Berlin Art Week 2026 Guide

Last Updated on September 2, 2026

Every September, Berlin trades its late-summer haze for gallery openings, pop-up performances, and a citywide scramble to see everything before the week is over. Berlin Art Week 2026 runs from September 9 to 13th. This is the 15th edition of the festival and, it brings together more than 100 locations across the city for five days of contemporary art immersion.

Every year, my biggest challenge is simply to figure out how to see the most I can. You can check the official Berlin Art Week website here. But I’ve already done some research and curation for you, if you want to save some time.

Whether you’re a seasoned collector, emerging artist, or curious art enthusiast, this guide will help you get the most out of art week. Here’s everything you need to know before you go.

Berlin Art Week Basics

Berlin Art Week was founded in 2012, merging the abc – art berlin contemporary fair with the Preview Berlin Art Fair into a single citywide banner. It’s grown steadily since, and past editions have featured artists like Ai Weiwei and Ryuichi Sakamoto alongside emerging names. It’s a mix that’s become the festival’s signature: established art-world heavyweights showing alongside artists you’ve never heard of yet, often in the same week.

• Dates: September 9-13, 2026
• Organizer: Kulturprojekte Berlin, with support from the Berlin Senate
• Scale: Over 100 partner institutions including museums, galleries, private collections, and project spaces running coordinated openings and programming across the city
• Central hub: The Kulturforum, home to the “Berlin Art Week Garden,” a gathering spot for talks, workshops, screenings, and a reading garden that also serves as the festival’s information and tour hub

What Makes Berlin Art Week Special

Berlin Art Week is always one of my favorite events of the year and if you like art, it will probably be a great week for you too.

Berlin Art Week unites 200+ galleries, museums, and independent spaces across Mitte, Kreuzberg, and Charlottenburg, creating a city-wide celebration of contemporary art.

Unlike many art fairs that confine themselves to convention centers, Berlin Art Week spreads throughout the city’s diverse neighborhoods, each offering its own unique artistic perspective and cultural flavor.

The festival has grown significantly since its inception, establishing Berlin as a major international art destination that rivals Paris, London, and New York. What sets it apart is its accessibility and democratic approach to art. Most exhibitions and events are free and open to all, making contemporary art approachable for everyone.

Where to Go: Gallery Districts

The Neue Nationalgalerie is a particular highlight this year, hosting performances tied to the festival as part of the Kulturforum’s expanded role as a central meeting point. Other major art museums participating this year include Hamburger Bahnhof, Gropius Bau, Berlinische Galerie, and the KW Institute for Contemporary Art.

The festival spreads across all of Berlin’s most vibrant neighborhoods:

Mitte: Home to established galleries and major institutions, offering a mix of well-established and emerging artists.

Kreuzberg: Known for its alternative and experimental spaces, perfect for discovering cutting-edge contemporary work.

Charlottenburg: Features both traditional and contemporary galleries, often showcasing established international artists.

Berlin Art Week 2026

Must-See Exhibitions & Events By Date

Opening Day: Wednesday, September 9th

Berlin Art Week 2026 kicks off on September 9th, setting the tone for the five-day festival, with major art institutions launching their special exhibitions simultaneously across the city.

Maurizio Cattelan: ‘NIGHT’

Neue Nationalgalerie presents the first major solo exhibition in Germany by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. NIGHT is also part of the 2026 Nationalgalerie Prize, which was selected by an international jury. The exhibition focuses on important works by Cattelan as well as a site-specific installation designed specifically for the iconic Mies van der Rohe building. This one is sure to be a top-pick for art week and beyond.

• Opening Wednesday September 9, 21-23:00
• Berlin Art Week Hours September 10-13 10-22:00
• Exhibition until March 7, 2027
• Neue Nationalgalerie | Potsdamer Straße 50, 10785 Tiergarten | Map

Projections Onto the East

Projections onto the East opens at both the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein and Schinkel Pavillon with a sprawling group show, featuring artists like Hito Steyerl, Pavel Brăila, Andrzej Steinbach, Gabriele Stötzer, and Maya Schweizer among many others. ‘Projections Onto The East’ unpacks how the “East” has become a loaded cultural and political projection. The exhibition traces threads from GDR memory politics and antisemitism to postsocialist shifts and today’s geopolitical fault lines.

• Opening Wednesday September 9, 18-22:00
• Exhibition until December 20, 2026
• Schinkel Pavillon | Oberwallstraße 32, 10117 Mitte | Map
• Neuer Berliner Kunstverein | Chausseestraße 128-129, 10115 Mitte | Map

‘Kreuzberg: Art and Migration since 1960’

The group exhibition ‘Kreuzberg: Art and Migration since 1960’ sheds light on Kreuzberg’s social and cultural upheavals during the 60s and 70s. The exhibition explores the diverse cultural output surrounding the theme of labor migration, demonstrating how artists in Kreuzberg grappled with the tensions and questions of their time.

• Opening Sept 9, 19-22:00
• Exhibition until January 17, 2027
• Gropius Bau | Niederkirchnerstrasse 7, 10963 Kreuzberg | Map

“Metaxy : Zwischen Zerstörung und Wiederaufbau”

In a world where war, conflict, and ecological collapse are leveling cities and displacing millions, ‘Metaxy: Between’ resists the rush to treat reconstruction as a clean technical reset or investment opportunity. Instead, it plants itself in the fraught, uncertain space between destruction and rebuilding. It’s an exhibition, event, and educational project insisting that before anything gets built, we must reckon with who gets to return, who owns the land, and whose story gets told. As we’ve learned from the past, leaving these questions unasked just lets violence resurface as exclusion, erasure, and new power structures.

• Opening September 9, 18:30-22:00
• Exhibition until December 6, 2026
• Akademie Der Kunste | Hanseatenweg 10, 10557 Moabit | Map
• More info here.

‘If You Can Reach My Heart You Can Keep It’

LA-born Berlin-based artist Matt Lambert presents a selection of his works from the last 15 years across four rooms at the Julia Stoschek Foundation. Lambert released his sixth photobook in 2025 “If You Can Reach My Heart You Can Keep It” and this exhibition expands on many of the works in the book, with works that include collaborations with Arca, Bendik Giske, Bruce LaBruce and many more.

• Opening party Wednesday September 9, 18-late
• Thursday September 10, 12-18:00
• Julia Stoschek Foundation Berlin | Leipziger Straße 60, 10117 Mitte | Map
• Free entry

Gallery Night: Thursday, September 10th

Gallery Night is hosted in collaboration with Gallery Weekend Berlin. This year it runs on Thursday, September 10, with galleries across the city opening their doors together. It’s one of the festival’s most popular events, and it feels especially buzzy on streets like Potsdamer Str and Linienstr.

Ryuichi Sakamoto: ‘seeing sound, hearing time’

Ryuichi Sakamoto was famous for the three-dimensional soundscapes he developed with interhational artists such as Shiro Takatani and Carsten Nicolai, or the filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul. For ‘seeing sound, hearing time’, Hamburger Bahnhof presents seven works within five large-scale installations. These works focus on the intersection of sound and art, which has been a hallmark of the Hamburger Bahnhof since its founding 30 years ago.

• Opening Thursday September 10, 19-22:00
• Exhibition until June 20, 2027
• Hamburger Bahnhof | Invalidenstraße 50, 10557 Moabit | Map

Martin Margiela

Konrad Fischer Galerie presents a multidisciplinary solo exhibition by Martin Margiela. Since leaving his namesake fashion house in 2009, the famously private Margiela has turned hit attention to the art world. This exhibition features work rooted in everyday objects and their transformation, which are favorite themes of his that you can still see in the Maison Margiela world to this day.

• Thursday September 10, 18-22:00
• Exhibition until December 19, 2026
• Konrad Fischer Galerie | Neue Grünstraße 12, 10179 Mitte | Map

Ersan Mondtag: ‘Dispair’

Dittrich & Schlechtriem present the gallery’s first solo exhibition for Ersan Mondtag. ‘Dispair’ was created specifically for the gallery and shows a new body of work featuring monumental sculptures in carbonized wood alongside reliefs in wood and silicone.

• Opening Thursday September 10, 18-22:00
• Dittrich & Schlechtriem | Linienstraße 40, 10119 Mitte | Map
• More info here.

Jeremy Shaw: ‘Half-Life of Grace’

For Berlin Art Week, Gallery Neu presents a solo exhibition by Canadian-born Berlin-based artist Jeremy Shaw.

• Opening Thursday September 10, 18-22:00
• Exhibition until November 7, 2026
• Galerie Neu | Linienstraße 119, 10115 Mitte | Map

friday, September 11th

Caravaggio x Berlinde De Bruyckere

How often do you get to see a new Caravaggio? Obviously, this is a once-in-a-lifetime type of affair so make sure you don’t miss this one. Offsite Arts combines forces with the Embassy of Italy in Berlin, to present a new international exhibition series. This series pairs rare historical masterpieces with acclaimed living artists in extraordinary sites and this edition contrasts the first public showing of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy alongside a newly commissioned work by Berlinde De Bruyckere.

• Opening Friday September 11, 18-22:00
• Exhibition until September 13
• Embassy of Italy in Berlin | Hiroshimastraße 1, 10785 Tiergarten | Map
• Book your free time slot ticket here.

The Ear is the Eye of the Soul

For Berlin Art Week, Reethaus is celebrating the LP release of The Ear Is the Eye of the Soul. It’s the Soundwalk Collective’s sonic prayer for the Holy See Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, as commissioned by the Vatican and curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers. The work channels Hildegard of Bingen through contributions from Meredith Monk, Kali Malone, FKA twigs, Carminho, and Terry Riley—with a communal listening experience on Friday, September 11’s Featured Night (free with registration), further sessions over the weekend, a Sunday morning dialog with the curators and Soundwalk Collective, and a live performance TBA for Thursday, September 10.

• Opening Friday September 10, 16-22:00
• Sept 12 & 13, 14-20:00
• Reethaus | Köpenicker Ch 3a, 10317 Lichtenberg | Map
• Tickets & more info here.

Soft Power

Soft Power is an interdisciplinary festival platform at the intersection of art, music, and social dialogue. The festival combines exhibitions, performances, concerts, discussions, and communal meals into one action-packed weekend at Haus der Visionäre. Some key features of this year’s festival include the main exhibition curated by María Inés Plaza Lazo & Anahita Sadighi, a 72-hour radio program by Refuge Worldwide, and the 48-Hour Sonnenraum dancefloor.

• Opening Friday Sept 11 12–03:00
• Saturday 12 Sep 12 11–03:00
• Sunday September 13 18:00–03:00
• Haus der Visionäre | Eichenstraße 4A, 12435 Alt-Treptow | Map
• More info & tickets here.

saturday, September 12th

Opening

Kindl celebrates Art Week with four new exhibitions. Mischa Kuball’s site-specific work ›boiler house‹ connects the present with the past inside the Kesselhaus while ›together‹ by ecofeminist art collective Neozoon that interrogates the patriarchal human narrative of property. Thu-Van Tran presents ›Write As Beasts Scream at Night‹ which addresses the traumatic ecological consequences of colonialism while in ›Between Sunlight‹, a community of sculptural figures by British artist Kira Freije will also be on display.

• Saturday, September 12, 18-22:00
• Kindl | Am Sudhaus 3, 12053 Neukölln | Map
• More info here.

Boros Collection Open House

• Open House: Saturday September 12, 13–18:00
• Boros Collection | Reinhardtstraße 20, 10117 Mitte | Map
• No registration required. Tickets available at the door. Admission per person: €15 (€10 reduced)

Boros Collections opens their doors for an open-house access to their new collection. the last Open House of the current collection presentation invites visitors to explore the private collection of Karen and Christian Boros freely and without prior registration. Spread across five levels of the former air-raid shelter, the exhibition is accompanied by the mediation team, who will offer in-depth insights through personal conversations.

sunday, September 13th

Leyla Yenirce: ‘The Canvas as a Concert Hall”

German-Kurdish artist Leyla Yenrice answers the questions: Can a painting be loud or have rhythm? Can music contain colors and lines? ‘The Canvas as a Concert Hall’ allows Yenrice an attempt to translate the collective auditory experience, which is physically perceived by individuals, into painting.

• Sunday, September 13, 11-13:30
• Konzerthaus Berlin | Gendarmenmarkt, 10117 Mitte | Map

More Must-Visit Venues & Exhibitions

Hallen #7

Since its founding in 2020, HALLEN has become a central platform for contemporary art in Berlin, and from September 2025 it returns for the sixth time as part of Berlin Art Week. Spanning more than 9,000 square meters, the exhibition showcases an expansive selection of works by international artists, reflecting some of the most exciting and diverse currents in contemporary practice. Beyond the art itself, HALLEN offers a vibrant program of concerts, performances, children’s activities, and culinary experiences, making the 2026 edition not only a highlight of Berlin Art Week but also a dynamic meeting point for audiences of all ages.

• When: September 5-13 11-20:00
• Where: Wilhelm Hallen | Kopenhagener Str. 60-72, 13407 Reinickendorf | Map
• Tickets here.

POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair

The only official art fair of Berlin Art Week is POSITIONS Berlin, now in its 13th edition, is running September 10-13 in Hangars 5-6 of the former Tempelhof Airport. Expect showings from between 80–100+ international galleries from roughly 20 countries, with a special focus this year on galleries from Türkiye. The fair drew over 30,000 visitors last year, and the raw hangar space (with its 16-meter ceilings, natural light, and history) is worth the trip on its own.

• Opening Night: Thursday September 10 14-18:00 (VIP pass only) & 18-21:00
• Friday September 11 14-20:00, Saturday September 12 11-19:00, Sunday September 13 11-18:00
• General admission: roughly €25 regular / €15 reduced (confirm current pricing on the official site before you go)
• Flughafen Tempelhof | Hangar 7, 12101 Tempelhof | Map

ART/PLATTE

Marking Platte’s fifth birthday, ART/PLATTE returns for Berlin Art Week with a week-long fusion of fashion, art, and culture curated by Platte and artist Thomias Radin, kicking off with the “Hypogeum” opening and artist talk on September 9, followed by an open gallery day, a Featured Night with Haderlump and Sven Marquardt on the 11th, Croissant Sessions, and an HTW Fashion Show with Jamie Lee O’Shea on the 12th. It’s all built around performances, DJ sets, and daily interventions that champion embodied, analog encounters over digital life, inviting visitors to drop by for one event or stay for the whole celebration.

• September 9-13
• Platte | Memhardstraße 8, 10178 Mitte | Map
• More info here.

Perform!

For PERFORM! 5, the Neue Nationalgalerie hosts two site-specific works in dialogue across generations. First, Trisha Brown’s groundbreaking Walking on the Wall (1971), restaged in close collaboration with the Trisha Brown Dance Company on the museum’s exterior glass façade performs daily at 5pm. Then, Berlin-based artist Kianí Del Valle’s INSTRUCCIONES PARA EXISTIR (INSTRUCTIONS FOR EXISTING), a new work with KDV Performance Group that fuses dance and stunt work in direct response to Mies van der Rohe’s architecture, paying homage to Brown’s pioneering practice while staging a striking clash between artistic freedom and militarized order.

• September 9-13
• Neue Nationalgalerie | Potsdamer Straße 50, 10785 Tiergarten | Map
• Free entry.
• More info & performance times here.

Berlin Art Week Garden

Across five days, the green outdoor spaces around Kulturforum, Neue Nationalgalerie and will host performances, talks, screenings, workshops, and DJ sets, with evenings dedicated to sundowner sessions curated by the nomadic collective Trauma. Known for challenging art-world hierarchies and championing subcultural and marginalized practices since its founding in 2018, Trauma brings together some of Berlin’s most dynamic music scenes.

• Berlin Art Week Hours:
• Wednesday Sept 9 10–22:00 Thursday Sept 10 10–22:00, Friday Sept 11, Saturday Sept 12, Sunday Sept 12
• Kulturforum | Matthäikirchplatz, 10785 Tiegarten | Map
• Free entry.
• More info & program details.

Berlin Art Week Tips

• Wear comfortable shoes. The festival spans multiple neighborhoods, and Tempelhof’s hangars alone involve a lot of walking.
• Getting a day ticket for public transit is a great idea if you’re hopping between venues.
• Many openings are free to attend. But some events and museums charge their regular fee, so check ahead if you’re not sure. Book ahead if you can.
• Start Early. Begin your days early to avoid crowds, especially at popular venues and exhibitions.
• Go neighborhood by neighborhood. Berlin is geographically huge so you can waste a lot of time going back and forth between the popular areas. You can easily cut down on this by picking one area at a time to focus on.
• Check out the Festival Garden. The Berlin Art Week Garden is the central point of contact for all information about the festival. Stop by for updated schedules, maps, and insider recommendations.
• Connect with Locals: Berlin’s art scene is known for being welcoming and inclusive. Don’t hesitate to strike up conversations with gallery staff, artists, and fellow visitors.
• Mix high and low, established & new. Balance visits to major institutions with smaller, independent spaces. Some of the most exciting discoveries happen in project spaces and artist-run galleries.

Berlin Art Week 2026 | Final Thoughts

Berlin Art Week invites visitors to discover, engage with, and discuss contemporary art in Berlin. The festival represents everything that makes Berlin special: accessibility, diversity, creativity, and a democratic approach to culture. With more than 100 locations across the city participating, the 2026 edition promises to be an unforgettable celebration of contemporary art.

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