Featured Events in Berlin in May 2025 (May Updated)

Women’s contributions to society are often unseen and seldom considered in art. Many women’s names and their stories have long since been forgotten. Using French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch works on paper, the exhibition looks behind the allegorical scenes to shed light on women’s work in the 18th century, including toiling in the fields, caring for children and performing manual labour.The small thematic exhibition presents 25 French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch prints from the 16th to 18th centuries preserved in the Kupferstichkabinett’s (Museum of Prints and Drawings) rich holdings. Works have been selected that show women in everyday activities, working as peasants, farmhands, teachers, maids, midwives and courtesans. One focus provide insight into the professions practised by women, including attending to births as midwives; another shows those areas of society where men and women went about their daily tasks side by side (as equals?). Beneath the allegorical layers of meaning, the viewer often discovers self-confident women going about their lives, yet the hardship of everyday travail is evident. To this day, so-called care work for children and the elderly receives little recognition; efforts are being made to reconcile work and family life and to achieve equality between women and men, including in financial matters, but these goals have yet to be fully attained.

Women’s contributions to society are often unseen and seldom considered in art. Many women’s names and their stories have long since been forgotten. Using French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch works on paper, the exhibition looks behind the allegorical scenes to shed light on women’s work in the 18th century, including toiling in the fields, caring for children and performing manual labour.The small thematic exhibition presents 25 French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch prints from the 16th to 18th centuries preserved in the Kupferstichkabinett’s (Museum of Prints and Drawings) rich holdings. Works have been selected that show women in everyday activities, working as peasants, farmhands, teachers, maids, midwives and courtesans. One focus provide insight into the professions practised by women, including attending to births as midwives; another shows those areas of society where men and women went about their daily tasks side by side (as equals?). Beneath the allegorical layers of meaning, the viewer often discovers self-confident women going about their lives, yet the hardship of everyday travail is evident. To this day, so-called care work for children and the elderly receives little recognition; efforts are being made to reconcile work and family life and to achieve equality between women and men, including in financial matters, but these goals have yet to be fully attained.

Women’s contributions to society are often unseen and seldom considered in art. Many women’s names and their stories have long since been forgotten. Using French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch works on paper, the exhibition looks behind the allegorical scenes to shed light on women’s work in the 18th century, including toiling in the fields, caring for children and performing manual labour.The small thematic exhibition presents 25 French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch prints from the 16th to 18th centuries preserved in the Kupferstichkabinett’s (Museum of Prints and Drawings) rich holdings. Works have been selected that show women in everyday activities, working as peasants, farmhands, teachers, maids, midwives and courtesans. One focus provide insight into the professions practised by women, including attending to births as midwives; another shows those areas of society where men and women went about their daily tasks side by side (as equals?). Beneath the allegorical layers of meaning, the viewer often discovers self-confident women going about their lives, yet the hardship of everyday travail is evident. To this day, so-called care work for children and the elderly receives little recognition; efforts are being made to reconcile work and family life and to achieve equality between women and men, including in financial matters, but these goals have yet to be fully attained.

Women’s contributions to society are often unseen and seldom considered in art. Many women’s names and their stories have long since been forgotten. Using French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch works on paper, the exhibition looks behind the allegorical scenes to shed light on women’s work in the 18th century, including toiling in the fields, caring for children and performing manual labour.The small thematic exhibition presents 25 French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch prints from the 16th to 18th centuries preserved in the Kupferstichkabinett’s (Museum of Prints and Drawings) rich holdings. Works have been selected that show women in everyday activities, working as peasants, farmhands, teachers, maids, midwives and courtesans. One focus provide insight into the professions practised by women, including attending to births as midwives; another shows those areas of society where men and women went about their daily tasks side by side (as equals?). Beneath the allegorical layers of meaning, the viewer often discovers self-confident women going about their lives, yet the hardship of everyday travail is evident. To this day, so-called care work for children and the elderly receives little recognition; efforts are being made to reconcile work and family life and to achieve equality between women and men, including in financial matters, but these goals have yet to be fully attained.

Ayoung Kim’s (b. 1979 in Seoul, Korea) first solo exhibition in a German museum spans the most recent years of her artistic practice and explores concepts of time, reality, belonging, and queerness. Using Artificial Intelligence, video, game simulations, and sculpture, Ayoung Kim creates expansive fictional universes governed by their own temporal and spatial laws. Her works are linked by speculative narratives rooted in reality, and viewers become both spectators and first-person players, shaping the story from their perspective.

Ayoung Kim’s (b. 1979 in Seoul, Korea) first solo exhibition in a German museum spans the most recent years of her artistic practice and explores concepts of time, reality, belonging, and queerness. Using Artificial Intelligence, video, game simulations, and sculpture, Ayoung Kim creates expansive fictional universes governed by their own temporal and spatial laws. Her works are linked by speculative narratives rooted in reality, and viewers become both spectators and first-person players, shaping the story from their perspective.

Ayoung Kim’s (b. 1979 in Seoul, Korea) first solo exhibition in a German museum spans the most recent years of her artistic practice and explores concepts of time, reality, belonging, and queerness. Using Artificial Intelligence, video, game simulations, and sculpture, Ayoung Kim creates expansive fictional universes governed by their own temporal and spatial laws. Her works are linked by speculative narratives rooted in reality, and viewers become both spectators and first-person players, shaping the story from their perspective.

The Berlin Kupferstichkabinett is home to an impressive collection of modern art, including works by Edvard Munch, Käthe Kollwitz and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. But what is less widely known is that the artists of Der Blaue Reiter also left behind a remarkable legacy of their own. As such, the Kupferstichkabinett is for the very first time dedicating a comprehensive exhibition to the art of Der Blaue Reiter, where it will showcase the museum’s holdings on the basis of 90 artworks organised according to specific themes. These will be complemeneted by a selection of works on loan from the Kunstbibliothek, the Museum Europäischer Kulturen and the Neue Nationalgalerie of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, as well from private Berlin collections.

The Berlin Kupferstichkabinett is home to an impressive collection of modern art, including works by Edvard Munch, Käthe Kollwitz and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. But what is less widely known is that the artists of Der Blaue Reiter also left behind a remarkable legacy of their own. As such, the Kupferstichkabinett is for the very first time dedicating a comprehensive exhibition to the art of Der Blaue Reiter, where it will showcase the museum’s holdings on the basis of 90 artworks organised according to specific themes. These will be complemeneted by a selection of works on loan from the Kunstbibliothek, the Museum Europäischer Kulturen and the Neue Nationalgalerie of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, as well from private Berlin collections.

The Berlin Kupferstichkabinett is home to an impressive collection of modern art, including works by Edvard Munch, Käthe Kollwitz and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. But what is less widely known is that the artists of Der Blaue Reiter also left behind a remarkable legacy of their own. As such, the Kupferstichkabinett is for the very first time dedicating a comprehensive exhibition to the art of Der Blaue Reiter, where it will showcase the museum’s holdings on the basis of 90 artworks organised according to specific themes. These will be complemeneted by a selection of works on loan from the Kunstbibliothek, the Museum Europäischer Kulturen and the Neue Nationalgalerie of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, as well from private Berlin collections.

Marking twenty years since artist, writer and performer Vaginal Davis made Berlin her home, Gropius Bau presents the first comprehensive solo exhibition of her work in Germany. In her expansive oeuvre, punk meets glamour, queer activism meets Black counter-culture and resistance meets desire. Vaginal Davis: Fabelhaftes Produkt features large-scale installations, paintings, video and film works, zines, writing, music and performances, offering an overview of Davis’ practice and artistic collaborations. In the exhibition, the Berlin-based art collective CHEAP presents the installation Choose Mutation, with photographs by Annette Frick. Fabelhaftes Produkt invites you into the universe of Vaginal Davis, populated by literary heroines, mythical figures and real icons.

Marking twenty years since artist, writer and performer Vaginal Davis made Berlin her home, Gropius Bau presents the first comprehensive solo exhibition of her work in Germany. In her expansive oeuvre, punk meets glamour, queer activism meets Black counter-culture and resistance meets desire. Vaginal Davis: Fabelhaftes Produkt features large-scale installations, paintings, video and film works, zines, writing, music and performances, offering an overview of Davis’ practice and artistic collaborations. In the exhibition, the Berlin-based art collective CHEAP presents the installation Choose Mutation, with photographs by Annette Frick. Fabelhaftes Produkt invites you into the universe of Vaginal Davis, populated by literary heroines, mythical figures and real icons.

Images of plants, flowers and birds are besides landscapes and figures among the most popular motifs in painting and graphic arts from Japan. These motifs were also frequently employed as decoration in the design of ceramics, lacquerware and other utensils. Certain blossoms, plants and birds indicate the season and combinations of several elements may hint at the frequent change and passing of time. The tension between regular change and cyclical repetition is particularly palpable in images of the four seasons and makes most of the interplay between limited individual existence and the eternity of nature as depicted for in art. This selection of art works from the museum holdings welcomes a new spring. As we rejoice in the blossoms, we can not help but notice, especially against the ecological challenges of our time, their vulnerability and impermanence.

Images of plants, flowers and birds are besides landscapes and figures among the most popular motifs in painting and graphic arts from Japan. These motifs were also frequently employed as decoration in the design of ceramics, lacquerware and other utensils. Certain blossoms, plants and birds indicate the season and combinations of several elements may hint at the frequent change and passing of time. The tension between regular change and cyclical repetition is particularly palpable in images of the four seasons and makes most of the interplay between limited individual existence and the eternity of nature as depicted for in art. This selection of art works from the museum holdings welcomes a new spring. As we rejoice in the blossoms, we can not help but notice, especially against the ecological challenges of our time, their vulnerability and impermanence.

Images of plants, flowers and birds are besides landscapes and figures among the most popular motifs in painting and graphic arts from Japan. These motifs were also frequently employed as decoration in the design of ceramics, lacquerware and other utensils. Certain blossoms, plants and birds indicate the season and combinations of several elements may hint at the frequent change and passing of time. The tension between regular change and cyclical repetition is particularly palpable in images of the four seasons and makes most of the interplay between limited individual existence and the eternity of nature as depicted for in art. This selection of art works from the museum holdings welcomes a new spring. As we rejoice in the blossoms, we can not help but notice, especially against the ecological challenges of our time, their vulnerability and impermanence.

YOKO ONO: DREAM TOGETHER at Neue Nationalgalerie is an exhibition featuring works from across Ono’s groundbreaking career. The exhibition invites viewers to move beyond passive observation and engage in active participation – both physically and mentally. Often beginning on an individual level, these actions evolve into broader collective efforts, demonstrating the transformative power of communal actions in working toward peace and imagining a different world. The works invite collective actions of repair, healing, cleaning, mending, wishing, imagining, and dreaming. Before entering the exhibition, visitors are invited to engage in a moment of self-reflection through Cleaning Piece (1996). Piles of local river stones are arranged, prompting visitors to reflect on their joys and sorrows. This is followed with instructions to fold paper cranes for peace, gradually filling the exhibition space. In Mend Piece (1966), visitors take part in an act of repair, piecing together broken ceramic cups and “mending with wisdom and love.” The exhibitions central installation, Play It By Trust (1966/1991), features a large chess table where up to 20 players can simultaneously engage in the nearly impossible act of playing with all white chess pieces, challenging them to “play as long as you remember where all your pieces are.”

From spring 2025, the Gropius Bau will present a comprehensive solo exhibition celebrating the groundbreaking and influential work of artist and activist Yoko Ono. Spanning seven decades of the artist’s powerful, multidisciplinary practice from the mid-1950s to now, YOKO ONO: MUSIC OF THE MIND will trace the development of her innovative work and its enduring impact on contemporary culture. The exhibition brings together over 200 works including instruction pieces and scores, installations, films, music and photography, revealing a radical approach to language, art and participation that continues to speak to the present moment.

YOKO ONO: DREAM TOGETHER at Neue Nationalgalerie is an exhibition featuring works from across Ono’s groundbreaking career. The exhibition invites viewers to move beyond passive observation and engage in active participation – both physically and mentally. Often beginning on an individual level, these actions evolve into broader collective efforts, demonstrating the transformative power of communal actions in working toward peace and imagining a different world. The works invite collective actions of repair, healing, cleaning, mending, wishing, imagining, and dreaming. Before entering the exhibition, visitors are invited to engage in a moment of self-reflection through Cleaning Piece (1996). Piles of local river stones are arranged, prompting visitors to reflect on their joys and sorrows. This is followed with instructions to fold paper cranes for peace, gradually filling the exhibition space. In Mend Piece (1966), visitors take part in an act of repair, piecing together broken ceramic cups and “mending with wisdom and love.” The exhibitions central installation, Play It By Trust (1966/1991), features a large chess table where up to 20 players can simultaneously engage in the nearly impossible act of playing with all white chess pieces, challenging them to “play as long as you remember where all your pieces are.”

Galerie Max Hetzler presents Celso and the past, an exhibition of ten paintings by Sergey Kononov at Bleibtreustraße 45 in Berlin. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery.In his intimate portraits, Ukrainian painter Sergey Kononov captures quiet moments of solitude or togetherness. Light-drenched and pooled in grainy, ochre tones, Kononov’s canvases exude a tenderness and familiarity reminiscent of a bygone era, thus probing the conventions of realist painting. ‘It’s important for me to capture a luminosity. I want to recreate the look of old films – that grain, that warm light – which I’ve loved my whole life,’ the artist explains.

Galerie Max Hetzler presents Celso and the past, an exhibition of ten paintings by Sergey Kononov at Bleibtreustraße 45 in Berlin. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery.In his intimate portraits, Ukrainian painter Sergey Kononov captures quiet moments of solitude or togetherness. Light-drenched and pooled in grainy, ochre tones, Kononov’s canvases exude a tenderness and familiarity reminiscent of a bygone era, thus probing the conventions of realist painting. ‘It’s important for me to capture a luminosity. I want to recreate the look of old films – that grain, that warm light – which I’ve loved my whole life,’ the artist explains.

Hosted in the iconic Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Klára Hosnedlová's exhibition blends sculpture, performance and mixed media to create a uniquely sensory experience. Running from 25 April to 26 October 2025, this art showcase invites visitors to engage with history, reflect on the present and dream of the future.

Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin presents Ekimyula Ekijjankunene (The Gorgeous Grotesque / Die prächtige Groteske), a solo exhibition of new works by Leilah Babirye at Goethestraße 2/3 and Bleibtreustraße 15/16. This is the artist’s inaugural exhibition with the gallery.

Hosted in the iconic Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, Klára Hosnedlová's exhibition blends sculpture, performance and mixed media to create a uniquely sensory experience. Running from 25 April to 26 October 2025, this art showcase invites visitors to engage with history, reflect on the present and dream of the future.

Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin presents Ekimyula Ekijjankunene (The Gorgeous Grotesque / Die prächtige Groteske), a solo exhibition of new works by Leilah Babirye at Goethestraße 2/3 and Bleibtreustraße 15/16. This is the artist’s inaugural exhibition with the gallery.

Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin presents Ekimyula Ekijjankunene (The Gorgeous Grotesque / Die prächtige Groteske), a solo exhibition of new works by Leilah Babirye at Goethestraße 2/3 and Bleibtreustraße 15/16. This is the artist’s inaugural exhibition with the gallery.

Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin presents Ekimyula Ekijjankunene (The Gorgeous Grotesque / Die prächtige Groteske), a solo exhibition of new works by Leilah Babirye at Goethestraße 2/3 and Bleibtreustraße 15/16. This is the artist’s inaugural exhibition with the gallery.

Galerie Max Hetzler presents Celso and the past, an exhibition of ten paintings by Sergey Kononov at Bleibtreustraße 45 in Berlin. This is the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery.In his intimate portraits, Ukrainian painter Sergey Kononov captures quiet moments of solitude or togetherness. Light-drenched and pooled in grainy, ochre tones, Kononov’s canvases exude a tenderness and familiarity reminiscent of a bygone era, thus probing the conventions of realist painting. ‘It’s important for me to capture a luminosity. I want to recreate the look of old films – that grain, that warm light – which I’ve loved my whole life,’ the artist explains.

Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin presents Ekimyula Ekijjankunene (The Gorgeous Grotesque / Die prächtige Groteske), a solo exhibition of new works by Leilah Babirye at Goethestraße 2/3 and Bleibtreustraße 15/16. This is the artist’s inaugural exhibition with the gallery.

Cold Hope, Anne Imhof’s fourth solo exhibition at Galerie Buchholz, presents a group of new large format paintings. The works are based on film stills the artist photographed on a screen, inciting blurs, veils, and wave-like pixel structures in a moiré effect. The resulting images are digitally reworked and then translated into paintings in oil on canvas. Through multiple instances of translation, these images circulate across diverse surfaces and techniques of representation. In these transfers and translations, the paintings shift toward abstraction, altering the conditions of their viewing and the structures of attention in which they exist.

Cold Hope, Anne Imhof’s fourth solo exhibition at Galerie Buchholz, presents a group of new large format paintings. The works are based on film stills the artist photographed on a screen, inciting blurs, veils, and wave-like pixel structures in a moiré effect. The resulting images are digitally reworked and then translated into paintings in oil on canvas. Through multiple instances of translation, these images circulate across diverse surfaces and techniques of representation. In these transfers and translations, the paintings shift toward abstraction, altering the conditions of their viewing and the structures of attention in which they exist.