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
Come and see some fascinating exhibitions on Museum Island, at the Gemäldegalerie and at the Neue Nationalgalerie!
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: until 1 February 2027
Where: Berlinische Galerie, Alte Jakobstraße 124–128, 10969 Berlin
A Symphony of Colours: Paul Signac and Neo-Impressionism
Pure prismatic colours, applied in fine, closely spaced strokes, not only reflect daylight but also blend together in the viewer’s eye to form luminous and striking new colour compositions. From 1886 onwards, the Neo-Impressionists led by Paul Signac thus further developed the art of Impressionism: they remained committed to landscape painting, but replaced the Impressionists’ spontaneous, airy style with paintings featuring brushstrokes applied in a more methodical, dabbing manner. See more than 90 masterpieces by Signac, as well as works by other renowned artists such as Camille Pissarro, Georges Seurat and Théo van Rysselberghe. Numerous loans, including works from Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam, Chicago and Dublin, make this exhibition a real highlight.
When: until 11 October 2026
Where: Museum Barberini, Alter Markt, Humboldtstraße 5–6, 14467 Potsdam
Extreme Tension. Art between Politics and Society
The Neue Nationalgalerie's 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
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
Upcoming exhibitions 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: 21 October 2026 to 18 April 2027
Where: James-Simon-Galerie, Museum Island, Am Lustgarten, 10117 Berlin
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
Immerse yourself in Berlin's eventful history: "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 2027
Where: Alte Nationalgalerie, Museum Island, Am Lustgarten, 10117 Berlin
Ai Weiwei at the Bode Museum
The Bode Museum on Museum Island houses treasures spanning 2,000 years of art history. From May, a special exhibition featuring works by the world-renowned artist Ai Weiwei will captivate visitors here: through critical interventions, as well as objects from his personal collection, Ai Weiwei challenges traditional perspectives and conventional values and systems
When: 5 May 2027 to 4 June 2028
Where: Bode Museum, Museum Island, Am Kupfergraben 3, 10117 Berlin
Thomas Gainsborough. Painter of Life
Thomas Gainsborough is undoubtedly the best-known English painter of the 18th century today. What makes his style unique is the sensitivity and vitality of his portraits and landscapes, which were unusual for his time . Discover around 50 fascinating works by Gainsborough from the Gemäldegalerie’s outstanding collection of British painting in this special exhibition marking the 300th anniversary of his birth, including valuable international loans.
When: 14 May to 12 September 2027
Where: Gemäldegalerie, Johanna und Eduard Arnhold Platz, Kulturforum, 10785 Berlin
Take a look ahead to upcoming events:
