Gerhard Richter protests Leverkusen's plan to close Museum Morsbroich and sell collection

Gerhard Richter has publicly opposed the proposed closure of Museum Morsbroich in Leverkusen, sending an open letter to the city's mayor. The museum faces potential shutdown as part of a cost-saving initiative detailed in a recent city-commissioned report. Closure would save approximately €778,450 annually, while selling the collection could provide temporary revenue for the financially struggling municipality. Richter argues that public art collections represent cultural heritage rather than financial assets to be liquidated during budget shortfalls. He emphasizes that such collections embody art historical significance and serve as cultural memory for their communities. Museum Morsbroich has earned multiple Museum of the Year awards in North Rhine-Westphalia and has hosted solo exhibitions by prominent artists including Rosemarie Trockel, Sigmar Polke, Georg Baselitz, Louise Nevelson, Andy Warhol, and Christopher Williams. The institution has also featured younger artists like Berlin-based duo Calla Henkel and Max Pitegoff. Richter himself is scheduled to open an exhibition with Sigmar Polke at the museum on March 13, 2016. The city of Leverkusen is situated between Cologne and Dusseldorf in Germany. The cost-saving report was released in late February 2016, prompting Richter's immediate response.