BERLIN.- From 9—13 SEP 2026, Berlin Art Week celebrates its fifteenth anniversary. More than 120 museums, private collections, galleries, project spaces and the art fair Positions will present a diverse festival programme, turning the German capital into a hotspot for contemporary art for five days.
Art institutions, museums, Kunstvereine and exhibition spaces across the city invite visitors to discover their new programmes. Renowned private collections also open their doors as part of Open Houses—no registration required. Discovering Collections! offers a rare opportunity to join guided tours of the private homes of Berlin collectors, opening them to the public for the very first time. The art market is equally well represented: Positions Berlin Art Fair brings together over 80 galleries from around 20 countries at the former Tempelhof Airport, while around 50 Berlin galleries from the Gallery Weekend Berlin network invite visitors to Gallery Night on Thursday evening. The VBKI-Preis Berliner Galerien which recognises emerging gallerists, will also be presented during Berlin Art Week.
Thirty selected special projects, independent project spaces, curatorial initiatives and artist-led collaborations make up this year's ›Featured‹ section, presenting programme highlights in unusual—and sometimes little-known—locations across Berlin: from Lichtenberg to Westend, in U-Bahn stations, hotel suites, cinemas and outdoor swimming pools. On Friday evening, 11 SEP, ›Featured Night‹ invites visitors to enjoy extended opening hours, special programmes and events.
The ›Featured‹ section once again presents outstanding projects, special formats and initiatives from Berlin’s independent art scene. Around 30 special projects were selected from over 260 submissions.
The jury explains: »The changing social and economic fabric of Berlin means no single working model guarantees that project spaces, independent initiatives, galleries, and off-site venues will survive. The jury responded by selecting spaces across diverse models and local geographies, reflecting how rapidly the city is being remapped. Several chosen initiatives carry forward more than a decade of self-organised practice; others are fresh to the scene, and some are ephemeral. This variousness is itself a Berlin legacy, and one that our selection for the 2026 ›Featured‹ section hopes to recognise.«
The participating projects for 2026 were selected by a jury comprising Kate Brown (Journalist), Jenny Schlenzka (Director, Gropius Bau), Alya Sebti (Senior Curator Exhibition Practices, Haus der Kulturen der Welt), and Mona Stehle (Artistic Director, Berlin Art Week)
