Shaping the Future

Under the title ‘Shaping the Future,’ international guests will discuss the contemporary museum as a social space. Museum professionals from Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Warsaw will talk about current challenges and social networks of museums for contemporary art. 

Berlin Art Week Garden Symposium x Hamburger Bahnhof

‘Shaping the Future of Cultural Spaces and Museums Today’

• Friday, 12 September 2025, 11 a.m.—5 p.m.
  
• Location: Berlin Art Week Garden, the festival meeting place hosted by Hamburger Bahnhof
  

Admission free, no registration required.
The event will be held in English.

Moderators: Elke Buhr (Monopol), Kimberly Bradley (freelance art critic and author), Kate Brown (artnet)

Programme:

11 a.m.—11:45 a.m.
Decentering
Anna Gritz, Haus am Waldsee, Berlin; Rebecca Matthews, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum

12 p.m.—12:45 p.m.
Youth Engagement
Marie Nipper, Arken, Copenhagen; Jenny Schlenzka, Gropius Bau, Berlin; Olmo Garcia Koel, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

1:00–2:00 p.m.
Break

2:00–2:45 p.m.
Changing Societies
Catherine Wood, Tate Modern, London; Sam Bardaouil, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin

3:00–3:45 p.m. Innovation in Institutional Models
Kasia Redzisz, KANAL–Centre Pompidou, Brussels; Elvira Dyangani Ose, Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA); Marion Ackermann (President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Berlin)

4–4.45 p.m.
Finding New Forms of Participation and Experimentation
Mona Stehle, Berlin Art Week; Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, 2050+, Milan


The symposium was conceived by Mathilda Legemah (Strategy Development, Hamburger Bahnhof), Till Fellrath (Director, Hamburger Bahnhof) and Mona Stehle (Artistic Director, Berlin Art Week). 

The event is a joint project of Berlin Art Week and Hamburger Bahnhof–Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, where this year's festival meeting place, “Berlin Art Week Garten”, is located.