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

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

Emma Talbot meets Johan Thorn Prikker
Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, Krefeld
5. Jul 2026 - 24. Jan 2027
In her latest exhibition, British artist Emma Talbot explores Johan Thorn Prikker's monumental mural cycle "Ages of Life", which is on display at the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum in Krefeld.
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Jon Rafman. Main Stream Media
K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf
5. Jul 2026 - 27. Sept 2026
The Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen is presenting the first solo museum exhibition in Germany by Canadian media artist Jon Rafman, which introduces his experimental AI project 'Mainstream Media Network'.
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Rococo under Construction
Schloss Augustusburg, Brühl
5. Jul 2026 - 1. Nov 2026
The special exhibition 'Rococo under Construction' sheds light on the construction of Augustusburg Palace. The palace is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Brühl Palaces.
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After Damascus...
Museum Folkwang, Essen
6. Nov 2026 - 21. Feb 2027
The exhibition "After Damascus ... Karl Ernst Osthaus and the Islamic Arts" at Museum Folkwang sheds light on the museum founder's Islamic art collection and its impact on design and architecture.
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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.
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Anish Kapoor
Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg
5. Jul 2026 - 30. Aug 2026
Discover Anish Kapoor's most extensive exhibition in Germany for over a decade, highlighting his life's work at the Lehmbruck Museum.
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Music, science, society

Waste. An exhibition about the global routes of waste
Dortmunder U, Dortmund
5. Jul 2026 - 26. Jul 2026
Discover the special exhibition 'Müll' at Museum Ostwall, Dortmund, which highlights global waste flows and environmental issues through art since the 1960s.
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Cared for! - Company welfare at GHH
kulturinfo rheinland, Oberhausen
10. Jul 2026 - 16. May 2027
The photo exhibition "Cared for! - Corporate welfare at GHH" at the LVR Industrial Museum St. Antony-Hütte in Oberhausen sheds light on social responsibility in the industrial history of the Ruhr region.
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Two million years of migration
Neanderthal Museum, Mettmann
5. Jul 2026 - 1. Nov 2026
The exhibition "Two Million Years of Migration" at the Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann sheds light on the deep-rooted mobility in human history.
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Behind Beauty
LWL-Museum Textilwerk, Bocholt
5. 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.
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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.
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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.
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