, history, consumerism and cosmopolitanism come together.
Düsseldorf in three words
Diversity. Friendliness. Art.
Düsseldorf is a good place to promote culture because…
Düsseldorf has a long tradition as a city of art, based on the legacy of Elector Jan Wellem and his wife Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici. It is home to the world-renowned Art Academy and some of the most outstanding museums in the world. The citizens and companies identify with this image. They are involved in associations such as the Friends of the Kunstpalast, which has a 60-year history. Düsseldorf is currently one of the few cities to have increased its cultural budget rather than cut it. However, whether the city will continue to be a good place for cultural promotion depends heavily on tax revenues and political priorities.
If Düsseldorf were a work of art, what would it look like?
I envisage a room installation comprising mirrors, steel tubes, water, a meadow, loudspeakers and colourful panels.
Here in Düsseldorf, I feel happy.
The view of the city skyline, the harbour, the Rhine, the Rhine meadows and Oberkassel from the top of the art academy puts me in a good mood and makes me feel at home.
Here in Düsseldorf, I find inspiration.
Places such as the Kunstpalast, the NRW Forum, the K20 and K21, the Hetjensmuseum, the Kunsthalle, the KIT, the Schauspielhaus, the ballet, the galleries and the arthouse cinemas all inspire me. But conversations with people are my greatest source of inspiration. •
ABOUT FREUNDE MUSEUM KUNSTPALAST E.V.
Since 1965, the association has supported the Museum Kunstpalast Foundation, comprising the Kunstpalast, the NRW Forum, and the Robert Schumann Hall. Over the past four years, the non-profit association has grown to over 6,000 members, more than 800 of whom are between the ages of 18 and 30. The association's goal is to expand the Kunstpalast's collection with permanent loans and to offer opportunities for intergenerational and intercultural encounters, such as those between new residents of Düsseldorf and expats. More information is available on the Freunde Museum Kunstpalast e.V. website: freunde.kunstpalast.de and on Instagram @freundedeskunstpalastes
Text: Tom Corrinth
Pictures: Freunde Museum Kunstpalast