Mission

Mission

Middelheim Museum connects each of us with sculpture and nature in the city. It invites artists, audiences, and communities to explore, preserve, and further develop these vital connections together, for the resilience of current and future generations.

Vision

To remain meaningful as a heritage site in the future, we must:

• share our passion for sculpture under the open sky above the city
• in a contemporary way
• in all its diversity
• and its various social meanings.

To achieve this, we are building a sustainable ecosystem in which:

• we cultivate our collections,
• artists create new forms of sculpture,
• knowledge and experience—from concept to craftsmanship—flow back to ever-new creators.

We create a welcoming, open meeting place that:

• is as accessible as possible, both physically and digitally,
• inspires people to learn
• and also allows them to trust in their own wisdom and intuition.

To that end, we mobilise resources, but above all, inventive people and partners.
We are guided by four principles.

Four Principles

1. Never art without park, never park without art
   Middelheim Museum is a place where art, nature, and architecture together create a unique form of heritage—a valuable part of the urban fabric.

2. Never past without future, never future without past
   We do not preserve in order to fix or idealise, but to pass on what is valuable to future generations. From that foundation, we determine the questions we must ask for the future.

3. Never openness without safety, never safety without openness
   We aim for maximum accessibility, openness, transparency, and comfort—while paying special attention to the safety of people, heritage, and fauna & flora.

4. Never identity without relationships, never relationships without identity
   Middelheim Museum operates as a learning organisation, collaborating closely within a wide range of networks. It consciously gives partners the space to play to their strengths, creating a mutually reinforcing effect. This principle also guides our vision on audience engagement and participation.