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

The lunar year of the horse
Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Köln
30. Jul 2026 - 31. Jan 2027
The exhibition "The Lunar Year of the Horse" at the Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne sheds light on the cultural significance of the horse in China, Korea and Japan.
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Jaume Plensa - Invisible
Museum Küppersmühle für Moderne Kunst, Duisburg
30. Jul 2026 - 1. Nov 2026
The Küppersmühle Museum in Duisburg is presenting the most comprehensive solo exhibition to date by Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa, featuring over 50 sculptures and special wall drawings.
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Beautiful anarchy. Johan Thorn Prikker and his time
Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Krefeld
30. Jul 2026 - 27. Jun 2027
The exhibition "Beautiful Anarchy. Johan Thorn Prikker and his time" at the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum pays tribute to the Dutch artist with a major retrospective.
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Jon Rafman. Main Stream Media
K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf
30. 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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Franz Marc
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf
12. Sept 2026 - 24. Jan 2027
Art lovers can discover the vibrant colors and deeply moving themes of Franz Marc, one of the most important painters of German Expressionism, in an exhibition at the K20 in Düsseldorf.
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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.
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Music, science, society

From the wool
LVR-Industriemuseum / Tuchfabrik Müller, Euskirchen
30. 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.
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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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Wanderlust. On the road with Felix the rabbit
LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur, Münster
30. Jul 2026 - 13. Sept 2026
The exhibition 'Wanderlustig. On the road with Felix the rabbit' at the LWL-Museum Münster offers an interactive journey around the world through art, culture and sustainable tourism.
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The power of rules
Stiftung Kloster Dalheim - LWL Landesmuseum für Klosterkultur, Lichtenau
30. Jul 2026 - 30. May 2027
The exhibition "The power of rules!" at Dalheim Monastery examines the role of rules in society and invites reflection.
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Survival
Ruhr Museum, Essen
30. Jul 2026 - 5. Sept 2027
The state paleontology exhibition “überLeben” in North Rhine-Westphalia offers insights into prehistoric worlds and shows how life and landscapes have changed over millions of years.
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PLAYMOBIL – Journey Through Time: Neanderthal
Neanderthal Museum, Mettmann
21. Nov 2026 - 31. Oct 2027
The Neanderthal Museum presents the history of Neanderthals through detailed PLAYMOBIL dioramas in the special exhibition “PLAYMOBIL – A Journey Through Time to Neanderthal Times.”
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Top exhibitions

The lunar year of the horse

Jaume Plensa - Invisible

Beautiful anarchy. Johan Thorn Prikker and his time

Jon Rafman. Main Stream Media

Franz Marc

Beautiful & austere: the power of ornamentation

From the wool

Paris: A Place of Refuge

Wanderlust. On the road with Felix the rabbit

The power of rules

Survival

PLAYMOBIL – Journey Through Time: Neanderthal

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