The Städtische Galerien Berlin (Berlin Municipal Galleries) are presenting their Action Days from 16 to 19 October 2025. Thirty-two galleries will be showing 37 exhibitions featuring a total of 150 artists. In addition to discourses on identity and society, the solo and group exhibitions will address topics relating to the man-made environment, from the underwater world to weeds, as well as the value of art in the face of current political discourses. In addition to exhibition openings in five galleries, the action days also invite visitors to a variety of other events. On the opening evening on 16 October, following an artistic performance, cultural figures will discuss the significance of municipal galleries. Music enthusiasts can experience performances by musicians who are also artists at the SOUNDS event on this opening evening. During the TOURS on 19 October, interested parties can visit the exhibitions in selected municipal galleries and gain an impression of their work. The YOUNG workshop programme is aimed at children, young people, families, pre-school groups and school classes in various galleries and districts.
Image above: Anna Orbaczewska: Im Geiste von Francisco Goya, Malerei, 2024, Galerie: Kommunale Galerie Berlin, Ausstellung: Scherben der Realität, Berlin – Dreistadt.
In keeping with Berlin’s autumn art season, several exhibition openings will take place during the campaign days. The Haus am Kleistpark is showing Haut und Holz. Loredana Nemes, a photo exhibition on nature, love and roots. The exhibition and event series Louder, Taller, Uglier, Weirder is also dedicated to nature in a broader sense. Learning from Weeds at Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien. Here, weeds are metaphorically examined as conveyors of knowledge and reinterpreted as a productive force. Resilience and resistance are also the driving force behind the artists’ project Goldrausch. The group exhibition Up Close – Goldrausch 2025 at the Galerie im Körnerpark showcases the works from this year’s 35th edition of the renowned continuing education and support programme. The rk – Galerie für zeitgenössische Kunst delves into the themes of identity and society with three openings, showing Johanna Keimeyer – LEAVE YOUR BODY LIKE A SHELL, Paula Riquelme – Embrace and Clausnitzer – Happy Demon. The exhibition An die Substanz. Bauhaus Dessau 100. Bauhaus Dessau Foundation guest at the Mies van der Rohe House.
During the Municipal Galleries’ campaign days, there will of course also be prominent names and high-calibre retrospectives on display. At Galerie Wedding – Raum für zeitgenössische Kunst, Pınar Öğrenci presents Cemetery of the Nameless, an impressive work that, starting from Lake Van in Turkey, intertwines climate change with the genocide of the Armenians in 1915 and 1916 and human suffering today. The Galerie Pankow is showing Klaus Elle – Experiment und Vision – Fotoarbeiten 1980–1989 (Klaus Elle – Experiment and Vision – Photographic Works 1980–1989), the artist’s early work in connection with the art-historical context of the GDR. Photographs by the artist Vera Mercer are presented by the ZAK Zentrum für Aktuelle Kunst (Centre for Contemporary Art) in Life in Focus // Eine Werkschau (Life in Focus // A Retrospective). On the occasion of the exhibition, numerous portraits by the artist, who photographed greats such as Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol and Niki de Saint Phalle, were prepared for display.
The Basement explores not a single artistic oeuvre, but rather a timeless and at the same time highly topical question of art with Art is Work – Whether Beautiful or Not. A group exhibition takes a stance on the conditions and value of art production – a topic of particular relevance in view of the suspension of the FABiK fund, the Senate’s cuts and the lack of recognition and appreciation of artistic work by Berlin’s cultural policy. The Galerie Adlershof counters justified pessimism with humour in my love, humour II, attempting to find insights and reconciliation with the present. The exhibition Lumen at Schloss Biesdorf looks beyond national borders with an impressive group show on the theme of light. Also noteworthy here is the historical depth of the exhibition venue as the former residence of Werner Siemens, a pioneer of electrification in the 19th century. In the Schwartzsche Villa, Guðný Guðmundsdóttir examines depictions of nymphs in Noon and draws connections to the climate disaster caused by oil production. The Rathaus-Galerie Reinickendorf is looking to the future with the nine outstanding artists of the Young Art Award.
The supporting programme for the action days kicks off with an opening evening on 16 October at WABE in Prenzlauer Berg. Following an artistic performance, the municipal galleries and other representatives of Berlin’s cultural scene invite you to a discussion entitled Municipal Capital – The Importance of Municipal Galleries in the Context of Fine Arts in Berlin. Afterwards, artists working in both the visual arts and music will take to the stage with this year’s concerts in the SOUNDS series. Artists Mary Ocher and Angela Aux will perform, as well as the Bremen trio LATURB. Not far from WABE, textile works will be on display at the Galerie Parterre with the exhibition Lilian Morrissey – The Audacity. The artist draws on the tradition of medieval tapestries to address current discourses on masculinity and power.
Children and young people, families and school classes can discover the exhibitions and various artistic techniques in the YOUNG workshop programme together with artists and art educators. The workshops on offer range from cyanotype and camera obscura to plant printing and frottage.
Another highlight is the TOURS through the galleries. On 19 October, two bus tours, two underground tours and one tram tour will take participants to four to five galleries in several districts. On these free tours, participants will learn about the work of Berlin’s 37 municipal galleries. After starting at 2 p.m. and lasting approximately four hours, the tour will be followed by a get-together at Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien. There, you will be welcomed by gallery directors, curators and/or artists, who will present the current exhibitions and introduce the galleries’ programme highlights.
Facts and figures
Action Days of the Kommunalen Galerien Berlin
Thursday, 16–Sunday, 19 October 2025
37 exhibitions with the participation of approximately 150 artists in 32 galleries throughout Berlin; artistic genres: painting, photography, performance, video and sound art, drawing, graphic art, sculpture, installation, conceptual art
Opening night with performance, panel discussion and SOUNDS
Thursday, 16 October 2025, doors open at 5:30 p.m.
WABE
Danziger Straße 105, 10405 Berlin
Performance, 6:00–6:30 p.m.
Bewirb dich ab sofort!
A performance by Sana Al Kurdi and Dachil Sado
Panel discussion, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Kommunale Kapitale – The significance of municipal galleries in the context of fine art in Berlin
With: Ingo Arend (journalist and critic), Leonie Baumann (former rector of the Berlin-Weißensee Academy of Art and current curator of the Capital Cultural Fund), Frauke Boggasch (spokesperson for bbk berlin), Yolanda Kaddu-Mulindwa (director of the Neukölln Municipal Galleries), Dr Thomas Köhler (director of the Berlinische Galerie)
Moderator: Fatima Çalışkan
SOUNDS, 8:45 pm–11:45 pm
Bands: Mary Ocher, Angela Aux, LATURB
Exhibition openings
Thursday, 16 October 2025, 7 p.m.
Haus am Kleistpark
Skin and Wood
Loredana Nemes
Friday, 17 October 2025, 5 p.m.
Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien
Louder, Taller, Uglier, Weirder. Learning from Weeds
Friday, 17 October 2025, 7 p.m.
rk – Gallery for Contemporary Art
Clausnitzer – Happy Demon
Johanna Keimeyer – LEAVE YOUR BODY LIKE A SHELL
Paula Riquelme – Embrace
Saturday, 18 October 2025, 6–10 p.m.
Gallery in Körnerpark
Up Close – Gold Rush 2025
Sunday, 19 October 2025, 2 p.m.
Mies van der Rohe House
Getting to the heart of the matter. Bauhaus Dessau 100
Bauhaus Dessau Foundation visits the Mies van der Rohe House
YOUNG
Thursday, 16–Sunday, 19 October 2025
Programme with workshops in various galleries and districts for children, young people and families, as well as pre-school groups and school classes
TOUREN
Sunday, 19 October 2025, 2 p.m.
Two bus tours, two underground tours and one tram tour will each take you to four to five galleries in several districts. The tours start at 2 p.m., last approximately four hours and end with a get-together at Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien.
During the free tours, you will learn about the work of Berlin’s 37 municipal galleries. Gallery directors, curators and/or artists will welcome you on site, present the current exhibitions and introduce the galleries’ programme highlights.
WHERE?
Kommunale Galerie Berlin
Hohenzollerndamm 176
10713 Berlin
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