Kreuzberg: Kunst und Migration seit 1960

Nowhere were the social and cultural changes of 1960s and 1970s West Germany more powerfully manifest than in Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighbourhood. Here, the broader transformations reshaping life in the Federal Republic through labour recruitment agreements with countries including Italy, Greece, and Turkey became visible at the local scale. Opening in autumn 2026, the group exhibition Kreuzberg: Kunst und Migration seit 1960 (Art and Migration since 1960) focuses on the diverse and largely overlooked cultural production on the topic of labour migration and on how artists in the neighbourhood have responded to the tensions and issues of their time. 

Gropius Bau, located in Kreuzberg, presents more than 100 works in film, painting, photography, installation and performance that centre the lived realities of labour migrants and their descendants, exploring the struggles for inclusion and equality still being fought today. Featuring both historical and contemporary works by artists including Vlassis Caniaris, Azade Köker, Nuray Demir and Monika Sieveking, the exhibition demonstrates the international significance of Kreuzberg’s cultural production. 

The exhibition is 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 
The live programme is curated by Nora-Swantje Almes, Curator Live Programme and Outreach, with Edona Kryeziu, Curatorial Assistant Outreach, and Elena Franziska Setzer, Assistant Curator.  

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

A selection of press images is available for media coverage of Kreuzberg: Kunst und Migration seit 1960. Please contact presse@gropiusbau.de 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 exhibition 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 / Press Office
Niederkirchnerstraße 7
10963 Berlin
presse@gropiusbau.de