Bienenwaben Installation im Folkwang Museum in Essen
Tourismus NRW e.V., Bienenwaben Installation im Folkwang Museum in Essen
Ausstellungsansicht der Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen
Foto: Achim Kukulies, Ausstellungsansicht der Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen

Kusama, Courbet and lots of Monet

Top exhibitions

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

  • To Page Beautiful & austere: the power of ornamentation

    Beautiful & austere: the power of ornamentation

    Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal
    11. Oct 2026 - 14. Feb 2027
    The Von der Heydt-Museum in Wuppertal is dedicating an exhibition to the role of ornament, pattern and geometric order in art.
    Learn more
  • To Page The fascination of jewelry. 7000 years of jewelry art at the MAKK

    The fascination of jewelry. 7000 years of jewelry art at the MAKK

    Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln, Köln
    23. Jul 2026 - 30. Dec 2026
    Discover the impressive exhibition 'Fascination Jewelry. 7000 years of jewelry history with 370 exhibits can be admired here.
    Learn more
  • To Page Manifesta 16 Ruhr

    Manifesta 16 Ruhr

    Manifesta 16 Ruhr Office, c/o Regionalverband Ruhr, Essen
    23. Jul 2026 - 4. Oct 2026
    Manifesta 16 Ruhr, a major European traveling biennial for contemporary art, will take place in the Ruhr region in 2026 and will use empty post-war churches as exhibition venues.
    Learn more
  • To Page Thomas Schütte

    Thomas Schütte

    K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf
    14. Nov 2026 - 18. Apr 2027
    Overview of the diverse work of the influential artist Thomas Schütte in the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, including sculptures, watercolors and installations.
    Learn more
  • To Page Katharina Sieverding & Joseph Beuys

    Katharina Sieverding & Joseph Beuys

    Museum Schloss Moyland, Bedburg-Hau
    11. Oct 2026 - 7. Feb 2027
    The special exhibition "Katharina Sieverding & Joseph Beuys - Jeder Mensch ein Künstler..." at Museum Schloss Moyland sheds light on the artists' time together at the Düsseldorf Art Academy and their political and social concerns.
    Learn more
  • To Page Thomas Baumgärtel - 40 years of banana sprayers

    Thomas Baumgärtel - 40 years of banana sprayers

    Museum Schloss Moyland, Bedburg-Hau
    23. Jul 2026 - 30. Aug 2026
    The large-scale exhibition "Thomas Baumgärtel - 40 years of banana sprayers" will transform the Lower Rhine into a walk-in art landscape spread across 40 locations in 2026.
    Learn more
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Music, science, society

  • To Page ASIA POP

    ASIA POP

    NRW-Forum, Düsseldorf
    17. Sept 2026 - 23. May 2027
    The exhibition 'ASIA POP' at the NRW-Forum Düsseldorf presents the diversity of East Asian pop culture with over 400 exhibits from September 18, 2026.
    Learn more
  • To Page Forest myth

    Forest myth

    Gasometer Oberhausen, Oberhausen
    23. Jul 2026 - 30. Dec 2026
    The 'Mythos Wald' exhibition in the Gasometer Oberhausen shows the biodiversity of forests worldwide and raises awareness for their protection.
    Learn more
  • To Page Behind Beauty

    Behind Beauty

    LWL-Museum Textilwerk, Bocholt
    23. Jul 2026 - 1. Nov 2026
    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

  • From the wool

    LVR-Industriemuseum / Tuchfabrik Müller, Euskirchen
    23. Jul 2026 - 31. Dec 2026
    The 'Von der Wolle' exhibition at the LVR Industrial Museum Tuchfabrik Müller sheds light on the history of wool production and its role in fashion, technology and industrialization.
    Learn more
  • To Page The history of the Lower Rhine

    The history of the Lower Rhine

    LVR-Niederrheinmuseum Wesel, Wesel
    23. Jul 2026 - 31. Dec 2026
    The new permanent exhibition at the LVR-Niederrheinmuseum Wesel sheds light on the history of the Lower Rhine and links regional developments with global themes.
    Learn more
  • To Page Paris: A Place of Refuge

    Paris: A Place of Refuge

    LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, Bonn
    1. Oct 2026 - 24. Jan 2027
    The exhibition “Fluchtpunkt Paris” at the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn explores the cultural life of Paris in the 1920s and 1930s through the photographs of Gisèle Freund, Rogi André, and Madame d’Ora.
    Learn more
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