The Skulpturenpark Köln is a museum for contemporary sculpture in the open air. The park was founded in 1997 on the private initiative of the collector couple Dr Michael (+2005) and Dr Eleonore (+2007) Stoffel and celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2017 with the exhibition KölnSkulptur #9. The Skulpturenpark Köln has gained national and international recognition in the art scene and among the general public. It is visited by around 60,000-100,000 visitors every year. Since 1997, contemporary outdoor sculptures by over 150 internationally renowned artists have been exhibited in the park. This unique success story of the park would not exist without the non-profit Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln. Since 2008, the Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln has continued the basic idea of the Stoffel collector couple to institutionally secure the future of Skulpturenpark Köln and preserve it as a place for artistic dialogue and reflection in this unique symbiosis of nature and art. The foundation is financially, administratively and organisationally responsible for the fate of the Skulpturenpark Köln.

The purpose of the foundation

The Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln pursues exclusively and directly charitable purposes within the meaning of the “tax-privileged purposes” section of the German Tax Code. The foundation promotes art and culture through the operation of the Skulpturenpark Köln. It aims to make a current selection of contemporary art, in particular sculpture, accessible to the interested public. The foundation is selflessly active and does not primarily pursue its own economic purposes. The Foundation’s funds may only be used for the purposes set out in the statutes. The founder does not receive any benefits from the foundation’s funds.

The financial background

This ambitious project is financed by the Michael und Eleonore Stoffel Förderstiftung, by the income from renting out the Stifterhaus (the former private home of the collector couple) on Elsa-Brändström-Straße and by the City of Cologne, which supports the Skulpturenpark Köln as a cultural institution with an annual financial compensation in the form of an operating grant.

The exhibition series KölnSkulptur

The KölnSkulptur exhibition series has a biennial character. Every two years, the Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln appoints an independent curator who then curates the KölnSkulptur exhibition according to their own conceptual ideas. Each production redefines and reinterprets the Skulpturenpark Köln with current positions of contemporary outdoor sculpture. The reputation of the series is consolidated through ongoing exhibitions and accompanying catalogues. The curators have included Renate Goldmann, Friedrich Meschede, Thomas D. Trummer, Chus Martínez, Tobias Berger and Nikola Dietrich. Since 1997, contemporary outdoor sculptures by over 150 internationally renowned artists have been shown in the park. Among the best known are Rosemarie Trockel, Dan Graham, Joel Shapiro, Markus Lüpertz, Ulrich Rückriem, Marc di Suvero, Günther Förg, Tony Cragg, Barry Flanagan, Alexander Calder, Martin Kippenberger, Anish Kapoor, Norbert Kricke, Tom Burr, Mary Bauermeister and many more. Many of the works were created especially for the KölnSkulptur exhibition cycle. The new productions of these artworks are financed by the non-profit Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln to ensure their realisation. Sponsors, patrons and patrons of the arts have generously supported the KölnSkulptur exhibition series in the past and continue to do so now. For many young artists, participation in the KölnSkulptur exhibition cycle was the start of their international careers. In 2011, for example, the Japanese star architect Sou Fujimoto was able to realise his first work, Garden Gallery, 2011, outside Japan as part of the KölnSkulptur #6 exhibition. One year later, Sou Fujimoto built the 2012 pavilion for the Serpentine Gallery in London’s Hyde Park and won the Golden Lion of the Architecture Biennale in Venice in the same year.

Art programme with free admission

The approx. 35,000 square metre park is an oasis of peace and contemplation in the midst of the surrounding urban infrastructure, a place where contemporary sculpture can be experienced directly. It is located in the triangle between Zoobrücke, Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer and Riehler Straße. The Cologne Sculpture Park is open all year round – 365 days a year – and the Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln does not charge admission (!). The Skulpturenpark Köln is visited by around 60,000-100,000 visitors every year. More and more school classes and students from the Cologne region, young people, families, guided groups, people of all ages from Germany and abroad visit the park every year. Every first Sunday of the month at 3 p.m., the Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln offers a public guided tour. Since 2008, the Stiftung Skulpturenpark Köln has continued the basic idea of the Stoffel collector couple to institutionally secure the future of the Skulpturenpark Köln and make it accessible to a broad public as a place of artistic dialogue in this unique symbiosis of nature and art.