Current exhibitions
24 May – 30 November 2025
Light and Landscape. Impressionists in Normandy
Augustinermuseum
Rugged cliffs or long sandy beaches, sometimes calm, sometimes turbulent seas, blue skies or high cloudy mountains: more than seventy works – by artists such as Jean-Gustave Courbet, Baptiste Camille Corot and Claude Monet – show the importance of Normandy for Impressionism. Those who paint in the open air here have to work quickly, as the weather changes rapidly. This results in fleeting, atmospheric snapshots that characterise the style. The exhibition is based on the ‘Peindre en Normandie’ collection of the same name, which was founded in Caen in the 1990s.
26 April – 17 August 2025
Old Age! A Series of Prints Spanning Five Centuries
Haus der Graphischen Sammlung
Wise, obstinate, frail – a host of very different notions about old people obtains. What is at the bottom of such a wide range of contrasting associations? Who or what is considered old and why? Since antiquity, positive and negative representations of the so-called twilight years have been the subject of debate in both art and philosophy. What emerges is the fact that age(ing) is wholly relative. Cultural background, gender and social status all play a significant role. In Europe, old or elderly men tend to be depicted as benevolent and experienced, whereas in the case of women, the focus is usually upon their aging or aged bodies.
Ranging from the early modern period to the twentieth century, the exhibition presents a series of prints featuring works by Albrecht Dürer, Hans Baldung Grien, Käthe Kollwitz and Pablo Picasso. Interactive, hands-on areas provide visitors with an opportunity to explore their individual aging processes and place social stereotypes under the microscope.
14 March – 21 September 2025
Marta! Puppets, Pop & Poetry
Museum für Neue Kunst
Marta Kuhn-Weber (1903–1990) was an extravagant, self-confident and highly-individual crossover artist. She refused to accept boundaries, be they in her thinking or in her art. After periods in Berlin, Freiburg and Basel, she moved to Paris in the mid-1960s. Her mastery of self-staging is evident in her photographic and painterly self-portraits, as well as in her large dolls and puppets, which address gender attribution, sexuality and social roles. Literature, theatre, show business and the queer scene of the 1960s and 1970s inspired her. Today, Marta Kuhn-Weber represents a new type of artist: independent, keen to experiment and unpeturbed by the judgements of others. The Museum für Neue Kunst is also breaking new ground with Marta: an AI intervention by artist Boris Eldagsen and film animations by puppeteer Vanessa Valk bring the dolls in the exhibition to life.
4 June 2025 – 11 January 2026
Insects – dazzlingly beautiful and critically important
Museum Natur und Mensch
Our planet is still a planet of insects. They keep the cycle of life going, pollinate, feed and recycle. Nothing works without them! Nevertheless, insects only have a few fans. Many don't care about them, others find them disgusting and most are simply annoyed by them. They are being destroyed en masse. But if insect extinction continues, humanity will also lose important livelihoods. So let's get rid of the prejudices and get down to the facts! Insects are true jewels of evolution with amazing super abilities. Large-format macro photographs by Janosch Waldkircher, hundreds of specimens and many hands-on stations invite you to explore. Fascinating details are revealed under the microscope, such as the compound eyes of a bee. You can try out how you see with them using special glasses. For families, there are a stamp rally, puzzle cubes and other exciting educational games. Or how about a selfie as a beetle, dragonfly or praying mantis?