The Gerda Henkel Foundation has approved grants for 45 new research projects worldwide. At its Spring meeting, the Foundation made a total sum of a good 4.1 million Euros available.

In terms of content and disciplines, the spectrum ranges from Classical Studies through to the present. In the field of the history of the human body, topics extend from the ideal of beauty and related practices in East Germany to the scientific approach to urine in the 20^th century. Another research question being asked is how museums address economic themes in their exhibitions: How have economics and art collaborated? What have they displayed and what did they leave out?

Research on the Global South features, amongst others, a project on the freedom of the press in postcolonial Africa. Funding is also being provided for Benin City in Nigeria. Now that some museums in the West have returned so-called Benin Bronzes or have declared that they will be doing so, preparations are underway in Benin City to preserve the artifacts in the long term and present them. The Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA) Trust plans with the support of government and non-government backers in Benin City to establish a creative quarter featuring galleries and artisanal workshops that in the medium term will also be home to a major museum building. Initially, a pavilion will be erected to house the first collections. The financing from the Gerda Henkel Foundation is earmarked for storage rooms there as well as conservation measures.

All in all, at its Spring meeting the boards approved applications for funding from scholars from no less than 25 different countries.