Westfälischer Kunstverein

Founded in 1831, the Westfälischer Kunstverein is one of the oldest art associations in Germany and enjoys international standing. The Kunstverein still promotes and establishes young contemporary art to this day and, from the post-war period by the latest, has assumed significant responsibility for the sponsorship of young, up-and-coming artists on an international level in the field of visual art in the City of Münster. The work of several young artists, who would later achieve international recognition in their own right, were presented here to a broader audience for the first time. Whereas the Kunstverein’s exhibition practice is devoted to contemporary art, the focus of the collection is upon medieval painting. The collection itself, comprising approximately 2,000 artworks, has been placed at the disposal of the LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur / Westfälisches Landesmuseum (Westphalian State Museum). Having enjoyed an association with the Landesmuseum ever since 1908, the Kunstverein relocated the Museum’s premises between Domplatz and Rothenburg.