Gropius Bau

Curators: Stephanie Rosenthal with Clare Molloy Curatorial Fellow: Leonie Schmiese Project Management: Katharina Heise Exhibitions Fellows: Sophya Frohberg, Anna Viehoff Head of Communication: Pablo Larios Digital Communication: Natalie Sch&uuml;tze Communications Fellow: Nele Daut Head of Organisation and Marketing: Katrin Mundorf Technical Lead: Bert Sch&uuml;lke Technical Office Exhibitions: André Merfort Technical Office Events: Felix Paul Petzold Education Curator: Jennifer Sréter Exhibition Texts: Louisa Elderton, Clare Molloy Proofreading: Katharina K&uuml;ster, Leonie Schmiese Translation Exhibition: Texts Utku Mogultay Exhibition Architecture: Andreas Lechthaler und Sebastian Koepf - Andreas Lechthaler Architecture Exhibition Graphic Design: Julia Volkmar – Studio for Spatial and Graphic Design Exhibition Installation: EMArt Ruben Erber Lighting: Marc Aldinger Media: visionb Sound Mix: Contemporary Sound Paving: Hacke und Hobel Horticulture: Alpha Gr&uuml;n Stage construction: B&uuml;hnenverleih Frank von Wysocki

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Located in the centre of Berlin, the Gropius Bau is a lively place for encounters with art and each other. As an internationally renowned exhibition centre, it offers space for major exhibitions and performances by contemporary artists.

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The Gropius Bau is closed on Tuesdays.

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Gropius Bau 2025

Events

Exhibitions & Projects

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Our newsletters keep you updated on current and upcoming exhibitions and events. Learn more about our kids programme and plan your next visit.

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The Performing Arts Season once again brings renowned international dance, theatre and performance productions to the Haus der Berliner Festspiele and the Gropius Bau. In this edition, the series focuses primarily on various concepts of identity.

Performing Arts Season

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“Only when I am writing can I think things through to the end,” the director, photographer and author Wim Wenders says. On 7 November he will read from his new book “Wesentliches” (Essentials), which brings together four autobiographical texts, at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

Wim Wenders “Wesentliches”

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4 days, 27 acts, 120 international musicians: At Jazzfest Berlin, exceptional artists who have shaped the style of jazz history will share the stage with up-and-coming voices at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, A-Trane, Quasimodo and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Tickets are on sale now.

Jazzfest Berlin

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In “Post-Orientalist Express”, South Korean choreographer Eun-Me Ahn, who is known for her colourful and dynamic works, searches for new, hybrid cultural and choreographic identities beyond external attributions and internalized stereotypes.

Post-Orientalist Express

More Berliner Festspiele

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Widely regarded as one of the most original and influential artists of the 20th century, Diane Arbus’ bold black-and-white photographs demolish aesthetic conventions and upend all certainties. With&nbsp;Diane Arbus: Konstellationen, Gropius Bau presents the most comprehensive exhibition of her work to date.

Diane Arbus: Konstellationen

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Ligia Lewis is a central figure in redefining performance within the context of the visual arts. Her solo exhibition&nbsp;I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR… at Gropius Bau&nbsp;brings&nbsp;together new and existing works that explore themes of race, gender, violence and resistance.

Ligia Lewis:I'M NOT HERE FORRRRR...

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With BAUBAU, the artist Kerstin Br&auml;tsch designed an&nbsp;admission-free play space for kids, where more is allowed than forbidden. On Gropius Bau’s ground floor, colourful wallpapers, structures, objects and open-ended material called “loose parts” configure flexible spaces that are shaped by children’s activities.

BAUBAU:A&nbsp;Play Space for Kids

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What is and has been the role of play in public space? Gabriela Burkhalter’s&nbsp;Playing in the City&nbsp;presentation traces the history of playgrounds since their emergence in 1900 to today. The free presentation is open to all and can be seen in two rooms next to BAUBAU’s entrance.

Playing in the City:A Short History from 1900 to the Present

Currently at Gropius Bau

Widely regarded as one of the most original and influential artists of the 20th century, Diane Arbus’ bold black-and-white photographs demolish aesthetic conventions and upend all certainties. With Diane Arbus: Konstellationen, Gropius Bau presents the most comprehensive exhibition of her work to date. Featuring 454 prints, many of them shown here for the first time, Konstellationen offers new perspectives on Arbus’ iconic images and the wide range of her portraiture.

Ligia Lewis is a central figure in redefining performance within the context of the visual arts. In her multifaceted practice, she combines performance, live installation and film. From autumn 2025, Gropius Bau presents I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, the artist and choreographer’s most comprehensive solo exhibition to date. It brings together new and existing works that explore themes of race, gender, violence and resistance.

Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…

Current Exhibitions

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The Practice – What Moves Artists

The Practice – What Moves Artists&nbsp;is a new book series by Gropius Bau that invites artists to showcase a practice that they pursue, that has influenced them or that has been with them for a long time. In the second volume of the series, artist, performer and author Vaginal Davis looks back on the saucy underground scenes of Los Angeles and Berlin together with former bandmates.&nbsp;On Dangerous Ground recounts past gigs, spectacular live performances and well-kept secrets.

Vaginal Davis: On Dangerous Ground

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A Vibrant Place for Enganging with Art and Each Other

Located in the centre of Berlin, Gropius Bau is an internationally renowned institution that stages large-scale exhibitions and performances by contemporary artists. Its diverse events focus on exchange and discussion, bringing together local and global perspectives.

About Gropius Bau

We are looking forward to welcoming you back in mid-March with the reopening of our play space, <a href="${link:{uuid:{df42e57d-a14a-4b44-a5e4-9d3e7dcab5a6},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/gropius-bau/programm/baubau}}}">BAUBAU</a> (on 22 March), and two exhibitions, <a href="${link:{uuid:{55d64239-53fe-4b12-8567-a63191c6cae4},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/gropius-bau/programm/2025/ausstellungen/vaginal-davis}}}">Vaginal Davis: Fabelhaftes Produkt</a> (from 21 March) and <a href="${link:{uuid:{9618c701-bd05-432e-b688-5943e1f7fc57},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/gropius-bau/programm/2025/ausstellungen/yoko-ono}}}">YOKO ONO: MUSIC OF THE MIND</a> (from 11 April). For details on opening hours and tickets, please visit our <a href="${link:{uuid:{62c3018b-bb40-46ce-8019-646ec5cd2e4a},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/gropius-bau/besuch/informationen}}}">Information &amp; Tickets</a> page. We look forward to seeing you soon!

See you in March!

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Navild Acosta, Justin F. Kennedy, Ligia Lewis, Slauson Malone 1, Petna Ndaliko Katondolo, Nii Kwate Owoo, Alexander Ghedi Weheliye and Weiter Schreiben – Free Admission

Sp&auml;tschicht x Ligia Lewis

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Playing, laughing, making noise, letting off steam, doing nothing – all in an exhibition venue! With BAUBAU, the artist Kerstin Br&auml;tsch designed an&nbsp;admission-free play space for kids, where more is allowed than forbidden. On Gropius Bau’s ground floor, colourful wallpapers, structures, objects and open-ended material called “loose parts” configure flexible spaces that are shaped by children’s activities.

BAUBAU

Spielen in der Stadt

What has been the role of play in public space, both historically and in the present? Complementing BAUBAU, our free play space for kids, Gabriela Burkhalter’s&nbsp;Playing in the City&nbsp;presentation traces the history of playgrounds since their emergence in 1900 to today. The free presentation is open to all and can be seen in two rooms next to the play space’s entrance.

Playing in the City

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Located in the centre of Berlin, the Gropius Bau is a lively place to encounter art and each other. The internationally renowned institution stages large-scale exhibitions and performances by contemporary artists.

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Festivals & Programme Series

Ausstellungen 2021

Exhibitions

Exhibitions 2021

As In House: Artist in Residence 2020, the artist and theoretician Zheng Bo embarked on the question of how plants practice politics. In 2021, his exhibition Wanwu Council 萬物社 expanded upon themes that Zheng Bo worked on during his one-year residency at the Gropius Bau.

The Daoist term wanwu translates as &ldquo;ten thousand things&rdquo; or &ldquo;myriad happenings&rdquo; and embraces the infinite possibilities of life in all its forms. The exhibition premiered the first chapter of Zheng Bo&rsquo;s film The Political Life of Plants 植物的政治生活 (2021), which has been filmed in Berlin and Brandenburg. It documents conversations with ecologists and biologists in Berlin interspersed with experimental scenes. The series Drawing Life 寫生 (2020&ndash;21) brought together drawings of trees and weeds that Zheng Bo encountered over the 24 Solar Terms of one year. This daily drawing practice is a way of persistently staying close to these fellow beings. Wanwu Council 萬物社 took this approach further: the exhibition grew out of the Gropius Bau into the &ldquo;Gropius Wood&rdquo;, as Zheng Bo calls the community of plane trees that lives to the west of the building.

Curated by Stephanie Rosenthal with Clare Molloy

<a href="${link:{uuid:{928ccea3-5bcf-456c-ae6b-b3bc43720dff},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/gropius-bau/programm/2021/ausstellungen/zheng-bo-wanwu-council-/impressum}}}">To the exhibition imprint</a>

Zheng Bo: Wanwu Council 萬物社

2021

Programm

Programme

The Berliner Festspiele organise a range of festivals and art exhibitions, concerts, dance and theatre performances, readings, lectures, debates and much more throughout the year. These events are presented at a range of locations across Berlin but are concentrated primarily at their own two venues: the Gropius Bau and the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

Berliner Festspiele

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furtherInformation

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You can listen to some of our events this year digitally in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library after the live concerts.&nbsp;In addition, On Demand offers from past years are available.

Musikfest Berlin in the Media Library

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The international Jazzfest Research Lab&nbsp;welcomes academics and students to take a critical look at the festival’s archive, its programmes, creators, musicians and – last but not least – its myths. In two seminars during the summer semester of 2024, students from the Berlin University of the Arts and the University of Hildesheim have explored the festival’s history from various perspectives. In this film, the participants give a first look at how they dealt with their research subject.

Introducing: Jazzfest Research Lab

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To mark its 60th anniversary, Jazzfest Berlin is celebrating the cultural diversity of the neighbouring district of Moabit in collaboration with around 35 official partners and initiatives and with over 350 participants of all ages.&nbsp;In June 2024, interviews were conducted with 20 partners who presented their perspectives, wishes and ideas for the Jazzfest Community Lab Moabit. You can get a first impression with this film.

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Curated by&nbsp;Meron Mendel and Saba-Nur Cheema&nbsp;

From 13 to 16 June 2024, the interdisciplinary themed days “Reflexes &amp; Reflections” on the Israel-Palestine conflict and its consequences for society in Germany took place at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. You can now find video and audio recordings of the discourse events in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library!

Reflexes &amp; Reflections. 7 October, the war in Gaza and the debate in Germany

In the Media Library

Key Visual Jazzfest Berlin 2025

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Concerts, Community Week, Film Project, Workshops, Jam-Sessions, Discourse

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The 10 Remarkable Productions 2024

On 26 January, the Theatertreffen’s jury of critics announced their selection of 10 remarkable productions for the 2024 Theatertreffen at a press conference. Our congratulations go to the nominated production teams and all participants! The programme will be published on 5 April.

Theatertreffen 2024

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The massacre, hostage-taking and rocket attacks by Hamas have shaken us deeply. The grue-some attack on Israel on 7&nbsp;October left us stunned and initially lost for words.

The Berliner Festspiele on Current Events in Israel, Gaza and Germany

With this letter of intent, we, the signing cultural organizations, express our intention to welcome, host and stage Ukrainian theatre artists in our venues, to make Ukrainian dramatic work visible to the European community.

Support of the Ukrainian Cultural Scene

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From October 2025 to January 2026, the Performing Arts Season will present outstanding international productions from the fields of dance, theatre and performance at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele and the Gropius Bau. The programme schedule is online, advance ticket sale is on. The current edition focuses on the fragility and dynamics of identity, especially in times of social change and marginalization.

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This year’s Jazzfest Berlin is welcoming 120&nbsp;international musicians from more than 20&nbsp;countries to Berlin, spanning an artistically diverse range, from free improvisation to hip-hop and noise, from lyrical and melancholic tones to distorted guitar sounds and stuttering beats, and from introverted solo sets to thundering large ensembles.&nbsp;The programme has been published and advance ticket sales are on.

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A total of 13 acts, including four bands, two duos and seven soloists, have been invited to the 42nd Treffen junge Musikszene as prize winners. The musical genres span a wide spectrum, ranging from pop in its many diverse forms through all the way to electronic and instrumental compositions.

Treffen junge Musikszene

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21 prize winners were selected from 400 young writers. The authors succeed in conveying intimate and powerful emotions in a moving way without resorting to kitsch. They also tell their stories in quiet voices, with beautiful observations of detail, and draw exciting and self-confident protagonists.

Treffen junger Autor*innen

Upcoming

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<h3>Theatertreffen</h3><h4>2 to 20 May 2024</h4>The 10&nbsp;remarkable productions, selected by a jury of critics, were announced in a press conference on 26&nbsp;January 2024, 11:00. The programme will be published on 5&nbsp;April, advance ticket sales will start on 19&nbsp;April at 14:00

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Akram Khan Company

Thikra: Night of Remembering

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Wim Wenders “Wesentliches”

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The Berlinale as a guest at Haus der Berliner Festspiele

75th Berlin International Film Festival

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as a guest at Haus der Berliner Festspiele

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Widely regarded as one of the most original and influential artists of the 20th&nbsp;century, Diane Arbus’ bold black-and-white photographs demolish aesthetic conventions and upend all certainties. With Diane Arbus: Konstellationen, Gropius Bau presents the most comprehensive exhibition of her work to date. Featuring 454&nbsp;prints, many of them shown here for the first time, Konstellationen offers new perspectives on Arbus’ iconic images and the wide range of her portraiture.

Current and Upcoming Exhibitions at the Gropius&nbsp;Bau