“Right, I’ll get this started!”

 

On the occasion of Museion’s 40th anniversary, Heinrich Gasser, one of the founding members, retraces the institution’s early days: the discussions, the desire and the need to create a space in South Tyrol dedicated to modern and contemporary art. His memories and anecdotes from those pioneering years reveal a strong wish to open up – to the world, to change, to new possibilities – and an energy that still resonates within Museion and the people who make it grow every day.

In the 1980s, Alto Adige had a booming economy, but culturally, our province often struggled to keep up with its neighbors in Tyrol and Trentino. The biggest pain point was the lack of an institution dedicated to modern art from 1900 onwards. As this meant that many works by modern and contemporary artists ended up abroad. Egger-Lienz’s paintings, for example, were displayed at the Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck because South Tyrol didn’t have a suitable place to house them.

I clearly remember having conversations at the Turmwirt tavern in Fiè, where we discussed this void. We wanted modern art to remain in our province, instead of being simply handed over to our “neighbors.” At a certain point, I stood up and said, “Right, I’ll get this started.”

The then mayor of Fiè, Josef Kompatscher, who was also President of the Prösels Castle Board of Directors, was sitting with us. So, I asked him if we could hold our first exhibition in the castle’s Pillar Hall.

The next step was to look for fellow adventurers who shared this vision of setting up a museum. On 17th June 1985, Marjan Cescutti, Georg Nicolussi, Karl Nicolussi, Christoph Pan, Helmuth Stampfer, Franz Vigl and I founded the non-profit association “Museum of Modern Art”. Our mission was “to collect, study, and make 20th-century contemporary art from the historic Tyrol area accessible to the public.” Karl Nicolussi, a patron of the arts, was nominated President of the association, and I took on the role of Vice-President – which I held for thirty years. We also had the support of a scientific committee of leading experts that included: Gert Amann, Eva Eccel-Kreuzer, Matthias Frei, Mario Paolucci and Kristian Sotriffer. Karl Nicolussi generously allowed us to use a number of rooms at the South Tyrolean Education Center on Dr.-Streiter Street in Bolzano as the Association’s headquarters.

On July 5th, 1985, as part of the “Tiroler Burgefest” at Prösels Castle, we staged our very first exhibition, “From Ala to Kufstein, 1900–1960”. We displayed 70 works from private South Tyrolean collections and loans from the Trento Art Museum, who supported our initiative with great enthusiasm. At the time, I transported all the paintings to the castle myself in my car. We couldn’t pay for advertising posters or a catalog, but the exhibition was still a huge success. This strengthened my resolve even further.

Our next step was to transform this private initiative into a provincial museum governed by public law, as this would allow us to access funding for exhibitions and acquisitions. We launched discussions with the Autonomous Province of Bolzano authorities. Zelger, the councilor at the time, supported the project, on the condition that the Museum Association included a representative of the Italian language group. So, in 1986, we were joined by Pier Luigi Siena.

Choosing a suitable location was another very important decision. We wanted to set up the museum in the capital, Bolzano, and we had our eye on the old hospital in Via Sernesi. The space was finally assigned to us and other associations, and in 1987 we began organizing exhibitions. Janos Fischer’s bronze sculpture “Die 3 Kulturen” (The 3 Cultures) was adopted as the symbol and logo of Museion – an open museum with no borders dedicated to modern art.

I am extremely grateful that we had the courage to found this Museum of Modern Art in South Tyrol. Today, “Museion” is a vibrant part of the international art scene and, as an architectural symbol, it helps define the image of our region.

Heinrich Gasser

Museion celebrates its 40th anniversary with the event 24HOURS: a 24-hour marathon of art and performance – one day and one night of unforgettable moments, taking place from 2:00 PM on September 13 to 2:00 PM on September 14, in collaboration with the Transart Festival, to showcase what a museum and contemporary art can be today.