Berlin's dynamic art world continues to evolve with a compelling mix of newly opened exhibitions and final opportunities to view departing shows. Art critics Claudia Wahjudi and Ina Hildebrandt have compiled comprehensive recommendations for visitors seeking to explore the city's vibrant cultural landscape before certain exhibitions close permanently.
Among the most notable new openings is Annika Kahrs' "OFF SCORE" at Hamburger Bahnhof, featuring her video composition "A Cashier's Opera," filmed in Berlin department stores. The piece showcases employees, instrumentalists, a youth choir, and an opera singer exploring the social functions of commercial spaces through music and performance. Curator Ingrid Buschmann has carefully arranged 15 years of the Berlin-based artist's work across multiple halls, with an additional piece displayed on the LED wall at Kurfürstendamm. The exhibition runs through May 3, 2026, with performances scheduled for February.
At Galerie Nord, "MAP 2025 – Arrival? Bremen – Hanoi – Berlin" presents the final exhibition by Kunstverein Tiergarten before leaving the municipal space at year's end. The show explores themes of migration and arrival through works by artists and art students from the three cities, ranging from American troop landings in Indonesia to Caribbean rum tastings in British pubs. The November 14 opening served as both an exhibition launch and farewell celebration for longtime curator Veronika Witte.
Fotografiska Berlin showcases "Photo Synthesis," featuring works by Shepard Fairey, including his iconic Barack Obama "Hope" poster from 2008. The exhibition, running until March 8, examines Fairey's artistic methods while touching on the poster's controversial history, including legal disputes with the Associated Press and its recent appropriation in political contexts.
The German Historical Museum presents "Nature and German History: Faith – Biology – Power," spanning from medieval fishing quotas on Lake Constance to the establishment of the first environmental ministry in Bonn. The exhibition features paintings, drawings, illustrated manuscripts, and interactive elements including puzzles and activity books for children, running through June 7.
Several exhibitions are approaching their final weeks. At the Humboldt Forum, "Stories of Tanzania" represents a collaborative effort between German and Tanzanian curators, addressing colonial-era cultural artifacts and the repatriation process through expert commentary, short films, and contemporary art installations. The exhibition closes November 24.
The Projektraum des Deutschen Künstlerbunds features "Nothing Comes without Its World!" by Cornelia Sollfrank, winner of the 25,000-euro HAP Grieshaber Prize 2025. The show includes interactive QR codes leading to collaborative projects and alternative network initiatives, closing November 21. Galerie Anahita Sadighi's "Floating Worlds" offers a rare opportunity to explore Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock prints by masters including Hokusai, Hiroshige, and Utamaro, ending November 22.
The Gorki Theater's seventh Berlin Autumn Salon, "ЯE:IMAGINE: THE RED HOUSE," presents works by numerous artists including Nevin Aladağ, Danica Dakić, and Zentrum für Politische Schönheit. The exhibition, marking artistic director Shermin Langhoff's final season, addresses themes of migration, motherhood, and freedom throughout the theater's various spaces, concluding November 30.
Michael Müller's "Dioscuri: The Given Day" at the Neues Museum transforms the building's staircase hall with an abstract painting frieze inspired by the ancient myth of Leda and the swan. The large-scale work explores themes of light and shadow, life and death, through dramatic color transitions, visible through November 23.
Among ongoing exhibitions, the Berlinische Galerie's "Raoul Hausmann: Vision. Provocation. Dada" celebrates the museum's 50th anniversary with a comprehensive survey of the Berlin DADA pioneer's work, including lesser-known phases from his exile period. The KW Institute for Contemporary Art presents Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst's "Starmirror," exploring artificial intelligence and power concentration through digital sound installations that reference sacred imagery and spaces.
The DAAD Galerie features Jiyoung Yoon's "Seeing Things the Way We See the Moon," presenting Korean artist's explorations of perception and memory through sculptures, installations, and texts that reveal overlooked aspects of human experience. At Galerie Carlier/Gebauer, Lithuanian duo Pakui Hardware's "Thresholds" offers fragile, mobile sculptures that blur boundaries between medicine, biology, and society.
Other notable ongoing exhibitions include Kazuko Miyamoto's retrospective at KW Institute, showcasing the minimalist artist's string constructions and performance work across three floors, and the collaborative "Marayeh: Entropy" at Künstlerhaus Kreuzberg, featuring Jewish and Muslim artists examining chaos and potential for new order.
The Humboldt Labor's "On Water: Water Knowledge in Berlin" combines artistic contributions with research from 50 scientists, addressing water scarcity, abundance, and urban water systems through sounds, objects, models, and video projections. Vera Mercer's retrospective "Life in Focus" at the Center for Contemporary Art showcases the photographer's career rebuilding after losing much of her work in a house fire.
These diverse offerings reflect Berlin's position as a major international art center, with venues ranging from major state museums to independent galleries providing platforms for both established and emerging artists to engage with contemporary social, political, and environmental issues.
