Sustainability Report 2015
Support for art, culture and music
Hannover Re Foundation
Supporting contemporary art has traditionally been a cause for Hannover Re. In 1991, to mark the company's 25th anniversary, Hannover Re set up a foundation to benefit the Sprengel Museum in Hannover. The foundation's mission is to support art in Hannover through the acquisition of contemporary paintings and sculptures which are loaned to the Sprengel Museum. It also funds publications and events to accompany the exhibitions. The foundation was originally equipped with capital of DM 1 million. The foundation's capital currently amounts to EUR 600,000.
Opened in 1979, the Sprengel Museum ranks among the most prominent museums of twentieth-century art with its extensive collection and diverse programme of exhibitions. Works of art acquired by the foundation and provided to the Sprengel Museum Hannover on permanent loan include pieces by, among others, Gerhard Richter, Donald Judd, Ronald B. Kitaj, Georg Baselitz, Sigmar Polke and Bernd Koberling. In 2014 the Hannover Re Foundation acquired the sculpture "Another Twister" by the American artist Alice Aycock, which was installed in front of the Sprengel Museum and handed over to the museum on permanent loan to mark the opening of the new museum extension in September 2015. The roughly 6-metre high white aluminium sculpture symbolises a tornado and is intended to send a clear message that with the new extension the winds of change are blowing through the museum. At the same time the work references the business model of Hannover Re.
Hannover as a centre for art
As part of its engagement in art Hannover Re also sees itself in the role of a sponsor for locally based institutions, supporting not only the Sprengel Museum but also the Kunstverein Hannover, the Wilhelm Busch Museum in Hannover and the Kestnergesellschaft Hannover. Since its founding in 1916 the Kestnergesellschaft has sought to profile internationally important artists and their latest works. The spotlight here is just as much on fine arts, architecture, fashion and design as it is on current music and literature or philosophy and the humanities. In its role as a "Kestnerpartner" Hannover Re is able to promote the society's work on a continuous and lasting basis.
Hannover Re's art collection
It was in the mid-1980s that the former Chief Executive Officer Claus Bingemer set about building the foundation of the company's own art collection. Since that time the collection, which now numbers some 300 exhibits by 72 artists, has been continuously expanded. These days, decisions on acquisitions are taken by a Board of Trustees that has dedicated itself specifically to promoting contemporary art. We realise that such collections can give expression to the unmistakable identity of an undertaking and we see enormous potential in the field of tension between art and business. The works are divided into three major groupings: abstract art of the post-war modern era, figurative contemporary art and international art of the twentieth century. A special quality of the pieces in the collection is that they are not attached to one of the many diverse currents of modern and postmodern art, but rather – with exhibits by Werner Heldt, Hans Uhlmann, Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Georg Meistermann and HAP Grieshaber – they reference artistic positions that were ostracised during the Third Reich. A further exceptional point of emphasis is on works by artists of the former GDR, such as the Leipzig-based Bernhard Heisig and Wolfgang Mattheuer and their pupils.
The exhibits that make up the collection are displayed in the company's Home Office premises in Hannover as well as in the surrounding garden areas and inner courtyards of the office complexes.
Exhibition series "Masterclass Students"
The series of exhibitions dedicated to "Masterclass Students" has been held since 2014. It profiles the work of students at Braunschweig University of Art on an annual rotating basis. Current works by four young artists taking the masterclass course are displayed in the foyer of Hannover Re's Home Office building in Hannover. Along with the art collection, which is split into the three aforementioned work groups, contemporary art is just as much a focus for Hannover Re. In this context, the company's cultural engagement also extends to promoting young artists from the Lower Saxony region. The artistic positions selected from the graduating class are prominently displayed to staff and visitors alike in the foyer of the company's premises for intensive contemplation and exploration. The cooperation with Braunschweig University of Art thus not only serves to promote young artists but also fosters mutual dialogue.
Guided tours of the exhibition and artist talks are offered for the workforce. At the end of the latest exhibition pieces by all four artists were purchased for the company's own collection.
Advancement of talented musicians
Every year since 1998 E+S Rück, Hannover Re's subsidiary with responsibility for the German market, has organised an examination concert for graduating soloists in cooperation with Hannover University of Music, Drama and Media. This support gives "master students" a particularly valuable opportunity to take their final examination with a large orchestra. At the same time the concerts enable E+S Rück to offer its clients a musical highlight as part of the "Hannover Forum" event.