Grassi Museum of Applied Arts with record visitor numbers

The Grassi Museum of Applied Arts in Leipzig has set a new visitor record in its 150th year of existence. Director Olaf Thormann said that around 109,000 visitors came to the traditional museum in 2024. Around 92,000 visitors were counted in 2023. Last year, the Grassi Museum celebrated its 150th anniversary.

The museum's collection of around 230,000 objects was expanded during the anniversary year to include several important new additions. Among other things, a bronze copy of Venus Medici from the Uffizi in Florence is now on display at the Grassi. The special feature of this figure is that it has lain at the bottom of the Großer Döllnsee in Brandenburg for 45 years. It was once owned by the Nazi criminal Hermann Göring and was sunk in the lake in 1945. It was only recovered in 1990.

According to the director, the museum recorded 2,184 new acquisitions last year, worth around 1.5 million euros. Most of these exhibits came to the museum as donations, a small proportion as purchases.

Four special exhibitions in 2025

In addition to smaller foyer exhibitions, four special shows are on the program in 2025. One of these, entitled "Vessel | Sculpture", will focus on German and international ceramics since 1946. It will be on display from November 8, 2025 to October 4, 2026.

Another special exhibition will take a closer look at arts and crafts under National Socialism and examine how political influence affected design and arts and crafts under the title "Forms of Adaptation". According to curator Sabine Epple, this requires sensitivity, but also courage, because the exhibition also deals with the museum's own history. The show will be on display from November 26, 2025 to April 14, 2026.