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

Top exhibitionsArt heaven, Kant and the climate crisis

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

Tourismus NRW e.V., On the grounds of the Peter Behrens Building, historical machines convey individual work processes in heavy industry
Peter Behrens - Art and technology
LVR-Industriemuseum Peter-Behrens-Bau, Oberhausen
14. Mar 2025 - 31. Dec 2028
Discover the life and work of Peter Behrens, a pioneer of modern design, in the newly designed permanent exhibition at the LVR Industrial Museum in Oberhausen.
Learn more
Tourismus NRW e.V., M. Hulisz, The Gaskessel Wuppertal is home to Europe's largest 360-degree screen on five floors, a separate exhibition space and restaurant on the first floor as well as a fitness studio on several mezzanine floors
Vincent van Gogh - Longing
Gaskessel Event GmbH, Wuppertal
13. Mar 2025 - 31. Dec 2025
Explore the virtual art presentation of Vincent van Gogh's works at the Visiodrom in the Gaskessel Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, on Europe's largest 360-degree screen.
Learn more
Ludwiggalerie Schloss Oberhausen, Foto: Thomas Wolf, Oberhausen Palace is a central point of contact for fans of the visual arts
I say. LORIOT - artist, critic and caricaturist
Ludwiggalerie Schloss Oberhausen, Oberhausen
12. Mar 2025 - 18. May 2025
The Ludwiggalerie Schloss Oberhausen is honoring Vicco von Bülow, better known as Loriot, in an exhibition that sheds light on his multifaceted career as an artist and social critic.
Learn more
VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025, Maurice de Vlaminck, The Seine at Bougival, 1906, Hasso Plattner Collection
Maurice de Vlaminck: Rebel of modernism
Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal
12. Mar 2025 - 18. May 2025
First comprehensive retrospective of the French painter Maurice de Vlaminck in Germany, presented by the Von der Heydt-Museum and the Museum Barberini.
Learn more
Dortmunder U, Foto: Roland Baege, Sculptures by Renée Sintenis stand for innovative approaches in the art of the Weimar Republic
Tell these people who I am
Dortmunder U, Dortmund
12. Mar 2025 - 23. Mar 2025
The special exhibition at the Dortmunder U highlights the work of 30 female artists from Expressionism and Fluxus, and their role in the women's movement.
Learn more
Von der Heydt-Museum Wuppertal, Gustave Courbet, The cliffs near Étretat, around 1896
Times and rooms
Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal
12. Mar 2025 - 30. Mar 2025
Discover European art history from Ruisdael to Giacometti in the Von der Heydt-Museum Wuppertal through the exhibition 'Times and Spaces'.
Learn more
Kunstsammlung NRW, Sebastian Drueen, The Kunstsammlung NRW presents top-class exhibitions at regular intervals
Forgotten avant-garde - queer modernism
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf
20. Sept 2025 - 15. Feb 2026
The exhibition "Forgotten Avant-Garde - Queer Modernism" at the K20 of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen honors the revolutionary contribution of queer artists to modernism.
Learn more
Foto: Jianfeng Pan / Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Jianfeng Pan (*1973), Northern Ocean, 2023, ink, xuan paper, 138 x 204 cm
Ink walks
Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Köln
12. Mar 2025 - 29. Jun 2025
The exhibition 'Ink Walks' at the Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne presents the impressive works on paper by contemporary Chinese artist Jianfeng Pan.
Learn more
Tourismus NRW e.V., Museum Schloss Moyland has the world's largest collection of Joseph Beuys' work
Marina Abramović and MAI in dialog with Joseph Beuys
Museum Schloss Moyland, Bedburg-Hau
13. Jul 2025 - 12. Oct 2025
The Marina Abramović Institute is designing an art program at Museum Schloss Moyland based on artistic research in the Beuys archive and the museum's collection.
Learn more

Music, science, society

LVR-Niederrheinmuseum Wesel, The LVR-Niederrheinmuseum Wesel is the place to go for culture fans who want to find out more about the history of the Lower Rhine region
The history of the Lower Rhine
LVR-Niederrheinmuseum Wesel, Wesel
1. Apr 2025 - 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
Schleiner + Partner Kommunikation, Poster for the exhibition After Hitler. The German confrontation with National Socialism
After Hitler. The German confrontation with National Socialism
Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn
12. Mar 2025 - 25. Jan 2026
The exhibition "After Hitler" at the Haus der Geschichte in Bonn examines Germany's confrontation with National Socialism over generations.
Learn more
Tobias Friedrich, The award-winning underwater photographer Tobias Friedrich has captured a blue shark in a picture. Guests can now marvel at the photo
Planet Ocean
Gasometer Oberhausen, Oberhausen
12. Mar 2025 - 30. Nov 2025
The 'Planet Ocean' exhibition in the Gasometer Oberhausen presents the beauty of the world's oceans through large-format photographs, films and immersive installations.
Learn more
The Estate of Lucian Freud Bridgeman Images, Lucian Freud, Head of a Woman, 1988-1990, MGKSiegen, Lambrecht-Schadeberg Collection
Look, the looks
Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen, Siegen
12. Mar 2025 - 15. Jun 2025
The exhibition "Schau, die Blicke" at the Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen explores the theme of "seeing and being seen" through various artistic media.
Learn more
LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, Foto: Jürgen Vogel, Conrad Felixmüller, Child in front of a blast furnace, 1927
Brave new world of work. 1890-1940
LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, Bonn
13. Nov 2025 - 12. Apr 2026
The exhibition "Brave new world of work. 1890-1940" at the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn sheds light on the changes in the world of work and their artistic treatment.
Learn more
LVR-Industriemuseum, Fotografin: Anne Winterer, Couple in front of industrial plant
Anne Winterer - Rhineland and Ruhr region in view
LVR-Industriemuseum St. Antony-Hütte, Oberhausen
12. Mar 2025 - 22. Jun 2025
The exhibition 'Anne Winterer - Rheinland und Ruhrgebiet im Blick' at the LVR Industrial Museum shows over 60 photographs from the 1920s and 1930s, which offer a unique insight into people's lives at that time.
Learn more
Stiftung Zollverein, Foto: Sven Lorenz, The Ruhr Museum on the grounds of the Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site
The land of a thousand fires
Ruhr Museum, Essen
7. Apr 2025 - 14. Feb 2026
The exhibition "The Land of a Thousand Fires" at the Ruhr Museum shows the fascination of heavy industry for artists since the 19th century.
Learn more
LWL, Oblonczyk, Two permanent exhibitions and regular special shows provide insights into the animal and plant world at the LWL Museum of Natural History
Genes - diversity of life
LWL-Museum für Naturkunde, Münster
12. Mar 2025 - 31. Dec 2025
Discover the fascinating world of genes in the exhibition "Genes - Diversity of Life" at the LWL Museum of Natural History in Münster.
Learn more
Karl Heinz Schäfer, Tourist Information Paderborn, Imperial palace with St. Bartholomew's Chapel
1,250 years of Westphalia
LWL-Museum in der Kaiserpfalz, Paderborn
1. May 2025 - 28. Feb 2026
Celebration of the 1250th anniversary of Westphalia in 2025 with an anniversary program and exhibitions at the LWL Museum in the Kaiserpfalz in Paderborn. The history and culture of the region are told here.
Learn more