Current top exhibitions in Berlin 2026/27
Must see: Highlights of Berlin’s museums and exhibition venues
Berlin's museums and exhibition centres are world-famous. Here is our selection of current and upcoming exhibition highlights in Berlin:
Current exhibition highlights in Berlin
These exhibitions are starting soon in Berlin
Current exhibition highlights in Berlin
Come and see some fascinating exhibitions on Museum Island, at the Gemäldegalerie and at the Neue Nationalgalerie!
Cassirer and the breakthrough of Impressionism
You can see around 100 of the most important and best-known Impressionist paintings on the Museum Island: the top exhibition honours Paul Cassirer, the greatest art dealer of his time, and shows not only major works by Monet, Degas, Cézanne and many more, but also treasures of classical modernism.
When: until 27 September 2026
Where: Alte Nationalgalerie, Bodestraße 1-3, 10178 Berlin
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.” This view, expressed by the world-renowned performance artist Marina Abramović, is particularly evident in *Balkan Erotic Epic*, her work comprising film and sculptural installations with live performances, which will be on display at the Gropius Bau from April 2026. In the various presentations, Balkan rituals and traditions merge with an eroticism that oscillates somewhere between life and death, lending the erotic body not only spiritual but also socio-political significance.
When: until 30 August 2026
Where: Gropius Bau, Niederkirchnerstraße 7, 1017 Berlin
“Cassirer and the Breakthrough of Impressionism” at Alte Nationalgalerie: From May 22 to Sept 27, 2026, the show features 100+ works by Monet to Liebermann, honoring the art dealer who brought modern art to Berlin.
Art – People – Power. Schönhausen Palace as the scene of the Nazi campaign against "Degenerate Art" campaign
Did you know that Schönhausen Palace in Berlin played a key role in the confiscation of numerous masterpieces by Expressionists and other modern artists as "degenerate art" ? Around 3,750 works of art, removed from German museums and confiscated, were stored here for sale abroad. In 2026, you can see a great new exhibition about this, with original works and documents, at the place where it all happened, in Schönhausen Palace.
When: new permanent exhibition
Where: Schönhausen Palace, Tschaikowskistraße 1, 13156 Berlin
The Berlin sculpture find. "Degenerate art" in the bomb rubble"
The works of art made of bronze, marble and stoneware caused a sensation at the Neue Nationalgalerie back in 2010. Now they are on display again: in the new Berlin Museum of Archaeology, the PETRI. Discover archaeology. See 16 classical modernist sculptures that were confiscated under the National Socialist dictatorship, defamed as"degenerate art" and removed from German museums. The works by renowned artists, marked by abuse and destruction, which were accidentally unearthed in the bomb rubble of a Berlin cellar, are presented and documented in an outstanding way on the top floor of the PETRI.
When: Special exhibition until further notice
Where: PETRI Berlin, Kleine Getraudenstraße 8, 10178 Berlin
Extreme Tension. Art between Politics and Society
The Neue Nationalgalerie's new collection presentation on art after 1945 documents a time of turmoil: the post-war years, the Cold War, social upheaval and the fall of the Berlin Wall. See masterful artistic positions from the Federal Republic and the GDR, from Western Europe and the USA as well as from the former socialist states.
When: until 25 April 2027
Where: Neue Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Straße 50, 10785 Berlin
Discover Berlin's newest immersive experience at Alexanderplatz. At IKONO, art, play and the unexpected combine to create an unforgettable adventure. Self-discovery, interactivity and pure joy await you in 14 immersive rooms.
Dinosaurs! Age of the giant lizards
At eye level with predatory dinosaurs: right at the beginning you will see three spectacular original predatory dinosaur skulls, including the rare find of a young T-Rex. Experience the public's favourite Tristan, the pitch-black original skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex and other dinosaurs from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
When: Special exhibition until further notice
Where: Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115 Berlin
Anticipation: These exhibitions are starting soon in Berlin
Come and see a fantastic exhibition in autumn 2026 on Genghis Khan and other art highlights
Genghis Khan and the World of the Mongols
In the 13th century, the Mongol Empire was the largest in world history: it encompassed the vast steppes of Russia from the Volga to Lake Baikal, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Turkey, Iraq, Tibet and the whole of China. Who was the legendary Mongolian prince who founded this global empire with war tactics as strategic as they were ruthless? Genghis Khan died 800 years ago. To mark the anniversary year of 2027, the Museum of Prehistory and Early History on Museum Island has put together a spectacular special exhibition featuring unique international loans that you simply must not miss!
When: 1 October 2026 to 30 April 2027
Where: James-Simon-Galerie, Museum Island, Am Lustgarten, 10117 Berlin
Josef Kaiser
You may not have come across his name before, but you’ll be familiar with his buildings in Berlin: Josef Kaiser, one of the most influential and defining architects and town planners of the former GDR, designed iconic buildings such as the Kino International and played a part in projects all across the city – from the Palace of the Republic to the reconstruction of the Nikolaiviertel. The Berlinische Galerie is now dedicating a solo exhibition to Kaiser, who died in 1991. View drawings, models and films, and gain an understanding of the political tensions surrounding the history of construction in both East and West Germany.
When: 28 August 2026 to 1 February 2027
Where: Berlinische Galerie, Alte Jakobstraße 124–128, 10969 Berlin
Experience a unique journey through time to historic Berlin, an audio encounter with a native Berliner, and the story of one of Germany’s most important painters—a documentary on the life and work of Max Liebermann!
Next Door
Berlin’s National Gallery of Contemporary Art, the Hamburger Bahnhof, is presenting something special to mark its thirtieth anniversary: artists who are now widely recognised – and who had their first studios back then, in the museum’s early days, in the warehouses at the Hamburger Bahnhof – have returned to exhibit together as a group. Look forward to works by Tomás Saraceno, Olafur Eliasson, Tacita Dean, Thomas Demand and Henrik Håkansson. Excitingly, they are showcasing their new, exceptionally large-scale works.
When: from 9 October 2026
Where: Hamburger Bahnhof, Invalidenstraße 50, 10557 Berlin
Rubens, Jordaens, van Dyck
Flemish master drawings
From the first sketches of ideas, figure studies and preliminary drawings for paintings to colourful designs for tapestries: At the Kulturforum this autumn, you can see around 100 unique sheets by great Flemish artists that reflect the entire creativity and wide range of work of the Baroque period: An era of great religious and political conflicts in Europe, in which Antwerp developed into the most important trading city and at the same time the most exciting place for European art production.
When: 10 October 2026 to 31 January 2027
Where: Kupferstichkabinett, Johanna and Eduard Arnhold Platz, 10785 Berlin
Portraits! Surprising Encounters from Botticelli to Lempicka
The Gemäldegalerie has already staged several fantastic exhibitions on portraiture; you may well recall ‘Faces of the Renaissance’ or ‘The Botticelli Renaissance’. In the exhibition “Portraits”, too, the selection of works is not limited to a single period in art history, but features fascinating juxtapositions spanning 500 years: Sandro Botticelli, 15th century, meets Tamara de Lempicka, 20th century; Rubens meets Gainsborough; and Titian meets Therbusch. The exhibition also focuses on our contemporary culture of selfies and self-presentation: how do we want to be seen, and how did people in different eras want to be seen?
When: 16 October 2026 to 14 March 2027
Where: Gemäldegalerie, Johanna and Eduard Arnhold Platz, Kulturforum, 10785 Berlin
Following sold-out premieres and strong demand, PROJEKTIL extends FLOW until 23 August. Experience the immersive 360° show in Berlin's Passionskirche with cinematic performances and exclusive live concerts.
Immerse yourself in Berlin's eventful history in 2026: "Degenerate Art" under National Socialism
Abstraction as resistance? The other German art of the 1930s
In autumn 2026, this dark chapter of history will be illuminated from another perspective: The well-known author Florian Illies, together with curator Maike Steinkamp, is designing an exhibition on "Degenerate Art" at the Neue Nationalgalerie that focuses on abstraction in art. Willi Baumeister, Hannah Höch, Alexej von Jawlenksy and many more continued to develop their non-objective art despite exhibition bans and defamation and influenced entire generations of artists.
When: 30 October 2026 to 31 January 2027
Where: Neue Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Straße 50, 10785 Berlin
EMOP Berlin 2027
The European Month of Photography Berlin (EMOP Berlin) is Germany’s largest festival of photographic art and takes place every two years. Around 100 cultural institutions across Berlin – from museums to galleries, universities and private venues – exhibit the works of young and established, national and international photographic artists for a month. This year’s theme is ‘Common Ground’. Letters from Europe: Where can European coexistence be experienced, where is it under pressure, and what new perspectives can photography offer on this?
When: 4 March to 4 April 2027
Where: various venues across Berlin
Böcklin: Beyond the Myth
Eerie mythical creatures, vivid colours, dark, fantastical landscapes: this is what Arnold Böcklin, one of the leading figures of Symbolism and one of the most important painters of the 19th century, is world-renowned for. To mark the 200th anniversary of the artist’s birth, the Alte Nationalgalerie is exhibiting around 150 of his paintings, including his famous, enigmatic work*The Isle of the Dead*, at which, for the first time, all four versions can be displayed together. The Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin and the Kunstmuseum Basel are collaborating on this special exhibition.
When: 19 March to 1 August 2927
Where: Alte Nationalgalerie, Museum Island, Am Lustgarten, 10117 Berlin
Take a look ahead to upcoming events:
Berlin 2026/27 - the most important events
