talk of galleries

Photo © Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt - Gaby Gerster

Sebastian Baden (*1980) has been Director of the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt since July 2022. Under his leadership, the Schirn recorded the most successful year in its history in 2023 with over half a million visitors and numerous international collaborations. Baden places a particular focus on diversity, sustainability, democracy and political art as well as mediation and outreach. He was also instrumental in driving forward the climate-friendly refurbishment of the Schirn, which will begin in 2025. Prior to this, Baden was curator for contemporary art, sculpture and new media at the Kunsthalle Mannheim from 2016 to 2022 and taught art studies and media theory at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design from 2010 to 2016. He completed his doctorate in 2014 on "The image of terrorism in the art system."

Art market and content
Thursday, July 4, Kai Middendorff Gallery

Photo © Urban Media Project

Anita Beckers, born in 1947, began her career as an office management teacher and developed a career as a gallery owner and curator of contemporary art over the course of four decades. In 1995, she founded her gallery in Darmstadt, which she moved to Frankfurt's Gallus district in 1998. Galerie Anita Beckers has been located in Braubachstraße in the city center since 2015. Her commitment to video art, which she demonstrated as curator of the B3 Biennale for the Moving Image from 2013 to 2017, is highlighted. She has gained international recognition through presentations at leading fairs such as Art Basel and FRIEZE Masters. Anita Beckers makes a significant contribution to the promotion of contemporary art and is an important voice in the Frankfurt art scene.

Art in the store (KWTAG24)
Friday, June 21, 2024, SPARK

Photo © Urban Media Project

After studying art history, economics and Italian literature in Heidelberg and Berlin and spending time studying in Florence and Venice, she gained valuable experience by working as a freelancer for various galleries and organizing exhibitions. From 2003 to 2007 she worked for the Frick Collection in New York. Since 2007 she has been working as a freelance art historian and curator in Frankfurt. Her activities include the supervision of the collection and exhibitions of the European Central Bank (2010-2020), guided tours of the Städel Museum's permanent collection and special exhibitions, as well as the curatorial conception and realization of trips for the Städelscher Museumsverein. Since 2020 she has been a representative of Grisebach Auctions, Berlin.

Art in the store (KWTAG24)
Friday, June 21, 2024, SPARK

Photo © Eva Bohl

Dr. Sebastian Daub is a lawyer and partner at the international law firm Linklaters LLP. His professional focus is on advising international investors on corporate acquisitions and disposals, in particular for financial investors in the infrastructure sector. He is co-head of the global Infrastructure Sector at Linklaters. Sebastian Daub has been collecting contemporary art for around 30 years, in particular German and international painting. He is a member of the Collectors Club of the MMK Frankfurt and a member of the board of the Friends of the MMK. He was previously a co-founder and long-standing board member of Atelierfrankfurt eV.

Art market and content
Thursday, July 4, Kai Middendorff Gallery

Photo © SGN/Tränkner

Prof. Dr. Brigitte Franzen (*1966) is an art historian and curator. From 2021 to 2024, she headed the Senckenberg Nature Museum in Frankfurt. From October 1, she will become President of the Offenbach University of Art and Design. After studying at several universities, she taught at institutions such as Bergische Universität Wuppertal and Graz University of Technology. She has worked in leading museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in Frankfurt and the Ludwig Forum in Aachen.

Prof. Dr. Brigitte Franzen has curated important exhibitions on 20th and 21st century art, including the Fellbach Triennale 2019.

Urban experience and business model
Friday, October 11, DZ BANK Art Foundation

Photo © Pablo Lauf

Christian Ganzenberg, born in 1980, worked for various corporate art collections, including the Mercedes-Benz Art Collection (2006-2017), after studying in Chemnitz, Stuttgart and Pittsburgh. During this time, he has realized numerous exhibition projects in Germany and abroad and initiated extensive publications. At the same time, he works as a freelance curator for museums, art associations and galleries, most recently in China, Mozambique and the USA. Christian Ganzenberg is also the author and editor of artist catalogs on Martin Boyce, Cao Fei, Thierry Geoffroy/Colonel, Nic Hess, Leonhard Hurzlmeier, Natalia Stachon and Hartmut Böhm, among others. He has been the director of Various Others in Munich since 2022.

Urban experience and business model
Friday, October 11, DZ BANK Art Foundation

Photo © Städel Museum - Felix Schmitt

Svenja Grosser has been Head of the Contemporary Art Collection at the Städel Museum since 2024. Born in Cologne in 1991, she studied art history, German and philosophy at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. She has been working at the Städel since 2018 and, as deputy director for the past three years, has provided academic support for the collection and curated numerous exhibitions - most recently projects on Muntean/Rosenblum, Victor Man and Ugo Rondinone. In 2020, she was co-responsible for the new presentation of the Contemporary Art Collection as project manager. As co-initiator of the DigAMus Award-winning art and education space CLOSE UP and the digital application of the same name, Svenja Grosser is committed to a broad perception of and engagement with contemporary art.

Art market and content
Thursday, July 4, Kai Middendorff Gallery

Photo © Norbert Miguletz

Dr. Christina Leber, born in Mainz in 1966, studied art history, Catholic theology and education at various universities in Germany and abroad and completed her studies with a doctorate on "Art collections of commercial enterprises in Germany from 1950 to 2000". From 1992 to 1999 she worked as a freelancer in numerous corporate collections - including Merrill Lynch, Goldman, Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Tetra Pak, DG BANK - and from 1999 to 2001 she was managing director of the 2nd Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art. Christina Leber has worked for the DZ BANK Art Collection since 2003, initially as a curator and since 2011 as head of the collection. Since 2018, she has regularly taken on teaching assignments at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main.

Urban experience and business model
Friday, October 11, DZ BANK Art Foundation

Photo © Galerie Judin, Berlin.

Art historian Dr. Pay Matthis Karstens is a partner at Galerie Judin in Berlin and on the board of directors of the Berlin-based Das kleine Grosz Museum, which he co-founded. Born in Flensburg in 1989, he studied Art and Visual History, German Literature and Contemporary Art Theory at the Humboldt University in Berlin, Goldsmiths in London and the Technical University of Berlin. At the same time, he worked for the German Historical Museum, the Käthe Kollwitz Museum Berlin, the Liebermann Villa, the Berlinische Galerie and the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, among others. He is co-editor of the catalogs of works by Eugen Schönebeck, Michael Buthe and Cornelia Schleime. Since 2016, he has run Galerie Judin together with Juerg Judin, which focuses on contemporary figurative art.

Art market and content
Thursday, July 4, Kai Middendorff Gallery

Photo © Katharina Dubno

Sakhile Matlhare is co-founder of the gallery Sakhile&Me in Frankfurt. She studied at Hamilton College in Clinton/NY (USA) and the University of Sydney before completing her doctorate at Northwestern University on the topic of "Africanness" as a Professional Trading Chip: Contemporary African Artists as Producers and Secondary Arbiters in the Gatekeeping Process. She then decided against an academic career and instead founded Sakhile&Me as an exhibition space inspired by the artists she had met during her PhD research.

Art market and content
Thursday, July 4, Kai Middendorff Gallery

Ansgar Roese, currently Managing Director of Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt, studied geography at the universities of Cologne and Bonn. Early on, he focused on business-related topics and began his professional career in 2003 as part of a business development project at hannoverimpuls GmbH. There, he was responsible for international affairs and relocation, which gave him in-depth insights into international location strategies and company relocations. In 2007, Roese moved to Wirtschaftsförderung Frankfurt GmbH, where he held various management positions. He has headed the company as Managing Director since 2023 and is intensively involved in the economic development of the city of Frankfurt, particularly in the areas of innovation promotion, location marketing and internationalization.

Urban experience and business model
Friday, October 11, DZ BANK Art Foundation

Photo ©Andreas von Einsiedel

In 2025, Barbara von Stechow celebrates the 30th anniversary of her gallery in Frankfurt's Westend. After studying at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University and the European Business School, Barbara von Stechow initially managed the Galerie am Schweizer Platz before opening her own gallery in Feldbergstraße in 1995. Since then, Galerie Barbara von Stechow has shaped the Frankfurt art scene and presents internationally established artists as well as up-and-coming talent. Her focus is on the promotion of contemporary young talents from German-speaking countries and the exclusive representation of American artists in Europe.

Barbara von Stechow has been a member of the board of the State Association of Galleries in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate since 2002. In addition to her work as a gallery owner, she has held the office of President of the Union International Club since 2014.

Urban experience and business model
Friday, October 11, DZ BANK Art Foundation

Photo © Urban Media Project

Heike Strelow founded her gallery for international contemporary art in 2007. Since then, the gallery has offered curated solo and group exhibitions that combine young artists with established positions. The gallery works closely with artists to create optimal conditions for the presentation of their works. Heike Strelow represents trend-independent, innovative and forward-looking artistic approaches. Since 2009, she has also been showing her artists' works at art fairs in Germany, Europe and the USA. In addition to her gallery work, she also works as a curator, organizes exhibitions and develops concepts for art in public spaces. In 2018, together with Kerstin Walter, she founded the project office Strelow & Walter Projects, which specializes in art mediation and classical art consulting.

Art market and content
Thursday, July 4, Kai Middendorff Gallery

Photo © Clara Wenzel-Theiler

Birgit Maria Sturm is managing director of the Federal Association of German Galleries and Art Dealers (BVDG) and was spokesperson for the German Art Council from 2004 to 2010. She studied German language and literature, philosophy and art history in Frankfurt am Main and has published widely on the subject of art and law as well as on topics relevant to the art market. She represents the BVDG on a voluntary basis in several committees, including the Advisory Board of the Artists' Social Security Fund, the German Cultural Council and the Coalition for Cultural and Creative Industries (K3D). In 2018, she played a key role in the founding of the Interessengemeinschaft deutscher Kunsthandelsverbände (Interest Group of German Art Trade Associations), to which the six most important art market associations in Germany belong.

Art in the store (KWTAG24)
Friday, June 21, 2024, SPARK