Germany’s 100-Year-Old Merz Academy Declared Insolvent
Merz Academy, a 100-year-old art and design university in Stuttgart, Germany, has filed for insolvency, the school announced on Wednesday, though classes are expected to continue. Monopol reported that the Stuttgart District Court approved the application on Tuesday with a provisional self-administration order, attributing the crisis to a failing financial model, declining enrollment, and the end of key cooperation agreements. The academy is run by the non-profit Merz Education Center and has been state-accredited since 1985; only the academy is affected, while the Merz School, Merz Vocational College, and Merz Education Center are legally independent and expected to keep operating. Managing director Andrea Zweifel told SWR that the self-administration process is intended to enable restructuring and secure the academy’s future under court supervision while it seeks support from partners including the state of Baden-Württemberg.
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This story was covered in Icons Fall, Museums Wobble, Art World Under Watch