Tourismus NRW e.V., Bienenwaben Installation im Folkwang Museum in Essen

Top exhibitionsArt heaven, Kant and the climate crisis

The museums in North Rhine-Westphalia offer a wide range of exciting exhibitions with different focal points. Art and culture enthusiasts can look forward to works by renowned painters, sculptors and photographers. Institutions show exhibits on important music groups. Historical events, historical personalities and social phenomena also play a role. Below you will find an overview of the top exhibitions on offer this year. They are divided into the areas of "Art, Design, Architecture" and "Music, Science, Society".

Art, design, architecture

Kunstsammlung NRW, Sebastian Drueen, The Kunstsammlung NRW presents top-class exhibitions at regular intervals
Forgotten avant-garde - queer modernism
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf
20. Sept 2025 - 15. Feb 2026
The exhibition "Forgotten Avant-Garde - Queer Modernism" at the K20 of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen honors the revolutionary contribution of queer artists to modernism.
Learn more
VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025, Maurice de Vlaminck, The Seine at Bougival, 1906, Hasso Plattner Collection
Maurice de Vlaminck: Rebel of modernism
Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal
22. Mar 2025 - 18. May 2025
First comprehensive retrospective of the French painter Maurice de Vlaminck in Germany, presented by the Von der Heydt-Museum and the Museum Barberini.
Learn more
Ludwiggalerie Schloss Oberhausen, Foto: Thomas Wolf, Oberhausen Palace is a central point of contact for fans of the visual arts
I say. LORIOT - artist, critic and caricaturist
Ludwiggalerie Schloss Oberhausen, Oberhausen
22. Mar 2025 - 18. May 2025
The Ludwiggalerie Schloss Oberhausen is honoring Vicco von Bülow, better known as Loriot, in an exhibition that sheds light on his multifaceted career as an artist and social critic.
Learn more
Museum Ludwig, From left to right: Merce Cunningham, Robert Rauschenberg, John Cage, M.C. Richards, Bob Catoin and Jasper Johns, 1958
Five friends
Museum Ludwig, Köln
3. Oct 2025 - 11. Jan 2026
The exhibition "Five Friends" at the Museum Ludwig sheds light on the relationships and influence of five influential artists of the 20th century on post-war art.
Learn more
Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst Köln (MOK), Imperial Palace, Hamaguri Gate, etching and aquatint, 17 × 21 cm, 1995
Tanaka Ryōhei. From line to landscape
Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Köln
22. Mar 2025 - 13. Apr 2025
Discover the fascinating world of Japanese graphic artist Tanaka Ryōhei at the Museum of East Asian Art Cologne and take advantage of the MuseumsCard.
Learn more
Tourismus NRW e.V., Museum Schloss Moyland has the world's largest collection of Joseph Beuys' work
Marina Abramović and MAI in dialog with Joseph Beuys
Museum Schloss Moyland, Bedburg-Hau
13. Jul 2025 - 12. Oct 2025
The Marina Abramović Institute is designing an art program at Museum Schloss Moyland based on artistic research in the Beuys archive and the museum's collection.
Learn more
Comité Chagall, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024, Marc Chagall, The Bastille, 1953, oil on canvas, private collection
Marc Chagall - Visual languages
Kunstmuseum Pablo Picasso Münster, Münster
22. Mar 2025 - 8. Jun 2025
The exhibition "Marc Chagall - Visual Languages" shows the connection between art and literature in the work of the painter-poet, with over 100 paintings, drawings and graphics.
Learn more
Elisabeth Deiters-Keul, The LWL Museum of Art and Culture is dedicated to a total of 1000 years of Western art and cultural history on 7500 square meters of exhibition space
Kirchner. Picasso.
LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur, Münster
26. Sept 2025 - 18. Jan 2026
The exhibition "Kirchner. Picasso." at the LWL Museum of Art and Culture examines the connections and differences between the works of these two exceptional artists.
Learn more
dimensioni varie / various dimensions, Courtesy Galleria Continua and Bangkok Art Biennale, Photo by Preecha Pattaraumpornchai, NZHANNA KADYROVA (Brovary, Ucraina / Ukraine, 1981), Palianytsia. Ukraine, 2022, river stone sculptures
At the table
Dortmunder U, Dortmund
9. May 2025 - 20. Jul 2025
The "At the Table" exhibition at the Dortmunder U uses contemporary art to shed light on the social and cultural significance of eating and drinking together.
Learn more

Music, science, society

LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, Foto: Jürgen Vogel, Conrad Felixmüller, Child in front of a blast furnace, 1927
Brave new world of work. 1890-1940
LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, Bonn
13. Nov 2025 - 12. Apr 2026
The exhibition "Brave new world of work. 1890-1940" at the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn sheds light on the changes in the world of work and their artistic treatment.
Learn more
Karl Heinz Schäfer, Tourist Information Paderborn, Imperial palace with St. Bartholomew's Chapel
1,250 years of Westphalia
LWL-Museum in der Kaiserpfalz, Paderborn
1. May 2025 - 28. Feb 2026
Celebration of the 1250th anniversary of Westphalia in 2025 with an anniversary program and exhibitions at the LWL Museum in the Kaiserpfalz in Paderborn. The history and culture of the region are told here.
Learn more
LWL-Museen für Industriekultur, A historic Braun men's razor is a product of the beauty industry. It is one of the exhibits in the Behind Beauty show
Behind Beauty
LWL-Museum Textilwerk, Bocholt
25. May 2025 - 1. Nov 2025
The exhibition 'Behind Beauty' at the LWL-Museum Textilwerk Bocholt questions ideals of beauty, role models and the role of advertising in the beauty industry.
Learn more
LWL, Oblonczyk, Two permanent exhibitions and regular special shows provide insights into the animal and plant world at the LWL Museum of Natural History
Genes - diversity of life
LWL-Museum für Naturkunde, Münster
22. Mar 2025 - 31. Dec 2025
Discover the fascinating world of genes in the exhibition "Genes - Diversity of Life" at the LWL Museum of Natural History in Münster.
Learn more
J.H. Darchinger/Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Room attendant in the plenary chamber of the German Bundestag, 17.6.1971
Jupp Darchinger. The eye of the republic
LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, Bonn
12. Jun 2025 - 14. Sept 2025
The anniversary exhibition "Jupp Darchinger. The Eye of the Republic" at the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn honors the photographer who documented the Bonn Republic.
Learn more
Disney, Emmanuele Baccinelli, Phantomias, private collection
Superheroes
NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf
22. Mar 2025 - 11. May 2025
The NRW-Forum in Düsseldorf is presenting an exhibition about superheroes, who are icons of pop culture and symbols of democracy and hope.
Learn more
LVR-Industriemuseum, Fotografin: Anne Winterer, Couple in front of industrial plant
Anne Winterer - Rhineland and Ruhr region in view
LVR-Industriemuseum St. Antony-Hütte, Oberhausen
22. Mar 2025 - 22. Jun 2025
The exhibition 'Anne Winterer - Rheinland und Ruhrgebiet im Blick' at the LVR Industrial Museum shows over 60 photographs from the 1920s and 1930s, which offer a unique insight into people's lives at that time.
Learn more
Tobias Friedrich, The award-winning underwater photographer Tobias Friedrich has captured a blue shark in a picture. Guests can now marvel at the photo
Planet Ocean
Gasometer Oberhausen, Oberhausen
14. Apr 2025 - 30. Nov 2025
The 'Planet Ocean' exhibition in the Gasometer Oberhausen presents the beauty of the world's oceans through large-format photographs, films and immersive installations.
Learn more
LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, The LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn is one of the oldest museums in Germany. Its façade radiates modernity
MUSIC! feel the beat
LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, Bonn
22. Mar 2025 - 27. Apr 2025
The "MUSIC! Feel the Beat" exhibition at the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn shows the unifying power of music and the development of music technology.
Learn more