From Mosul to Palmyra
A Virtual Journey
through the World’s Cultural Heritage

30 August to 3 November 2019

Mosul, Aleppo, Palmyra, Leptis Magna – the names of these cities resonate  as symbols of the fabled cultural heritage of ancient civilisations, but also  as symbols of the wanton destruction of their vestiges by fanaticism and war. The exhibition employs state-of-the-art virtual reconstructions and spectacular animations to bring these legendary ruined cities of the ancient Arab world back to life. It invites visitors to embark on a journey through time and space into their glorious history, to witness their destruction in the recent past and to contemplate the possibility of their future reconstruction.
The itinerary takes visitors from Mosul (Iraq), the ancient city of Nineveh, via Aleppo (Syria), where successive Muslim empires from the Umayyads to the Ottomans left behind an extraordinary architectural treasure, to Leptis Magna (Libya), founded by the Phoenicians and once known as the ‘African Rome’, and, finally, to Palmyra (Syria), the legendary Graeco-Roman ‘pearl of the Orient’.
With this exhibition, the Bundeskunsthalle wants to underscore the importance of preserving this universal heritage of all humanity. ‘An exhibition that will make history. [...] Heartbreakingly beautiful.’ (Die Welt)

In cooperation with the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA), Paris

California Dreams
San Francisco – a Portrait

12 September 2019 to 12 January 2020

As places of longing, California and San Francisco in particular have always stood for the dreams of a "better life": dreams of prosperity and abundance, of other (at times utopian) social orders, innovative life styles, creative artistic perspectives, and new technological horizons. Both the Asian-Pacific region in the west and Europe in the east have had a lasting impact on San Francisco.
Time and again, global impulses have emerged from San Francisco: from the gold rush of the 19th century to the great social and political movements of the 20th century. Today, Silicon Valley is another global center of attraction in the San Francisco Bay area.
With artworks and historical objects from numerous Californian and European lenders the exhibition draws a many-faceted portrait of the city of San Francisco over four centuries. It touches upon important global issues of our time, especially those of migration and displacement. The exhibition celebrates San Francisco as a place whose pluralistic identity is constantly being renegotiated to this day.

Federal Prize for Art Students

24^th Federal Competition of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research
18 October 2019 to 5 January 2020

Every two years, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research holds the competition Federal Prize for Art Students. The competition is open to students enrolled at the 24 art academies in Germany. Every academy nominates two of their most promising students.
An independent jury selects five to eight winners. The prizes include an exhibition with catalogue at the Bundeskunsthalle, cash prizes and studio grants.
The competition Federal Prize for Art Students is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and organised by the German National Association for Student Affairs. It chief aim is to support young artists, to give them an opportunity to exhibit their work and to make the transition from the academy to the professional world.
This year’s design of the poster, catalogue and website lies in the hands of the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg.

Martin Kippenberger
BITTESCHÖN DANKESCHÖN
A Retrospective

1 November 2019 to 16 February 2020

Hugely versatile and complex, Martin Kippenberger was one of the most important German artists and helped shape the face of the 1980s and 90s. His position in the history of contemporary art was recognised and celebrated during his lifetime, and his legacy as a teacher and role model for generations of artists continues to be of national and international importance. Kippenberger’s creative practice was characterised by a feigned carefree dilettantism – a strategy he used with great deliberation. The polymorph complexity of his work, his knowing, unconventional, witty and often self-deprecating way of playing with form and content and his questioning of meaning or established concepts also place him in the Dada tradition. His work is based on a profound knowledge of the history of art and the close observation of everyday life. The exhibition will present paintings, drawings, posters, multiples, sculpture as well as expansive installations.