The opening of K21 will provide the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein- Westfalen [Art Collection North-Rhine-Westphalia], presently K20, with a new museum whose very subject will be contemporary international art. With K20 exploring fundamental 20th century artistic positions, K21 will be directed at art from the time of the so-called postmodern turning-point at the beginning of the eighties. Starting from prominent 20th century positions taken from the Kunstsammlung stocks, K21 presents a selection from the Ackermans collection as well as the Rhineland-based Speck and Schürmann private collections, all of which make for a diverse and fascinating spectrum of contemporary artistic discourse. Startkapital [start-up capital] addresses the problems of a museum for contemporary art and of a museum in its beginning phase, taking the reader onto a tour through the museums opening presentation at the Ständehaus. Moreover, the book deals with the new structure of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen and features a short cultural history of the time around 1980. (German edition available 3-7757-1187-2)