Münster holds one of the most significant collections of art in public space. Accrued over decades, a large part of the works of this collection of the City of Münster derives from the Skulptur Projekte which, since the initial Sculpture Exhibition in Münster 1977, have been staged every ten years. In 1977, 1987, 1997, 2007 and 2017 internationally renowned artists were invited to realize artworks in the urban space. Read more ... Subsequent to the exhibitions, a considerable number of the artistic contributions could be acquired by the City of Münster, the WWU University of Münster and the LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur, and thereby permanently retained in the city. As a result, the collection of art in the public space of the City of Münster has continually grown, meanwhile encompassing works from such prominent artists as Daniel Buren, Claes Oldenburg, Donald Judd, Rebecca Horn, Per Kirkeby, Maria Nordman, Oscar Tuazon and Silke Wagner. In addition to the Skulptur Projekte, the City of Münster’s art collection is regularly supplemented by independently realized artworks, such as recently Gerhard Richter’s installation Zwei Graue Doppelspiegel für ein Pendel (Two Grey Double Mirrors for a Pendulum, 2018). The collection also comprises works that were placed in the public space already in the 1950s, such as Norbert Kricke’s Raum-Zeit-Plastik (Space-Time Sculpture, 1955) or George Rickey’s Three Squares Gyratory II (1973-1975). Read more ...

The art in the public space has marked the appearance of the city, which has itself become the subject matter of artistic concern. It negotiates a transformation in artistic practice in the course of the 20th century, geared toward a redefinition of the relationship between art and the public. Aimed at establishing a dialogue with the environment and society, this artistic investigation into a range of public sites has brought forth an entirely different space, not just in an aesthetical sense, but also on the social level. The artworks question the urban, social and political structures defining a specific place. By configuring the space, they inspire other viewpoints and interpretations: a discovery of the non-everyday in everyday life, a contrasting of the monumental with the momentary.

For Münster these artworks amount to a multitude of places of contemplation, of conscious observation and reflection. Through the Sculpture Projects and the Public Collection, the city has evolved into an important reference point for a critical-reflective examination of contemporary art, just as it has in matters related to the public and public space. The positioning of the works in the ever-changing urban space has made them a catalyst for a continuous engagement with the ongoing change in the city’s self-conception. Exploring this kind of aesthetical, philosophical and social freedom is one of the principle experiences in the context of art in the public space.