This spring, there are many first-class exhibitions to see in Berlin. Choose the themes that fascinate you from the wealth of inspiring offerings: the magic of 12,000-year-old monumental works of art from Turkey or the artistic awakening of the Impressionists? The intensity of the performer Marina Abramović or the bold images of the female photographers at the Bauhaus? Here are our personal recommendations.
You can find more recommendations and the latest news from Berlin's museums on our website:
Tip 1: New Woman, New Vision – The Bauhaus Women Photographers
Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Oskar Schlemmer, Marcel Breuer... the names of the artists at the Bauhaus (1919-1930) are world-famous! Get to know the lesser-known women who worked as photographers at the Bauhaus – they were pioneers, courageous and creative! They explored new techniques, developed new perspectives, pushed the boundaries of the familiar with their art – and contributed to changing the image of women.
The Bauhaus Archive in Berlin, which is unfortunately still closed at the moment, is exhibiting 300 photographs at the Museum of Photography in April, including works by female artists from the Institute of Design in Chicago (New Bauhaus), the successor to the Bauhaus in the USA.
When: 17 April to 4 October 2026
Where: Museum of Photography, Jebenstraße 2, 10623 Berlin
Tip 2: Avant-garde. Max Liebermann and Impressionism in Germany
Vivid colours and energetic, broad, sweeping brushstrokes, the rapid capture of scenes and moments – French Impressionism broke with all the rules of art in 1860 and ushered in a new era.
Germany, ten years later, in the 1870s: Berlin painter Max Liebermann became a pioneer of the avant-garde art movement, which impressed with human scenes, luminous landscapes and still lifes and is now establishing itself throughout the German Empire. See more than 100 paintings by Liebermann and famous German Impressionists, including Max Slevogt, Sabine Lepsius and Lovis Corinth, at the Museum Barberini.
When: until 17 June 2026
Where: Museum Barberini, Alter Markt, Humboldtstraße 5–6, 14467 Potsdam
Tip 3: Everything for art! Max Liebermann between strategy and cultural policy
A second exhibition in the Liebermann Villa on Lake Wannsee offers further exciting insights into the highly committed, often difficult life of the Jewish painter: How did the avant-gardist become one of the most influential figures in the cultural policy of the German Empire? What strategies enabled him to rise to the top of important artists' associations such as the Berlin Secession?
It was only under Nazi rule that he had to vacate his post as president of the Academy of Arts. Learn how Liebermann fought for his personal goals: for the recognition of modern painting and for the freedom of art.
When: until 25 May 2026
Where: Liebermann Villa on Lake Wannsee, Colomierstraße 3, 14109 Berlin
Tip 4: Queer art in the GDR?
In the former GDR, homosexuality was a taboo subject, as it was in West Germany at the time, and exclusion and stigmatisation were the order of the day, even though the criminalising Paragraph 175 had been removed from the GDR's penal code in 1968. It is particularly interesting to learn about the different ways in which queer artists in the GDR were influenced by the political and social conditions.
The project Queer Art in the GDR? is the first to address this fascinating topic. At four exhibition venues in Berlin, you can exchange ideas and discuss the biographies and paintings, photographs, graphics, sculptures and installations of nine queer artists. There is also a rich programme of events.
When: 28 March to 28 June 2026
Where:
KVOST, Leipziger Straße 47, 10117 Berlin
nGbK , Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 11/13, 10178 Berlin
Mitte Museum, Pankstraße 47, 13357 Berlin
Werkbundarchiv – Museum der Dinge, Leipziger Straße 54, 10117 Berlin
Tip 5: Marina Abramović: Balkan Erotic Epic
“All the energy we have in our bodies is sexual energy. We can use it for creativity, for spiritual matters, or it becomes aggression, war, anger.” The world-renowned performance artist Marina Abramović has based her exhibition Balkan Erotic Epic, which opens at the Gropius Bau in April 2026, on this theme. Be sure to check out this work, comprising film and sculptural installations alongside live performances : here, Balkan rituals and traditions merge with an eroticism that oscillates somewhere between life and death, lending the human body not only an erotic and spiritual significance, but also a socio-political one.
When: 15 April to 23 August 2026
Where: Gropius Bau, Niederkirchnerstraße 7, Kreuzberg
Tip 6: ColdWarGames – It's all just a game
Take a look back at the Cold War era: the threatening tension between the Western powers led by the USA and the Soviet Union lasted a long time, from 1945 to 1990, and the nuclear threat repeatedly plunged the whole of Europe into fear.
Persistent fears need outlets, and so fear became a game: the Cold War was transferred to the board and computer game world of the 1960s and 1970s and "played out". Discover the games of yesteryear and learn about the games of today in the exhibition "ColdWarGames – It's All Just a Game" . We want to hear your opinion: is it all just a game?
When: until 30 June 2026
Where: Allied Museum, Clayallee 135, 14195 Berlin
Tip 7: GRACIELA ITURBIDE ꟾ Retrospective
Graciela Iturbide is one of the most important contemporary photographers and has personally helped to design the new exhibition of her works, which includes rarely seen colour photographs, numerous vintage prints and large-format black-and-white photography.
If you have a connection to Mexico through travel, friends or your heritage, there is no better way to immerse yourself in Mexican culture and gain many new perspectives on Mexico from the artist's fifty years of work: Iturbide's images show the life of nomadic communities in north-western Mexico as well as the everyday life of the Mexican-American subculture in Los Angeles. She also explores the world-famous "Casa Azul", Frida Kahlo's Blue House, and the life of the artist .
When: until 10 June 2026
Where: C/O Berlin (in the Amerika-Haus), Hardenbergstraße 22, 10623 Berlin
Graciela Iturbide
Tip 8: Kunst Hand Werk Brücke
A small peacock on a brooch, carved from silver sheet metal, was created by Erich Heckel. A bed and a chair, both made of wood and featuring elaborate carvings, were crafted by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. More than 170 objects, jewellery and everyday items made of wood, metal and textiles may come as a surprise to you:
The artists of the Brücke, the world-famous expressionist artists' community, not only created paintings, watercolours and drawings, but also everyday objects. The new exciting exhibition at the Brücke Museum shows creative and experimental handicrafts made by artists such as Emil Nolde, Max Pechstein and Fritz Bleyl, and also explains how and in what context they were created.
When: until 21 June 2026
Where: Brücke Museum, Bussardsteig 9, 14195 Berlin
Tip 9: Built Community – Life 12,000 Years Ago
What you see in the aerial photo are the remains of the world's first known monumental human structures – 12,000 years old. Located in eastern Turkey and built during one of the most exciting periods in human history, when the "hunters and gatherers", the first known communities, settled down. The idea that monumental architecture with 6-metre-high pillars could have existed 12,000 years ago was so foreign to the excavators that the site was initially thought to be a cemetery from Roman times.
You can now see the spectacular archaeological finds , sculptures, reliefs and jewellery on Museum Island. Particularly moving is a fearful, stooped man clutching his genitals with both hands while two huge leopards leap at him from the side.
When: until 19 July 2026
Where: James Simon Gallery, Bodestraße, 10178 Berlin
Tip 10: Today, tomorrow. Cinematic perspectives on Berlin around 1990
A time full of hopes and disappointments: the social upheaval that was keenly felt in Berlin in the years around 1990 after German reunification. See an unusual exhibition on this topic at the Museum Nikolaikirche and understand the profound change that took place at that time. Documentary short films from the last four decades and scenes from film and television give you rare insights into personal experiences and stories, into individual and collective ways of dealing with the onslaught of changes that triggered conflicting feelings in people.
What makes this exhibition special is that essays, news clips and concert recordings also give you Vietnamese, Russian and Turkish perspectives on reunification. Experience impressive short films on huge screens on scaffolding in the high interior of the church.
When: until 6 April 2026
Where: Museum Nikolaikirche, Nikolaiplatz, 10ß178 Berlin
Tip 11: Scandal! Hermione von Preuschen and the 'Mors Imperator'
A small cabinet exhibition – but an exciting one:
The painter Hermione von Preuschen was 33 years old when she succeeded in causing a stir in the Berlin art scene: in the 1880s, a century in which women were not usually destined for success in the arts, she painted an unusual large-format picture, the ‘Mors Imperator’: At the centre stands a skeleton, dressed as a ruler in a purple cloak trimmed with ermine fur. Leaning on a sword, it overturns the magnificent throne with a mighty gesture of its left hand. Death as the triumphant ruler of the world!
The painter sends the painting to Berlin for the Academy exhibition, where it is rejected several times: the jury considers the reference to Emperor Wilhelm I – who is already a very elderly man at this point – to be too direct. Hermione refuses to be discouraged and comes up with a plan: after all, the rejections in Berlin have brought her painting to public attention, and it is even being discussed in the press. Hermione promptly rents a flat on Leipziger Straße and exhibits her painting there privately: a huge success, with a constant stream of visitors – and Hermione becomes a famous artist.
You can now relive this remarkable story at the Alte Nationalgalerie: ‘Mors Imperator’ is on display there, alongside letters, historical photographs and publications that document the artist’s unique character and this extraordinary painting.
When: until 15 November 2026
Where: Alte Nationalgalerie, Museum Island, Bodestraße, Mitte
