Internationale Tage
The Internationale Tage is a cultural commitment of Boehringer Ingelheim since 1959.
The Internationale Tage is a cultural commitment of Boehringer Ingelheim since 1959.
There is no need to travel to the world’s big museums to acquaint oneself with Japanese coloured wood engravings and masks from the South Seas, antiquities from Pergamon and the works of Picasso, the Viennese „Biedermeier“ or the spirit of the Fifties in Paris. For over four decades the Internationale Tage have provided equally good insights into the art and culture of our world with the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) in Ingelheim on the Rhine acting as the venue for the annual thematic exhibitions.
Initialy, the idea was to provide some perspective of the life and culture of other nations and peoples in the surroundings of an international company: in 1959, the basic idea of being receptive to and learning more about other cultures led Dr. Ernst Boehringer, in his capacity as co-owner of the family-owned company Boehringer Ingelheim, to organise a festival of culture. Throughout almost three decades, the Internationale Tage team was spearheaded by Dr. François Lachenal (1918–1997).
The first Internationale Tage were devoted to our neighbour France and comprised a small exhibition and a colourful programme ranging from talks to culinary specialities. The basic format for the future had been established and the Internationale Tage were destined to grow with a dynamism of their own.
The exhibitions soon became the central point of what has turned into a weeks-long event. In 1966, “Goya” became the first exhibition to focus on a single artist. In 1988, Dr Patricia Rochard took over as curator of the “International Days” and set new standards with her highly regarded solo and themed exhibitions that focused on art after 1945 and on the medium of photography. In 2013, Dr Ulrich Luckhardt took over the “International Days” and shifted its focus more toward classical modernism, particularly graphic art. Dr Katharina Henkel has been at the helm since 2023. Her program will include both themed and solo exhibitions that span a range of genres from 1900 to the present.
As a well-established event, the “International Days” features a varied supporting program and, as a mainstay of the local cultural network, continues to ensure broad public interest throughout the Rhine-Main region.
