With up to 400,000 visitors per year, the Hamburger Kunsthalle is one of the most important museums in Germany. From 2014 to 2016, the building was extensively modernized – however, the Kunsthalle was to continue to be open to visitors on one third of the total area. For this communicative challenge during the renovation phase, we developed the successful campaign »We remain open«.
Structurally and programmatically: »We remain open«
We communicated the message that visitors were still welcome at the Kunsthalle with our campaign claim »Weiter offen« (“We remain open“). This, in combination with the temporary appearance of an arrow and our own dot font, also marked a level of content: the Kunsthalle would like to open itself up more to new ideas.
»What started as a campaign has changed the way we see ourselves.«
Dr. Jan Metzler
Head of Communication & Marketing
It was not the intention of the »We remain open« campaign to conceal the reconstruction. Quite the opposite: inspired by the striking aesthetics of construction sites, the area around the museum itself was declared a construction site. Oversized claims, placed on a bright yellow background, signaled that the entire institution was undergoing a transformation, while the temporary exterior guidance system led visitors past construction-related changes to the entrance. The construction site fence on the museum forecourt quickly established itself as Hamburg’s most photogenic construction site and became a popular Instagram photo motif.
The best of everything: »Spot On«
With »Spot On«, the Hamburger Kunsthalle literally shone a spotlight on the masterpieces in its collection. A young team of curators selected 200 works from the extensive collection that were representative of the 700 years of art housed in the museum during the modernization phase.
For the Kunsthalle, we developed a microsite, including an events calendar and blog, to inform visitors about the progress of the modernization and all important information about visiting the museum. The large-format exhibition catalog »Spot On«, including a poster of the Wanderer over the Sea of Fog, skillfully showcased the collection highlights.
