Since he took over in 2000, Schröder has transformed the Albertina Museum, which was founded in the 18th century as a drawings collection and, upon his arrival, still displayed only works on paper. He swiftly broadened its focus to include other media and today the institution shows everything from paintings to video art. There have been exhibitions of work by figures like Gerhard Richter, Anselm Kiefer and Maria Lassnig. Schröder also made a concentrated effort to collect more modern and contemporary art and borrowed or acquired several major collections, including those amassed by Herbert Batliner, Karlheinz Essl and Rafael Jablonka together, the foundations for the Albertina Modern.

 

On Wednesday 11 March it was announced that all federal public museums in Austria would be closed until at least the end of March in an effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Among them is the highly anticipated satellite venue of the Albertina Museum, which was due to make its debut on 12 March. The launch is now postponed until May, for now.