Kreuzberg: Voices and Stories
Exhibition
Kunst und Migration seit 1960

Vlassis Caniaris, Kind, 1980, collection of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, courtesy: the Estate of Vlassis Caniaris and Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich/Paris © The Estate of Vlassis Caniaris, photo: Sebastian Schaub
Nowhere were the social and cultural changes in West Germany more powerfully manifested than in Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighbourhood. Here, the transformations reshaping life in the Federal Republic through labour recruitment agreements with countries such as Italy, Greece and Turkey played out on a local scale. The group exhibition Kreuzberg: Kunst und Migration seit 1960 (Art and Migration since 1960) presents artistic perspectives on migration, work and life in the district that is also home to Gropius Bau.
Around 130 works address the core experiences of the so-called guest workers and subsequent generations; rarely shown historical artworks enter into dialogue with pieces created specifically for the exhibition. They explore migration, exile, housing crisis, racism and exclusion – as well as resistance, empowerment, solidarity and community.
The exhibition highlights both continuities and changes, making Kreuzberg visible as a space of artistic possibility – a place where lived experiences of migration, gender and class were transformed into images, voices and stances that continue to resonate in the present.
Reduced admission for Kreuzberg residents
Throughout September, our neighbours from Kreuzberg can visit our exhibitions for the reduced admission price of €10. Simply show your ID or another document confirming your Kreuzberg address at our ticket desk.
With works by Alexis Akrithakis, Mehmet Aksoy, Atiye Altül, Ararat‑Verlag, Eduardo Arroyo, Paolo Baratella, Akbar Behkalam, Kaya Behkalam, Cecilia Boisier, Vlassis Caniaris, Nuray Demir, Grazia Eminente, Kerem Ergün, Harun Farocki, Mathèos Florakis, Esther Friedman, Abuzer Güler, Sarah Haffner, Kim Min-ki / Lee Hye-kyung, Azade Köker, Evelyn Kuwertz, Stathis Logothetis, Colette Lumiere, Mihály Moldvay, Mehrangis Montazami-Dabui, Pınar Öğrenci, Aras Ören und Friedrich Wilhelm Zimmermann, Emine Sevgi Özdamar, Eduardo Paolozzi, Minh Duc Pham, Caroline Pinger, Jannis Psychopedis, Aykan Safoğlu, Ludmila Seefried‑Matějková, Sohrab Shahid Saless, Monika Sieveking, Antonio Skármeta, Hyun-Sook Song, Metin Talayman, Filiz Taşkın, Evanthia Tsantila, Mehmet Ünal, Natascha Ungeheuer, Irena Vrkljan, Hanefi Yeter and Serpil Yeter
Content Note: This exhibition addresses racism and other forms of discrimination, as well as violence and suicide.
Curated by Gürsoy Doğtaş, art historian and Creative Mediator, Manifesta 16, and Patrizia Dander, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs, Gropius Bau, with Sonja Borstner and Elena Franziska Setzer, Assistant Curators, Gropius Bau
Exhibition Management: Lisa Tietze, Project Management, with Theresa Augustin, Project Assistant
In parallel with Kreuzberg: Kunst und Migration seit 1960, the Berlin Museum presents the exhibition Life Across. Art and Migration in Berlin from 11 September 2026 to 7 February 2027.
Kreuzberg: Kunst und Migration seit 1960 is funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation.
As part of Berlin Art Week
Partners: Wall Bouvet Ladubay
Media partners: Monopol Berlin Art Link FluxFM Rausgegangen