The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections) is one of the world’s oldest and most renowned museum institutions. Its origins go back to the 16th century. Over time the Dresden collections developed into a magnificent and broad assembly of outstanding objects. Today the institution comprises 14 museums together holding more than two million objects.

Museums and institution consider it their duty to preserve their outstanding traditions while at the same time paying attention to the interplay of society, time, and objects. The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden advocates the creation of new concepts in preserving, understanding, and presenting their collections, thus linking past, present and future.

In 2010, on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the founding of the Kunstkammer, the Dresden State Art Collections established a specialized and intensive study course, today known as the ‘Curators’ Academy’. This weeklong summer program addresses both senior and junior museum professionals, as well as those seeking to get to know the magnificent Dresden collections from behind the scenes, to explore topics relevant to contemporary international museum and exhibition practice, and to share ideas with colleagues from all over the world. By mutual exchange of knowledge, notions and visions the Dresden State Art Collections seek to foster the fascinating and at times difficult work of museums and similar institutions today.

The Dresden State Art Collections: 500 Years of Collecting the World

The focus for the ‘Curators’ Academy’ will be ‘collecting’: Who collects what, when, and why? How do different approaches towards and/or different reasons for collecting affect the presentation and observation of objects of study or on display? Participants will explore these topics by intensively studying the world-renowned Dresden collections. Guided tours with the curators and directors of the SKD museums, close examination of selected objects, and expert talks will deliver insight into different modes of collecting and thus provide the basis for further discussion.

The Dresden collections are particularly apt for investigating this theme. Created over five centuries, they exemplify very different approaches towards collecting, which in fact mirror very different views of the world. The early collections, particularly the Kunstkammer, were intimately tied to the princely court. Elector August (1526-1586) collected not only what was expected of a sovereign of his station, but also according to his personal interests, most notably for tools and scientific instruments. His successors opened the Kunstkammer for selected visitors and created an institution which also served as a dynastic memorial. The late 17th and early 18th centuries brought radical change, as Elector Friedrich August I (1670-1733, called ‘August the Strong’) re-organized the princely collections and established several of the major Dresden museums. New and rather systematic approaches toward collecting and display continued to emerge throughout the 18th century. Their impact can be particularly well studied in the development of the porcelain collection and in the formation of the picture gallery, today known as the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery). The 19th century with its specific societal challenges of industrialization and intense exploration of the world saw the appearance of entirely new types of museums. Thus, in 1876 the Dresden Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts) was founded to serve as a model collection for artisanry and industrial arts. In addition, ethnological museums emerged in the cities of Dresden (Museum für Völkerkunde) and Leipzig (Grassi Museum für Völkerkunde) – the latter being the result of the initiative and commitment of the Leipzig citizenry.

The Dresden State Art Collections thus offer exciting opportunities to study the history of collecting from the 16th to the 21st century. By exploring objects and the special buildings which house them, participants will analyze ideas of collecting and presentation over the course of 500 years. The discussion of these developments, however, aims not only at understanding the past, but at shaping today’s and tomorrow’s museum practice.