Anyone who has ever wanted to transform a company to a new work culture knows how hard it is and how long it takes. One can hardly disagree with Frankfurt's head of cultural affairs, Ina Hartwig (SPD), when she says that the reorganization of the Museum of Modern Art (MMK) must be given time. However, the displeasure of former and current employees and some sponsors does not stem from the fact that an actively tackled reorganization now simply takes a long time. Rather, it looks as if action was taken too late and, above all, in a form of communication that is no longer appropriate for today's demands on employment relationships, especially in the cultural sector.
The fact that there is now talk of the MMK everywhere is not due to new criticism of MMK Director Susanne Pfeffer, as the reports are now abbreviated. The curator, who is internationally active and so resourceful in her choice of topics, has received a lot of praise for her current exhibitions. What is not going on between management and employees has been known for a good three years. As early as 2019, the workforce put serious disruptions to the working atmosphere in writing, and numerous skilled workers left, some to other municipal cultural institutions. This should have raised questions among those responsible and led to action long before large parts of the workforce no longer wanted to accept this in spring 2022. Certainly, mediation is a suitable way, as Hartwig further explains. But it has obviously borne little fruit at the MMK.
Unoccupied chairs
Since then, the Department of Culture has said that the situation is being taken seriously, that personnel issues are not being discussed, and that there has been repeated talk of a breach of trust because the needs of the workforce have been made public. It is insisted that only a few employees complained and that only a few "positions" are vacant – while many skilled workers are missing in the positions that actually need to be filled.
However, the attempt to smooth the waves behind the scenes in order to preserve the splendour of the house makes the discrepancy between what the house so progressively addresses in its exhibitions – mindfulness, institutional critique, respect and openness, for example – and what has been done so far in this conflict even greater. This, too, leads to recent speeches. Now Hartwig, head of the cultural department, wants to talk to the workforce "before the summer break". However, there is a lack of communication without evasive movements and indirect recriminations, which is at the height of what is at stake. In fact, all those involved in the MMK need the much-cited care of those responsible quickly and intensively. This does not only include the search for a capable administrator.