Stadthausteam, exhibition staff

Exhibition staff

Astrid Businger used to be a chemical laboratory worker before she had her kids, including twins. After taking a break in 2001 to be with her family, Astrid Businger joined our team and is now one of the longest employed staff members, together with Natalia Gerasimenko.

She keeps her calm even on the busiest of days, which may be a result of having three almost grown-up daughters.

She started studying medicine in Macedonia, played basketball, went swimming, fell in love at age 18 and became a mother at a young age, the children being the love of her life: ‘These two are my everything.’ She followed her husband to Germany in 2009, happy to be able to provide her teenagers with a good environment and education opportunities. In the beginning, she had to focus on learning German (while her husband was already fluent and her son and daughter got by easily with English), then she worked in different factories. She fought through it all –  and made it. That she joined the Stadthaus in 2018 was ‘a dream: the most beautiful building in the city, right in the centre, friendly visitors, helpful colleagues, a great employer – what more could you ask for?’ The children are all grown up now: Fidan graduated from business school and is considerably well off; Melita studied Data Science in medicine and moved back to Ulm after a stint in Boston, much to her parents‘ delight. Biljana Coneva stays humble, her smile is as warm as they come.

 

Derya Eren is our youngest team member. She has Turkish roots and grew up just across the Danube in Bavaria. Before training as a fashion salesperson, she worked in a doctor’s office. After having her daughter Irem, she worked as a part-time cleaner at Museum Ulm, but she was striving for a full-time position. She says that the Stadthaus was a turning point in her life. Derya Eren now greets visitors with her trademark smile, sells catalogues and offers insights into the current exhibitions as if she had never done anything else in her life. Her daughter Irem and her family are the centre of her life, with grandmothers and aunts fully supporting the single mother.

The former Salem student has joined the Stadthaus-Team in February 2022. He is a good fit for the Stadthaus, which has established itself as an exhibition space for photography over the years: Jürgen Gerstmayr is an avid photographer himself. He is passionate about the ‘small instances of beauty, the unseen.’ Gerstmayr loves art and culture – ‘it’s what I grew up with!’  And his heart beats for animals. He has done a lot of things in his life, which is one of his strengths. He is the go-to guy when any of his many friends has a problem that needs solving.

Stefan Hörr is a gardener by trade and has the proverbial green thumb. Be it plants that are part of a show, like in the Berblinger exhibition, or the wild foliage on the Stadthaus terraces.

Son to a German mother and a Portuguese father, he is one of our wildcards when it comes to international visitors, since he is fluent in German, Portuguese and Turkish.

Poetry is one of Stefan Hörr’s passions and he has been writing since he was 12 years old.

Uwe Kristall’s career as a trained cook, at the military and finally in a ball bearing manufacturing plant, abruptly ended when he developed back problems, leaving him unemployed until he joined our team in 2008. And we can’t imagine what it would be like without him. Not only did he invent the children’s book-corner on level three and organised its inventory, he also became an expert in the Stadthaus architecture and will gladly take visitors on a tour, answering all questions about our life with and in the Stadthaus.

Edina Prošić-Vatreš, a mother of three, has joined the team in February 2022. When the Yugoslavia-born first came to Ulm, the city was deeply divided about what to build on the minster square: The Stadthaus. She has been a fan of the building since its inauguration and used to visit it regularly, albeit not quite as often as she wanted. She has always been fascinated by the architecture’s quiet atmosphere, and by the exhibitions which always inspired her: The broad spectrum of topics and the possibility to dive deep into the different themes – it’s what she now loves about her job. And the fact that she still has time for her garden and nature in general, for cooking and experimenting is immensely appreciated by her dog Ola – and of course by her husband and her three children.

Our exhibition staff is nut just responsible for keeping watch over the art, they are also looking out for you.

They will give you directions as you explore the building, they’ll sell you catalogues or postcards, and they issue photo-permits.

Uwe Kristall can also be booked for a guided tour through the Stadthaus