Ministry of Culture provides funding for planning costs
The Ministry of Culture is funding the planned conversion and renovation of the former Lichtspieltheater into the new BLMK location in Frankfurt (Oder) with around 2.2 million euros this year and over the next two years. The funds will be made available for planning services.
Minister of Culture Manja Schüle: "Even if the curtain is still closed at the moment, things are moving behind the scenes. The plans for the transformation of the former cinema into an art museum are underway and the start of construction is slowly approaching. And that's a good thing. After all, the movie theater is an important part of Frankfurt's identity and part of the city's soul. And many people are delighted that a cultural center and meeting place is being created here again. Even if the final curtains won't rise for a few years, there will certainly be exciting insights and outlooks before then. I'm looking forward to it!"
René Wilke, Lord Mayor of the City of Frankfurt (Oder): "We Frankfurters can hardly wait for our Lichtspieltheater der Jugend to become a construction site and for us to witness how this building, which is so important to our identity, will once again become a landmark of our city. I am all the more pleased about the ongoing support from the Brandenburg Ministry of Culture, which also means partnership support for the upcoming phase of conversion and renovation in shared enthusiasm for this ambitious project."
The 'Lichtspieltheater der Jugend' was built at the beginning of the 20th century as the first cinema in Frankfurt (Oder). It was rebuilt in 1954 after being badly damaged in the war. Until its closure in 1998, the cinema was also used for concerts, cultural events and youth dedications. In 2019, the city took over the listed building after a long period of vacancy. It made it available to the Brandenburg Cultural Foundation Cottbus-Frankfurt (Oder) for the construction of the new Frankfurt location of the Brandenburg State Museum of Modern Art (BLMK). In future, the building will bring together the museum and depot areas currently spread across Frankfurt (Oder) in one location and create space for museum education, scientific work and a café, among other things. The state and federal government are each supporting the conversion with 11.5 million euros.
The Brandenburg State Museum of Modern Art (BLMK) in Cottbus and Frankfurt (Oder) was founded in July 2017 with the merger of the two museums Dieselkraftwerk (dkw) and Junge Kunst (MJK). The state museum, with a total of more than 42,000 works of art, is part of the Brandenburg Cultural Foundation Cottbus-Frankfurt (Oder). It is managed by Ulrike Kremeier. The state is supporting the Brandenburg Cultural Foundation, which also includes the Cottbus State Theatre alongside the BLMK, with around 16.9 million euros this year.