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Zilkens' News Blog 19 2025

Such prejudice is rare! The new chancellor has not even been elected by parliament yet, and already his cabinet is the subject of heated debate. German politician Wolfram Weimer is one of the people who is set to become the new Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media, or Minister of Culture for short (which is incorrect). He has already made his way from employee to entrepreneur. He certainly holds some unusual opinions, but unlike the Bavarian ‘Schluchzmadonna’ (weeping Madonna), he did not rise through the ranks of a political party or political institutions. More than 60,000 people have already signed a petition against him. The man has not yet shown anything in his new role – after all, cultural sovereignty still lies with the federal states in Germany and the office of Federal Commissioner has only existed since Gerhard Schröder – but nevertheless, those who claim to be free of cultural ideology (caution: irony) think he is useless. A little more openness, please, towards people who are being given a new office. After the premature praise for Mr Chialo in Berlin, who came from the music scene, he has now ended up as a doormat. In Cologne, there is also a figure from the cultural scene who, as deputy mayor for culture, has not managed to give any impetus to make the city better known as a cultural centre beyond its borders. He is unlikely to resign, but both are examples of experts who have done nothing or achieved nothing for culture in their offices. Perhaps things will be different with the newcomer, who will belong to the chancellery in the broadest sense.

Which brings us to the new Chancellor of Germany, who is expected to be elected on Tuesday and who has inherited quite a few things from his predecessor. For example, the extension of the Chancellery to accommodate a total of 840 employees. A little clearing has been done and work is starting on the foundations – still a stage at which a construction project with unclear costs can be stopped. A good example, so to speak, because whether the much-vaunted 500 billion ‘special fund’ (debt would be a more appropriate term) for investments will actually be spent over the course of 10 years will ultimately be decided in Brussels. For companies, tightening their belts means increasing productivity in order to remain competitive. The big discussion is always about where to make savings. If the board starts with itself, employees are more likely to follow suit – including the women among them (for those who still believe that gender-neutral language brings more equality between the sexes).

Are children the new growing risk for art insurers? A Rothko was damaged in Rotterdam, at least one work of art was damaged by a child during Art Week in Berlin, a ceramic work was smashed at another exhibition in the same city, and during the Biennale in Jeddah two years ago, several works were also the subject of too much childish curiosity. The insurers then try to assert liability claims against the parents or guardians. ‘Parents are responsible for their children’ used to be written on every public fence. This seems to have been forgotten a little, especially since liability insurers like to invoke special circumstances in defending claims.

If the injured party does not have art insurance, they can spend a long time dealing with the matter; if they do, the insurer does it, but they are used to it.

Travel broadens the mind – still, even though the world seems to be getting smaller and more limited. Private initiative and art are often inseparable – they are the true enablers of projects that would otherwise have been talked to death in public debate and then celebrated as torso.

The Langen Foundation in Neuss is currently showing the collection of Swiss publisher Ringier. It has previously shown works by individual artists such as Alicija Kwade who had not yet been absorbed by the art market. On Porquerolles, an island off Toulon in southern France, French asset manager Carmignac has established a foundation with a large sculpture garden that is well worth a visit. The curated exhibitions are exciting, showing not only works from the foundation's own collection, but also loans from public and private collections. A curved panoramic canvas by Miguel Barcelo is particularly impressive! Here, you can observe how children are introduced to art by their parents in such a way that their curiosity is not diverted into a desire to touch everything.

Today and tomorrow, German registrars are meeting in Saarbrücken. It will be interesting to see how they discuss the challenges posed by changing political constellations. Last week's blackout in Spain and Portugal unfortunately showed that focusing too narrowly on one solution to improve the global climate carries great risks.

For art fair tourists, there is something happening in New York and Taipei this week. Last week it was Chicago and Berlin – the travel industry is delighted and, as we all know, travel broadens the mind!

We wish you all a week full of optimism – stay tuned!

The team at Zilkens Fine Art Insurance Broker GmbH in Solothurn and Cologne