Ruth Baumgarte

Vacancy notice

Become part of the Ruth Baumgarte Art Foundation

The Ruth Baumgarte Art Foundation preserves, researches and communicates the work of one of the most important German artists of the 20th century: Ruth Baumgarte (1923-2013).

Her art stands for precise observation, social relevance and an unmistakable signature - from industrial reconstruction to the Africa cycle.

At the turn of the year 2025/2026, the current director of the foundation will retire. We are therefore looking for an experienced individual with a background in art history who can think strategically and help shape operations - with a network in the art and museum world and leadership skills in the cultural sector.

Your tasks:

Planning and implementation of exhibitions, publications and events

Further development of the foundation's strategy and visibility of Ruth Baumgarte's work

Management of a small, dedicated team and collaboration with the Board of Directors & Advisory Board

Responsibility for the scientific catalog raisonné (print & online)

Representing the foundation to the media, museums and international partners

Expansion of the international Ruth Baumgarte Art Prize

Your profile:

Completed studies in art history, cultural studies or related subjects

Sound knowledge of modern and contemporary art

Several years of professional experience in the museum, exhibition or foundation sector

Experience in a leading position in the cultural sector

Excellent communication and representation skills

High degree of initiative, organizational talent and strategic thinking

Very good knowledge of German and English

We offer you:

A challenging management role with an international focus

A broad network and diverse cooperation opportunities

The chance to further anchor Ruth Baumgarte's work academically and culturally

An inspiring working environment with great creative freedom

Permanent position at the foundation's headquarters in Bielefeld

Have we piqued your interest?

Then we look forward to receiving your detailed application with salary expectations by e-mail to

sekretariat@ruth-baumgarte.com

A myriad of topics move me;
far too many for one human life to suffice,
to lend form to all of them.

As a representational artist, Ruth Baumgarte (1923-2013) is oriented towards reality. But in her œuvre she turns to the inner experience in ever new formulations. In this point she follows the German Romanticism, to look as an observer at a world and to watch the longings and hopes for an ideal world fail.

Africa, the enigmatic continent with its power, but also its great social and political changes, becomes the impulse of her brilliant color-saturated work, which has received great international attention.

"With her explosive late work, Ruth Baumgarte brought the glistening light of Africa not only to Europe but also to the United States; the deeply felt light of the South had not been depicted in this way before. With the unique intensity of her paintings, she joins the genealogy of the great colorists of the 20th century," notes Klaus Albrecht Schröder, Director General of the Albertina Vienna.

I am not a Käthe Kollwitz type.
Politics moves me, but I can't move the world,
can't change it, only observe...

Exhibition Activity and Honors

Her work has been shown in national and international galleries and institutions since 1947. Major survey shows of her Africa cycle were held at the Ludwig Museum Koblenz in 2017, the Ludwig Foundation at the Marble Palace of the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg in 2018, and the Städtisches Museum Braunschweig in 2019. The first retrospective of 180 works was hosted by the Museum of Art and Cultural History in Dortmund in 2022. A highlight was the show on the Africa cycle at the Albertina in Vienna in 2022/23, which was visited by over 200,000 people.

Ruth Baumgarte also received public recognition and honors posthumously through the erection of a memorial stele in Berlin-Karlshorst in 2020 for her system-critical artistic treatment of racially, religiously and politically motivated crimes during National Socialism. Since 2021, a street in Berlin-Karlshorst has been named after her.

In addition, one of Bielefeld's light rail vehicles has also borne the artist's name since 2021. With this award, the city of Bielefeld honors her retrospectively for her life's work as a deserving and highly esteemed citizen and makes a contribution to the culture of remembrance in the city of Bielefeld.