Public Relations

Communicating Art History 2022–2024

As a working unit devoted to public relations and communication, we are committed first to ensuring that the research topics and results of our Institute receive optimal exposure within the academic community and second to engaging a wider public by presenting selected research projects and the insights they have yielded. By applying communication strategies and adapting them to changing circumstances, we act as an intermediary between different stakeholders and thus contribute to the internal and external academic communication of the discipline.

It is our intention to maximize the visibility of the Hertziana and its international and interdisciplinary research activities, and to strengthen its position in the specific discourse of the discipline. More generally, we believe that the communication of our research activities and their results energizes the discipline of art history and contributes to a more general appreciation of the discipline’s achievements within the wider public.

Below we offer a brief overview of some of our projects. A summary of our areas of activity will give both an overview of and an insight into our work.

What are our tasks? Here is a selection:

Internal and external communication.
Analysis, planning, implementation, maintenance, and evaluation of the Institute’s communication strategies and tools. This includes the homepage, newsletter, intranet, social media management and press and media relations, Institute tours for various target groups, and special initiatives such as the Hertziana Insights video project.
Corporate publishing – from Research Report through prisma – Hertziana Research Magazine to postcards, all of which promote the development and adaptation of the corporate identity.
Representation of the Institute’s research at art history forums and in specific networks such as MPG press; MPG research coordinators; L.I.S.A. (research portal of the Gerda Henkel Foundation); UNIONE (Unione Internazionale degli Istituti di Archeologia, Storia e Storia dell’Arte di Roma); German cultural institutions in Italy; and the communication group of the German art history research institutes: KHI (Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut), ZI (Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte), DFK (Deutsches Forum für Kunstgeschichte Paris).

Hertziana Insights

How can we present art historical research to a wider public and share it with a more general audience, which is increasingly alert to interdisciplinary and intermediary issues and which places great value in objects and their materiality? Through Hertziana Insights, we promote direct communication of research areas of the Institute in video format, structured as short online documentaries.

Henriette Hertz Lecture

Each year we remember our founder and benefactress Henriette Hertz (1846–1913) with two different events: in the morning with a traditional commemorative ceremony at the Roman Cimitero acattolico where she is buried, and in the evening with a lecture given primarily by women scholars whose excellent research qualifies them to make a special contribution to the memory of our patron.

Art History Congresses

37th German Congress for Art History and CIHA Matter Materiality

Social Media

The Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History maintains an active presence on several social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky, while currently suspending its activity on X. Although the number of specific followers may fluctuate, generally speaking we favor organic engagement without the use of sponsored content by naturally creating a community of individuals interested in art history and related fields. Over all platforms we currently count ca. 10,000 followers.

Corporate Publishing

One aspect of communication is the conceptualization, design, and realization of information material that can be considered as corporate publishing. This material provides general information, makes available annual reviews, or highlights very specific insights into special initiatives and, more generally, into the scholarly work of the Institute.