State Art Collections - Meijer-van Mensch leaves Ethnographic Collections
Leontine Meijer-van Mensch (51) will end her activity as director of the State Ethnographical Collections Saxony (SES) in the fall of this year after nearly six years and return to her Dutch homeland. The State Art Collections Dresden (SKD) to which the SES belong include the Ethnological Museums in Leipzig (Grassi Museum), Dresden and Herrnhut. According to the SKD, Meijer-van Mensch will become the founding director of the new City Museum in Rotterdam.
Together with her team and many partners, Leontine Meijer-van Mensch has moved a lot in the past years in the three Saxon Ethnological Museums, it was stated. She took a leading role in the debate on the future of Ethnological Museums. "Leontine Meijer-van Mensch has also strongly advocated for repatriation and restitution and initiated a public debate about the return of looted objects to their originating communities."
Meijer-van Mensch admitted that she was leaving the three Saxon Museums with a "grieving heart". "I am very grateful for all that we have achieved together. I am leaving the museums, however, also calmly, because I know that my colleagues and colleagues and all network partners and network partners will be the true power of the museum", emphasized the departing director. Before her activity in Saxony, she was among other things Program Director of the Jewish Museums Berlin and deputy director of the Museum of European Cultures in Berlin.
At the beginning of the week, it was already known that SKD General Director Marion Ackermann (59) will take over the leadership of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) in Berlin next year. She was appointed by the SPK Foundation Council in Berlin as the successor of Hermann Parzinger (65).
Leontine Meijer-van Mensch's upcoming role as the founding director of the new City Museum in Rotterdam signifies a return to her native Netherlands. Despite her departure from the State Ethnographical Collections Saxony, her profound impact on the Ethnological Museums in Leipzig, Dresden, and Herrnhut will remain prominent in Saxony's art collection. Before her tenure in Saxony, Meijer-van Mensch served as Program Director of the Jewish Museums Berlin and deputy director of the Museum of European Cultures in Berlin, further expanding her influence in the realm of museums.
