Museum director Claudia Sporer-Heis to retire after two decades

After almost 20 years as director of the Museum im Zeughaus in Innsbruck, historian and collections manager Claudia Sporer-Heis will retire at the end of August, ORF reported. She sought to make the museum accessible to everyone, with a particular focus on critical and feminist perspectives beyond historical clichés.

In her final days, Sporer-Heis has been making the journey to work with Daisy, the museum’s dog, for the last time. The museum occupies a more than 500-year-old former arsenal built around 1500 during the reign of Emperor Maximilian I. It is one of the locations of the Tyrolean state museums.

“It is a great piece of luck to be able to work here for so many years,” Sporer-Heis told ORF Tirol. She describes her office, which overlooks the historic courtyard, as probably one of the most beautiful in Innsbruck.

Sporer-Heis studied history and classical philology. She initially considered becoming a teacher, but changed her plans after having a daughter at the age of 21. She said studying while pregnant and raising a child was viewed very differently at the time, but support from her husband and family enabled her to complete her studies, including a doctorate.

Her work in archives gave her greater flexibility and helped lead her from teacher training into a career as a historian. She began working at the Museum im Zeughaus in 1988 and took over as its director in 2009.

When she started, the museum focused more heavily on the history of rulers and men, she recalled. Over the years, she introduced new approaches, including a stronger focus on historical photography and everyday culture. She said everyday history made it easier to connect directly with people and communicate the past.

As curator and head of the historical collection, Sporer-Heis was responsible for the museum’s objects. She also developed exhibitions on previously neglected subjects relating to women. In 2004, in cooperation with the Women’s Museum in Merano, she brought the exhibition “From Corset to Tanga” to the museum, examining women’s emancipation and changing clothing restrictions.

Under her leadership, the museum presented exhibitions on subjects ranging from slot machines and Tyrolean film history to advertising. In 2009, the year she became director, Tyrol marked the 200th anniversary of the 1809 “freedom struggle”. Her exhibition “Hofer wanted” offered a critical perspective beyond folkloric clichés on the region’s enduring Andreas Hofer myth.