"May I Show You Your Collection?"

Eva Schlegel, Waltraud Cooper, Dietmar Brehm, Gunter Damisch and Klaus Liedl have something in common: led by Lentos director Stella Rollig, they are the protagonists of a new campaign attracting attention to the Lentos Art Museum Linz this fall. And to its collection.

"May I show you your collection?" is the slogan of the current Lentos campaign. For the posters, five well known Austrian artists posed in front of works from the Lentos Collection. The background for the question is a new way of interacting with the public. Led by the museum director Stella Rollig (who is depicted in the first series of the posters), Eva Schlegel, Waltraud Cooper, Dietmar Brehm, Gunter Damisch and Klaus Liedl point out that the modern art treasures of the Lentos Collection belong to everyone in Linz – and all interested tourists as well. The five artists all have works in the Lentos Collection themselves, and with their personal presence in the posters they attest to the uniqueness and quality of the collection.

For Stella Rollig, the central concern of her work in Lentos is addressed in this campaign: "In a time of accelerated consumption at every level, counter-movements are necessary (for survival). Museums have to refuse the speed and flamboyance of the entertainment business to convey sustainable options for orientation and cultural competence. Concentration on what is lasting is called for. The collection of the museum is one of the most important points of reference for this work.
With the current campaign we invite everyone in Linz to become aware of this shared property and become familiar with it, again and again, in ever new and different ways, and better and better. We are especially pleased to extend this invitation together with artists who are associated with Lentos and represented in the collection."

"May I Show You Your Collection?" is a project in cooperation with the bank Raiffeisenlandesbank of Upper Austria and the Gutenberg advertising ring. For Alfred Stadler from the Gutenberg advertising ring of Linz the action is a genuine cooperation that benefits all the participants, especially those invited to participate – the people of Linz: "Billboards are an invitation to communicate. It is not always just a matter of convincing people on the street to consume something. Our company stands for using these communication opportunities responsibly and ensuring a multitude of messages in public space. The cooperation with the Lentos Art Museum Linz offers us an opportunity to make our public role as a communication carrier visible. 'May I Show You Your Collection?' is an invitation. It is a campaign that ultimately serves to raise awareness that the magnificent offers of the Lentos Museum belong to all of us. The advertising ring is very happy to support this action."

Vice-Mayor Dr. Erich Watzl is also convinced of the importance of this project. He is thinking here of "his" people of Linz: "With this central question the campaign appeals directly to the people in Linz and lets them become part of Lentos. In addition, I find the idea of presenting protagonists of the museum to the public highly successful. As Cultural Speaker for the City of Linz, I hope that many people in our city will accept the invitation to pay a visit to Lentos and become inspired by the Lentos Collection."

"Art provides mental impulses, connects and reminds us – it is as broad ranging and widely diverse as our society," says Dr. Ludwig Scharinger, CEO of the Raiffeisenlandesbank of Upper Austria, president of the Association of Friends of the Lentos Art Museum, and main sponsor of the campaign. "That is why it is important to make enough room for art, because it constantly accompanies us as an essential part of our life. The Lentos Art Museum Linz makes this space, provides special impulses and strengthens the Upper Austrian people's awareness of art with the current campaign."
For the Raiffeisenlandesbank of Upper Austria, according to Scharinger, "as a patron of Austrian artists, it is important to secure a valuable cultural heritage with the purchase of contemporary art, and to establish a close link between art and business – not least of all because Upper Austrian art is an important calling card for our dynamic economic region."

The idea and concept have been developed by the advertising agency BSX Bader & Schmölzer GmbH.