Dresden (dpa/sn) – The Saxon Museum Association has warned of the renewed closure of the museums in Saxony in view of the Corona autumn and the energy crisis. They should not be reassigned to the leisure sector, but are systemically important as educational institutions, said President Sabine Wolfram on Friday of the German Press Agency. In an open letter to Minister of Culture Barbara Klepsch (CDU), the association recalled the promise made in January that museums should no longer be closed. “But this is a regulation, not a law, de facto you can throw it overboard again,” said Wolfram.
Another lockdown would tear the laboriously activated bond to the audience again, to the detriment of the cultural and educational landscape, the letter says. “The culture industry can’t stand that again,” said Wolfram. In view of the increasing number of corona cases, discussions about how to deal with them and the blanket order for gas reductions by the city council in leisure facilities, there is a risk “that we will be classified under them again”.
With the open letter, the association wanted to draw attention to “that we are not the last to be asked,” said Wolfram. And he demands that his interests and the importance of museums for society are “absolutely” taken into account in all future debates – including when dealing with energy shortages and similar crises.
According to Wolfram, after the visit restrictions and forced breaks, there is still a long way from normality in the houses, “but people are already returning”. The first few months had been better than hoped, and occasional visitors had to be recruited. However, fears were mixed with the currently positive mood. “Every closure is a new damper.”
