A huge crowd has gathered in a garden

Hidden Gems: A celebration for everyone

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Hidden Gems with Claudia Fritzsche, Academic Advisor to the President and Vice-President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation

A smiling woman is sitting relaxed in a sun-drenched garden

Favourite venue for the staff party

Claudia Fritzsche is enjoying the atmosphere at the SPK Summer Party 2024.

Photo: SPK / Killisch

How long have you been working at the SPK, and what are your responsibilities?

I have been working at the Foundation since 2013 as a research assistant to the President and Vice-President. During this time, in addition to the standard duties of a research assistant, I have also overseen a wide variety of exciting projects; for example, I coordinated internal SPK consultations during the competition phase for the new berlin modern building and took on the project management for the accompanying publication.

For some time now, the reform of the SPK and the strategy process have been taking up more and more of my time. Together with a colleague and the external consultants from Partner Deutschland, we act as the overall project management team and are responsible, amongst other things, for ensuring that this highly complex task remains on schedule and that processes and results are communicated effectively both internally and to the funding bodies. We work closely with the SPK’s interim board in this regard.

an inflatable unicorn in front of the entrance to the GStA
A warm welcome to the SPK Summer Party 2024 at the GStA PK. © GStA PK / Vinia Rutkowski
a huge crowd in the garden of the GStA PK
It doesn’t get any more summery than this: the SPK Summer Party 2024 in the garden of the GStA PK. © GStA PK / Christine Ziegler
a fountain with a statue of a woman in the centre and beer crates arranged around it
A must-see every year: the "beer fountain". Pictured here at the 2022 summer festival at Villa von der Heydt. Photo: SPK / Fritzsche
An inflatable monkey is hanging in a bush
"Chilling out" in the countryside: the SPK staff party. © GStA PK / Christine Ziegler

What is your favourite place at the SPK and what do you most enjoy doing there?

My favourite place at the SPK – although it only happens once a year – is the staff party. It’s a lovely opportunity to chat with colleagues whom you hardly ever see in day-to-day work or only know from speaking on the phone. The party has been running for three years and, out of the foundation’s approximately 2,000 staff members, 600–700 have attended each time.


I love that there are always plenty of chances to strike up a conversation, whether at the barbecue, the ‘beer fountain’ or the raffle – if you’re lucky enough to win a guided tour of a workshop or a repository with other colleagues, you get to meet up again after the party. So far, we’ve always been lucky with the weather, because with so many participants we can only celebrate outdoors – this year we were in the very beautiful garden of the State Archives. I’ve also been part of the organising team for the party twice and know how much work, preparation and passion it takes to put the party together. It was great teamwork every time!

 

Hidden Gems

In the 'Hidden Gems' series, SPK staff introduce themselves and reveal their (more or less) secret favourite spots within the Foundation.

Fancy becoming part of the SPK family? You can find all current job vacancies across the Foundation on LinkedIn.

A man is standing on the stairs, with a sculpture in front of him

A man is sitting on his terrace surrounded by greenery

A curtain made of red strings, with two red chairs in front of it on the left of the picture


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