Gropius Bau

<h4>About the Exhibition</h4>

Widely regarded as one of the most original and influential artists of the 20th century, Diane Arbus&rsquo; 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. Following a highly acclaimed debut at LUMA Arles and a stop in Arbus&rsquo; hometown of New York City at the Park Avenue Armory, the show will be on view in Berlin from 16 October 2025.

Featuring 454 prints, many of them shown here for the first time,&nbsp;Konstellationen&nbsp;offers new perspectives on Arbus&rsquo; iconic images and the wide range of her portraiture. The presentation invites viewers to navigate their way through a labyrinthine architecture of black scaffolding, discovering unexpected connections between the works.

&ldquo;[Photographs] are the proof that something was there and no longer is. Like a stain. And the stillness of them is boggling. You can turn away but when you come back, they&rsquo;ll still be there looking at you.&rdquo; &mdash; Diane Arbus

Occupying the first floor of Gropius Bau,&nbsp;Konstellationen&nbsp;reaffirms the institution&rsquo;s history of significant photography exhibitions, including Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Barbara Klemm, Herlinde Koelbl, Dayanita Singh and Zanele Muholi. It also brings things full circle: Arbus&rsquo; first solo show in Berlin was on view at Gropius Bau nearly 15 years ago, in 2012.

&ldquo;We are thrilled to welcome Diane Arbus&rsquo; iconic works back to Berlin, almost 15 years after her comprehensive solo exhibition at Gropius Bau and now comprising more than twice as many photographs. Her groundbreaking work paved the way for photography to be recognised as an art form worthy of exhibitions in major art institutions and has influenced generations of makers in the field. It is a great pleasure to make her fascinating pictures accessible to a local and international audience.&rdquo; &mdash; Jenny Schlenzka, Director of Gropius Bau

Diane Arbus spent much of her career, which spanned from the late 1950s to 1971, photographing in New York City, which has created a diverse and compelling portrait of life in the postwar United States. Her subjects included couples, children, drag performers, nudists, New York City pedestrians, suburban families, circus performers, intellectuals such as Susan Sontag and celebrities including Mae West and James Brown. After abandoning the 35mm format around 1962, Arbus began using a waist-level medium-format camera that allowed her to keep eye contact and engage directly with her subjects.

&ldquo;If I stand in front of something, instead of arranging it, I arrange myself.&rdquo; &mdash; Diane Arbus

It was only after Arbus&rsquo; death in 1971 that Neil Selkirk &ndash; one of her former students and the only person authorised to print from her original negatives &ndash; began printing from them for the Arbus Estate. For the first time, this exhibition brings together all of the 454 prints produced by Selkirk, marking the most extensive and complete showing of the artist&rsquo;s works to date. Presented as a labyrinthine &ldquo;constellation&rdquo; of photographs, the exhibition at Gropius Bau follows neither chronological nor thematic grouping. Instead, it invites visitors to wander freely among the images, discovering the resonances and relationships that emerge between them.

Among these works on display is&nbsp;A box of ten photographs, presented together as a complete set. In 1969, Arbus began to work on this portfolio. It includes such iconic works as&nbsp;Identical twins, Roselle, N.J., 1967;&nbsp;A young Brooklyn family going for a Sunday outing, N.Y.C.,1966&nbsp;and&nbsp;Boy with a straw hat waiting to march in a pro-war parade, N.Y.C., 1967. Before her death, she completed the printing for eight known sets of&nbsp;A box of ten photographs&nbsp;and sold four of them &ndash; to photographer Richard Avedon (who acquired two sets), artist Jasper Johns and Bea Feitler, then art director at Harper&rsquo;s Bazaar. This portfolio laid the foundation for Arbus&rsquo; posthumous career and the broader recognition of photography as a &ldquo;serious&rdquo; art form: she was the first photographer to be included in the Venice Biennale and to be featured in Artforum and on its cover.

<h4>About Diane Arbus</h4>

Diane Arbus was born in 1923 in New York City. She studied photography with Berenice Abbott, Alexey Brodovitch and Lisette Model and her first published photographs appeared in Esquire in 1960. In 1963 and 1966, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and was one of three photographers whose work was the focus of&nbsp;New Documents, John Szarkowski&rsquo;s landmark 1967 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.

A year after her death in 1971, her work was selected for inclusion in the Venice Biennale &ndash; the first time a photographer had ever been so honoured. In 1972, her work was celebrated in her first posthumous retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. In the ensuing fifty years, major travelling museum retrospectives of her work have been mounted by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2003), the Jeu de Paume, Paris (2011), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2016), the Smithsonian American Art Museum (2018) and the Art Gallery of Ontario (2020). In addition, significant collections of her work can be found in numerous institutions throughout the world, such as the Biblioth&egrave;que nationale de France; Centre Pompidou; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Books devoted to her work include:&nbsp;Diane Arbus: An Aperture Monograph&nbsp;(1972),&nbsp;Magazine Work&nbsp;(1984),&nbsp;Untitled&nbsp;(1995),&nbsp;Revelations&nbsp;(2003),&nbsp;The Libraries&nbsp;(2004),&nbsp;A Chronology&nbsp;(2011),&nbsp;Silent Dialogues&nbsp;(2015),&nbsp;In the Beginning&nbsp;(2016),&nbsp;A box of ten photographs&nbsp;(2018), and&nbsp;Documents&nbsp;(2022).

Diane Arbus: Konstellationen&nbsp;is organised by LUMA Arles in collaboration with Gropius Bau, Berlin. The exhibition is curated by Matthieu Humery, Curator at Large, LUMA Arles. Exhibition Management Gropius Bau: Lisa Tietze, Project Management

Gropius Bau 2025

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Widely regarded as one of the most original and influential artists of the 20th century, Diane Arbus&rsquo; 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. Following a highly acclaimed debut at LUMA Arles and a stop in Arbus&rsquo; hometown of New York City at the Park Avenue Armory, the show will be on view in Berlin from 16 October 2025.

Diane Arbus: Konstellationen

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. Following a highly acclaimed debut at LUMA Arles and a stop in Arbus’ hometown of New York City at the Park Avenue Armory, the show will be on view in Berlin from 16 October 2025.

Press Release

About the Exhibition

Press Images

Contact

A selection of press images is available for media coverage of Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…. Please contact&nbsp;<a href="mailto:presse@gropiusbau.de">presse@gropiusbau.de</a>&nbsp;to request the login data to download high res press images.The images can be downloaded and used free of charge prior to and during the project period. Please note that images may not be cropped, overprinted or modified. We look forward to receiving any digital or hardcopy samples of publications.Please forward or send them to the following address:Gropius Bau Birgit Schapow /&nbsp;Press Office Niederkirchnerstra&szlig;e 7 10963 Berlin <a href="mailto:presse@gropiusbau.de">presse@gropiusbau.de</a>

Press Images

Presse

Press information Ligia Lewis

Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…

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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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Musikfest Berlin 2025 brings together guest performances by the world’s best symphony orchestras and choirs from the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Italy, which are rarely heard in Berlin. The full programme is online and tickets are available now.

Musikfest Berlin

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The international literature festival berlin, or ilb for short, is considered one of the most important literary festivals in the world. The programme for the 25th&nbsp;ilb will take place from 11 to 20&nbsp;September 2025. The Young Programme will run from 15 to 24&nbsp;September 2025. The main venue is the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

25th international literature festival berlin

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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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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. Advance ticket sales begin on 18 September 2025, 14:00.

Jazzfest Berlin

More Berliner Festspiele

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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:A&nbsp;Play Space for Kids

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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:A Short History from 1900 to the Present

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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. Featuring 454 prints, many of them shown here for the first time,&nbsp;Konstellationen&nbsp;offers new perspectives on Arbus’ iconic images and the wide range of her portraiture.

Diane Arbus: Konstellationen

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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&nbsp;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 and Upcoming

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. &nbsp;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…

Preview Autumn 2025

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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

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. Its diverse events focus on exchange and discussion, bringing together local and global perspectives.&nbsp;

About the 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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With CHEAP, Larry, Evita Manji, New Noveta, otay:onii and Keioui Keijaun Thomas

Sp&auml;tschicht x Creamcake

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BAUBAU

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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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Über uns

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Welcome to the press section of Gropius Bau.

You can&nbsp;book a free press ticket&nbsp;in our&nbsp;<a href="https://tickets.kbb.eu/kbb.webshop/webticket/shop?page=timeslot&amp;language=en" target="_blank">online shop</a>. After you have decided on a date, you can select the category &ldquo;Press ticket&rdquo; in the &ldquo;Discounts&rdquo; section.

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Press Section

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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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 Musikfest Berlin 2025

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Major Orchestras and Vocal Ensembles as Guests in Berlin

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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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53&nbsp;ensembles from 13&nbsp;federal states have submitted their works for the 12th&nbsp;Tanztreffen der Jugend.&nbsp;The eight award-winning works selected by the jury will be presented from 27 September to 3 October during the Tanztreffen der Jugend at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

Tanztreffen der Jugend

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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, advance ticket sales start on 18&nbsp;September 2025, 14:00.

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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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

25th international literature festival berlin

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.

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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. Fabelhaftes Produkt offers an overview of Davis’ practice and artistic collaborations.

Vaginal Davis:&nbsp;Fabelhaftes Produkt

A Play Space for Kids

Current and Upcoming Exhibitions at the Gropius&nbsp;Bau

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21 March to 14 September 2025Marking 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. Fabelhaftes Produkt offers an overview of Davis’ practice and artistic collaborations.

Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…

About the Exhibition

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Ligia Lewis, A Plot, A Scandal, film still, 2023

Ligia Lewis, A Plot, A Scandal, film still, 2023

Ligia Lewis, A Plot, A Scandal, film still, 2023

Ligia Lewis, deader than dead, film still, 2020

Ligia Lewis, deader than dead, film still, 2020

Ligia Lewis