The Bucerius Kunst Forum is an international exhibition centre funded by the ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS. It is a forum for all the arts, characterized by focused exhibition concepts and an interdisciplinary programme of events. The Bucerius Kunst Forum transcends conventional boundaries between different art forms and epochs, questioning the relevance of familiar topics and offering new ways for a broad audience to engage with art. High-quality exhibition and event programmes present thought-provoking ideas that generate discussion about important social issues and values as well as the role of art in a globalized world.
Located in the heart of Hamburg next to the city hall, the Bucerius Kunst Forum organizes four exhibitions each year, presenting world-class works of art from antiquity to the present day. It is a place to exchange ideas and encounter a broad range of visual arts. In just a few years, the Bucerius Kunst Forum has won the trust of the world’s leading museums and can rely on them for priceless loans. The exhibition centre has become a favourite destination for art lovers in Hamburg and across the whole of Germany. The most visited exhibitions showed the works of Frida Kahlo (2006), Edward Hopper (2009), Joseph Mallord William Turner (2011), Joan Miró (2014) and Pablo Picasso (2016).
The Bucerius Kunst Forum presents outstanding art in new contexts. Its exhibitions highlight artistic relationships across different eras and disciplines, drawing connections between today’s art and that of the past. Works are considered from new theoretical perspectives and from a concrete point of view: for instance, an exhibition on Henri Matisse brought together his portraits for the first time; an exhibition on Frida Kahlo was unique in examining the links between Mexican and European art, and an exhibition on Pablo Picasso was the first to highlight the window as a central motif in all periods of the artist’s work. Even art connoisseurs come away from the exhibitions with fresh impressions and new knowledge.
The Bucerius Kunst Forum stages a lively calendar of events in the auditorium, which can seat up to 199 people. The programme of chamber concerts, lectures, readings and talks is carefully curated to illuminate the themes of each exhibition from different artistic angles. By demonstrating that the visual arts do not exist in isolation, the events inspire visitors with exciting new insights and experiences.
In June 2019 the Bucerius Kunst Forum moved to new rooms on Alter Wall – just a few metres from the previous location.
The four storeys behind the historical façade have been reconceived expressly for the arts. The exhibition gallery extends across a single level, which can be used in its entirety or divided into several more intimate spaces. A separate storey with auditorium and atrium is available for events such as concerts, readings, discussions, lectures or poetry slams. The service areas are more spacious, and the Bucerius Book Shop has more room for content ranging from art to music. A glazed studio at canal height offers space for creative work.
The Board of Trustees advises the direction of the Bucerius Kunst Forum on artistic, economic and organizational issues. It submits proposals for exhibition projects and plays a central role in networking with museums, exhibition houses and private lenders on a national and international level.
The two sculptures Gesellschaftsspiegel by the artist Olafur Eliasson line the Alte Wall. These are two nine-meter-high towers in which various kaleidoscopes are framed. When passers-by look up at the sky through the kaleidoscopes, they gain new perspectives on their familiar surroundings and become an active part of the installation.
More about the Gesellschaftsspiegel (in German)