Gallery Weekend Berlin

During Gallery Weekend 2026, Berlin once again turns into a global art capital. Established galleries host openings, readings, and performances, while numerous experimental off-spaces, alongside the concurrent Sellerie Weekend, highlight just how vibrant, diverse, and refreshingly unpredictable the city’s art scene is.

With more than 57 galleries participating, the programme is dense. Luckily, you have three days to explore some of the most exciting exhibitions. To avoid feeling overwhelmed, it’s worth mapping out your art tour in advance. Here’s a curated selection:

Tip 1: Discover “Max Liebermann – A Key to the Garden” at Galerie Bastian

This year, Galerie Bastian offers a contrast to the otherwise predominantly contemporary programme. With“Max Liebermann – A Key to the Garden”, the exhibition fits perfectly with the warming rays of sunshine and the highlights of Berlin’s art summer. Do have a listen to our Berlin Unboxed podcast episode “A Summer Full of Light”. Perhaps during a spring stroll through the nearby Botanical Garden in Steglitz. Or during a visit to the Liebermann Villa on Lake Wannsee (picture).

Until 7 June 2026, the Museum Barberini offers a comprehensive overview of the development of Impressionism in Germany. Avant-Garde: Max Liebermann and Impressionism in Germany brings together more than 110 works by the artist, widely regarded as a pioneer of Germany’s first artistic avant-garde.

When: 1 May to 1 August
Where: Bastian, Taylorstraße 1, Dahlem

Tickets: Barberini Museum

Tip 2: Take a look behind the scenes of Petrit Halilaj’s operatic work at ChertLüdde

Petrit Halilaj is currently one of Berlin’s most influential artists, not least due to his major institutional exhibition at Hamburger Bahnhof, An Opera out of Time. Until the end of May, you can walk through the stage sets of his first large-scale opera, performed in June 2025 with the Kosovo Philharmonic Orchestra on the hill of Syrigana in Kosovo. Shortly before the premiere, two storage containers holding the materials were broken into, covered in hate slogans, and set on fire.

It is precisely these charred container fragments that now form the centerpiece of the exhibition at ChertLüdde, reflecting both Halilaj’s childhood memories of armed conflict in his homeland and the region’s ongoing tensions. Who Does the Earth Belong to While Painting the Wind?! makes visible how closely art and political reality are intertwined, using the exhibition space as a site to explore how violence and destruction can be transformed and, potentially, overcome.

When: 2 May to 25 July, opening 1 May 6–9 pm, live music: 1 May 7 pm
Where: ChertLüdde, Hauptstraße 18, Schöneberg

Tip 3: With HARD 2 4GET, Monty Richthofen exposes the normalization of war

For Gallery Weekend Berlin, Monty Richthofen’s HARD 2 4GET presents an extraordinary intervention that deliberately moves beyond the traditional gallery setting and unfolds across the entire city. Starting at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, the project will surface throughout the weekend in unexpected urban locations, including Ernst-Reuter-Platz, the Siegessäule (Victory Column), and Strausberger Platz.

For this intervention, the artist sends around ten vans and trucks through the city, spray-painted with text fragments reminiscent of those found on military vehicles. In doing so, Richthofen highlights how deeply the reality of war has seeped into everyday life, becoming disturbingly normalized.

When: 1–3 May 2026
Where: Galerie Dittrich & Schlechtriem, Linienstraße 40, Mitte. Opening & performance: 1 May, 6–9 pm
Intervention: Starting at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, other locations include Ernst-Reuter-Platz, the Siegessäule and Strausberger Platz

Tip 4: With REMAINS, Göksu Kunak leaves her mark at Ebensperger in the Fichtebunker

For Gallery Weekend, Göksu Kunak’s Remains begins with an empty space, but gradually transforms the exhibition site in the former Fichtebunker through a series of performative interventions. Performers, bodybuilders, martial artists, and a pole dancer all leave their traces. Repetitive movements become visible, surfaces begin to wear, and the space itself turns into a record of what has taken place. Performance becomes a lasting imprint.

Accompanying text fragments, political, philosophical, personal, provocative, run throughout the exhibition. Kunak consistently defies expectations. Awarded the Berlin Art Prize for Performing Arts in March, she has created works for Sophiensaele and the Maxim Gorki Theatre, and once rode through the art world as Venus on speeding cars. If you’re looking for a sharp, unconventional perspective on the present moment, this is a strong place to start.

Where: Galerie Ebensperger, Fichtebunker, Fichtestraße 6, Kreuzberg
When: Opening 1 May, 6–10 pm; Performances: 2 May, 2 pm (The Void)

Tip 5: Let James Turrell’s “sensing fields” work their magic on you

For Gallery Weekend 2026, Max Goelitz, in partnership with Häusler Contemporary Zurich, is showing works from James Turrell’s Glass series in Berlin for the first time. The gallery spaces have even been specially redesigned for“First Cause”, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the slow, almost imperceptible transformation of the famous light artist’s works. The exhibition is complemented by the iconic prints from the Still Light-Aquatina series and Turrell’s archaic-looking Skyspace sculpture “Fire Inside”. Take your time at this exhibition, pause for a moment and observe how your own perception is sharpened anew. 

When: 1 May to 4 July 2026 (Opening: 1 May, 6–9 pm)
Where: Max Goelitz, Rudi-Dutschke-Straße 26, Kreuzberg

Tip 6: Discover the BBA Prizes at the BBA Gallery

If you’re looking for fresh artistic voices at Gallery Weekend Berlin, don’t miss the BBA Prizes. For the eleventh time, the BBA is bringing international talent to Berlin. This year’s exhibition brings together fifteen nominated artists from China, the USA and Germany. You can expect an exciting mix of painting, photography and contemporary art that deliberately focuses on authentic storytelling. The scene is particularly buzzing here during the opening and awards ceremony. Pop along and perhaps discover tomorrow’s stars today!

When: 30 April to 15 May (Artist Prize exhibition), Opening: 30 April at 6 pm
Award Ceremony 2 May from 6 pm (awards at 8 pm)
Where: BBA Gallery, Köpenicker Straße 96, Mitte

Tip 7: Explore queer intimacy in the paintings of Brett Charles Seiler at Eigen + Art

Brett Charles Seiler is one of the artists you should have on your radar right now. Born in Zimbabwe and now living in Leipzig, the artist’s work explores intimacy, physicality and queer identity – moving beyond classical, often patriarchal visual traditions. His figures appear both approachable and otherworldly: tender scenes between men meet minimalist, almost empty spaces. Take a closer look: does the emptiness create space for vulnerability, desire and freedom to coexist here?

When: Tuesday to Saturday, 11am–6pm
Where: Galerie Eigen + Art, Auguststraße 26, Mitte

Tip 8: Between Book & Image – Discover Heimo Zobernig & Huang Rui at Nagel Draxler

Things take a decidedly philosophical turn at the Nagel Draxler exhibition , which presents new works by Heimo Zobernig under the title “Hamlet totally abstract”. Taking his favourite book, Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” – whose protagonist the title evokes for the viewer – as his starting point, Heimo Zobernig explores what art actually is or can be. You’ll see his letter-paintings and empty Ikea bookshelves, which you’re free to fill with meaning yourselves.
In the Cabinet, Huang Rui turns his gaze to the year 1989 in Beijing and Berlin. His “ink-stained books” turn books themselves into objects: sealed in black ink, they elude reading and allude to censorship, memory and the invisible aspects of political history. What is visible remains locked away; what ought to be known remains hidden.

When: 1 May – 27 June 2026 (Opening: 1 May, 6–10 pm)
Where: Galerie Nagel Draxler, Weydingerstraße 2/4, Charlottenburg

Tip 9: Go in search of clues at Capitain Petzel

Rodney McMillian is one of those artists who translates everyday materials into political imagery . He addresses social inequality and is interested in what is overlooked – in materials as well as stories. In his exhibition at Capitain Petzel, he constructs new spaces and objects from blankets, tarpaulins and furniture, which tell stories through their signs of wear.

You can also experience the artist Stefanie Heinze (at the launch of her book, the monograph‘Your Mouth Comes Second’). Her work often begins with drawings and collages that constantly change, overlap and reassemble during the painting process(see image). In this way, her painting deliberately eludes clear categorisation. Heinze combines different visual languages, ranging from everyday motifs to art-historical references, without establishing hierarchies.

Incidentally, Karl-Marx-Allee is also worth a visit for its interesting architecture. The Kino International cinema has only recently reopened following a comprehensive refurbishment.

Where: Capitain Petzel, Karl-Marx-Allee 45, Friedrichshain
When: Rodney McMillian 1 May to 13 June, opening 1 May 6–9 pm
Book launch, reading & discussion with Stefanie Heinze “Your mouth comes second” 3 May, 12 noon

Tip 10: Discover Berlin’s independent art scene at Sellerie Weekend

Alongside Gallery Weekend, it’s well worth checking out SELLERIE WEEKEND. From 1 to 3 May, this city-wide off-programme puts the spotlight on Berlin’s independent art scene. Numerous project spaces and off-spaces present their exhibitions collectively, bringing to life an often less visible, non-commercial side of Berlin’s art scene. Perfect for anyone looking to discover new perspectives beyond the major galleries.

Sellerie Weekend

Tip 11: Take a guided tour of Berlin’s galleries

If it all feels a bit overwhelming, you can simply explore Berlin’s art scene on one of the guided tours. Throughout the weekend, Gallery Weekend offers various curated tours. Sometimes these are on foot through Mitte, Charlottenburg or Schöneberg – other times by bike along Karl-Marx-Allee from Friedrichshain to Kreuzberg. Learn more about the artists and the thematic context of the works on display. The tours are available in German and English and can be booked directly on the Gallery Weekend Berlin website for 18 euros each.

Where: depending on the tour
When: various times on 2 & 3 May

Another tried-and-tested approach: focus on one of the five gallery clusters spread across the city each day.

• Mitte Nord – around the Volksbühne and Karl-Marx-Allee
• Schöneberg – along Potsdamer Straße south of the Kulturforum
• Kreuzberg – around Checkpoint Charlie
• Charlottenburg – between the Technical University and the Haus der Berliner Festspiele
• Dahlem – with Galerie Bastian as your destination

Here you’ll find an overview of Berlin’s galleries and exhibition spaces. And you can find more exhibition tips in our events calendar and in our latest Berlin Unboxed podcast monthly preview.