With her performance “We Make Years Out of Hours,” Lina Lapelytė transforms the historic hall of the Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart in Berlin into a place of collective action and singing for the second CHANEL Commission. The exhibition will be on view at the Hamburger Bahnhof from May 1, 2026, to January 10, 2027. Lapelytė is known for her meditative works that combine sound, rituals, and labor. “We Make Years Out of Hours” is a living monument to time, care, and coexistence, transcending the boundaries between sculpture and performance, individual and collective. Through the active involvement of the audience, the participatory format emphasizes the concept of the open museum, which is also marked by the 30th anniversary of the Hamburger Bahnhof and will open during Gallery Weekend Berlin.
Image above: Lina Lapelytė, What Happens with a Dead Fish?, 2021, Arts Festival of Arts, Brussels, 2021. © Courtesy the artist, Photo: Bea Borgers
Lina Lapelytė (born 1984, Kaunas, Lithuania) is an artist and composer whose practice is rooted in performance. She works between Vilnius and London, collaborating with professional and non-professional performers to develop collective singing actions that question systems of silencing and invite vulnerability. Her works have been shown at the Festival d’Automne/Bourse de Commerce (Paris), BAM, MOCA, and the Venice Biennale, among others. She is best known for the opera Sun & Sea (together with Vaiva Grainytė and Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė), which won the Golden Lion at the Biennale di Venezia in 2019.
The exhibition is part of the Hamburger Bahnhof’s 30th anniversary program. In 2026, the Hamburger Bahnhof will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a program that spans the history of the location into the future: eight special exhibitions, a new collection presentation, performances, and concerts will carry the museum far into the urban space. The highlight will be the anniversary weekend from November 13 to 15, when an international conference on the future of contemporary collection museums will take place and the museum will be open continuously for 30 hours.
The CHANEL Commission at Hamburger Bahnhof is an annual initiative that enables artists to realize large-scale projects. With their scope and vision, they create artistic reinterpretations of the museum’s iconic, historic 2,500-square-meter hall, using it as a place of exchange with the public. Following Klára Hosnedlová in 2025, Lina Lapelytė will realize the second edition of the CHANEL Commission in 2026.
WHEN?
Opening: Thursday, 30. April, 7 pm
Exhibition dates: 1. May 2026 – 10. January 2027
WHERE?
Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart
Invalidenstraße 50
10557 Berlin
