About us
Kunsthalle Düsseldorf
The Kunsthalle Düsseldorf is a space for artistic experimentation and sensory experiences. Its focus is on contemporary art since the 1960s and commentary on the present. It has always seen itself as a home for artists and a space for possibilities, with close ties to the Düsseldorf artist community. At the same time, it is dedicated to international movements and cooperation with regional art academies. Through its work, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf aims to bring together local and global perspectives.
As an institution without a permanent collection, it highlights current trends, artistic developments, and contemporary discourses, based on current events and the observation of contemporary social, cultural, and aesthetic dynamics.
The Kunsthalle Düsseldorf’s program is characterized by its versatility and multimedia approach. Exhibitions, interdisciplinary events, as well as discursive and participatory formats are given equal standing and encourage new perspectives as well as active experience and participation. The Kunsthalle Düsseldorf is a vibrant place for encounters with art—a space for exchange, discussion, and social reflection. It sees itself as a cultural meeting place that brings people together and makes culture tangible.
The Kunsthalle Düsseldorf presents survey and thematic exhibitions, solo shows and retrospectives, events, and performances by pioneering artists, as well as those addressing current phenomena and social discourses. Aesthetic questions play a central role alongside discourses on contemporary social and cultural phenomena, such as society, inclusion, diversity, participation, sustainability, and digital transformation.
Since 2023, we have also placed a special focus on publishing as an artistic practice, with a variety of events and our annual art book fair, Between Books.
History and Architecture of the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf
The origins of the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf date back to the beginning of the 18th century. Its history is closely intertwined with the fate of the renowned Electoral Collection of Johann Wilhelm von der Pfalz, which was transported to Munich in 1805 to prevent it from falling into Napoleon’s hands. Due to political treaties, Düsseldorf had to renounce the return of the painting collection, which to this day forms the foundation of the Pinakothek in Munich.
Düsseldorf then submitted a petition to Emperor Wilhelm I to receive compensation for the lost art treasures. The Emperor finally granted the sum of 150,000 thalers for the construction of the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf.
On 3 July 1881, the building, constructed by architects Ernst Giese and Paul Weidner in the late Neoclassical style, was opened with a historical costume parade by the Malkasten artists’ association. As one of the first exhibition halls in Germany, the building was primarily dedicated to contemporary art. From the very beginning, the Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen (Art Association for the Rhineland and Westphalia) was also housed in the same building alongside the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf.
Damaged during World War II, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf nevertheless continued its exhibition activities in a limited space. In the 1960s, the decision was finally made to construct a new building for the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, and the old building was demolished. A few architectural elements from the old building can still be found in the courtyard of Düsseldorf’s City Hall, as well as the portal figures from the former museum building—the four “Caryatids” by sculptor Wilhelm Albermann—which stand next to the present-day Kunsthalle Düsseldorf.
For the new building, architects Beckmann and Brockes used prefabricated concrete elements, which still define the characteristic facade of the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf today and made the structure one of the earliest examples of Brutalism in Germany. The building was heavily criticized for its massive-looking facade. Even some professors from the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, including Joseph Beuys, demanded its immediate demolition: “The beast must go!”
In the late 1990s, the continued existence of the exhibition hall was once again called into question, and demolition was debated. An initiative by Düsseldorf artists and citizens vehemently campaigned to preserve the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf as a “public arena for intelligent artistic experimentation.” As a result, demolition was successfully prevented.
However, the building had to be temporarily closed for extensive renovation and modernization work by the architectural team rheinflügel. In July 2002, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf finally reopened its doors with the exhibition Back to Concrete: The Beginnings of Punk and New Wave in Germany, 1977–82.
Since then, the interior of the building has been distinguished by its simple layout and generously proportioned, open exhibition spaces. Conceived as a classic “white cube,” the building’s interior is simple and clear across three floors. With three large exhibition spaces and two foyers, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf has a total of around 1,000 square meters of exhibition space. In addition to the Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, the building on Grabbeplatz also houses the renowned Düsseldorf cabaret Kom(m)ödchen, the Walther König bookstore, and the artists’ club Salon des Amateurs.
Having now become dated, the City of Düsseldorf decided in 2022 on a fundamental energy-efficient renovation of the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. Starting in 2026, the building will close for an expected three years to be renovated by the architectural firms Stöbe Architekten and Molestina Architekten + Stadtplaner. The focus will be on energy-efficient refurbishment, accessibility, and spatial changes intended to allow for a more flexible, contemporary use of the building.
During the renovation, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf and its program will remain accessible to the public through exhibitions, projects, and events at various locations throughout Düsseldorf.
Art Education
The Kunsthalle Düsseldorf sees itself as a vibrant place of exchange and reflection that aims to enable the right to participate. It therefore conceives of its work in art education as an active, dialogical process that is intended to encourage people to use their skills, develop their own perspectives, and understand new viewpoints through exchange.
Its programs encourage engagement with contemporary art and socially relevant topics. In doing so, it relies on participatory formats that are open to a multiplicity of voices, but also to uncertainty. The institution’s educational work is process-oriented and strengthens creativity, critical thinking, and self-efficacy. It creates spaces for encounters, questions, irritations, and insights—both inside and outside the exhibition spaces.
The Kunsthalle Düsseldorf invites people to experience art and to think, feel, and act through it, with it, and beyond it.
Sustainability
As a cultural institution, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf sees its responsibility in promoting and helping to shape a livable and sustainable society. Through its sustainability working group, it endeavors to integrate sustainable principles into its daily operations and to actively bring about positive changes in the management of social and environmental resources through appropriate measures and educational programs.
The energy-efficient renovation of the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf will begin in April 2026. It is an important step toward improving the building’s energy efficiency and reducing its environmental footprint. Through measures such as modernizing the heating and ventilation systems and insulating the building envelope, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf will become more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly, while respecting its landmark protection status. The renovation will thus help make the building fit for the future while also contributing to environmental protection.
The Kunsthalle Düsseldorf is part of the Düsseldorf Climate Pact. By participating in this network, it is committed to sustainable practices and environmentally conscious actions. The goal is to reduce the institution’s environmental footprint, use resources efficiently, and integrate sustainable concepts into its exhibition operations.
Diversity and Inclusion
As a public institution, there is no place for discrimination in its various forms at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. It sees diversity as an opportunity through which it promotes intercultural and interdisciplinary dialogue.
Through its diversity working group, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf is continuously working to align itself in an inclusive and discrimination-sensitive manner. However, due to the structural conditions of the building, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf is not currently fully accessible. These barriers are set to be removed in the course of the comprehensive renovation of the building by the City of Düsseldorf, beginning in 2026. The goal is to enable inclusive, equal, and self-determined participation for all people in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Artworks at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf
As a venue for temporary exhibitions, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf does not have a collection. Yet some artworks, especially outside the building, have shaped the image of the institution.
Directly above the main entrance, as an outdoor sculpture created as part of the architectural design, Karl Hartung’s work Relief graces the facade. Next to it, Die Träne (The Tear), a relic of a performance by James Lee Byars as an homage to his fellow artist Joseph Beuys after the latter’s death, has run down the building since 1986. On a pedestal to the left of the staircase at the entrance is Habakuk by the artist Max Ernst, a work belonging to the Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen.
Since 1969, to the left of the main entrance, there has also been a work by Michael Heizer entitled windows and matchdrops, which is etched into a concrete panel on the ground. The work Kippdeckel by Lee Thomas Taylor was installed in 2004 as part of the exhibition raumfürraum on the landing.
Walking around the building, visitors will notice another work on the facade to the right: a stovepipe sticking out of the wall above the entrance to the Kom(m)ödchen. The work was installed in 1981 for the exhibition Schwarz by Joseph Beuys and ends inside the building, in the Emporensaal, as Loch (hole). Below the work by Joseph Beuys there are four large sculptures: the Karyatiden by the sculptor Wilhelm Albermann were originally part of the portal of the old Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. They were able to be saved before the destruction of the old museum building during World War II, and they represent the four arts of music, sculpture, painting, and architecture.
In the exhibition spaces, visitors will find also works that have been donated to the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, including at times Gerhard Richter’s Mirror from 1981 and an engraving by the artist Sophie Isabel Urban with Simon Wienk-Borgert, which has been permanently installed under the stairs on the first floor since the 2017 exhibition Academy [Working Title]. The permanent work Elastischer Fuß/Plastischer Fuß, realized by Joseph Beuys in 1969 for the exhibition PROSPECT 69, is located in the small storage area next to the auditorium. Today Beuys’s work is no longer visible due to the installation of a second escape route for the auditorium and the theater space at the Kom(m)ödchen.
