Plain Language
KW Institute for
Contemporary Art
Philippe Van Snick, Dag/Nacht, 1984–ongoing, Installation view entrance gate, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Photo: Frank Sperling, Courtesy Tatjana Pieters
Welcome to the website of KW Institute for Contemporary Art, also known as Kunst-Werke Berlin, or KW.
Here you will find information for your visit.
The information has 4 parts:
- 1. The Institution – history and background
- 2. Information for your visit
- Directions
- Opening hours
- Admission
- Tours
- Parking
3. Accessibility
- 4. The exhibitions in summer 2023
- Matt Copson – Coming of Age. Age of Coming. Of Coming Age.
- Schering Stiftung Award for Artistic Research 2024 – Sung Tieu
- Miloš Trakilović – Not a Love Song
- Jessica Ekomane – Antechamber
1. The Institution
KW is short for KunstWerke. In English that means art works.
The KW Institute for Contemporary Art opened in 1991.
It produces and shows contemporary art.
These are works of art made by artists of today.
All of the exhibitions at KW look at present-day questions.
The exhibitions consider social and political questions. This starts with the works of art and goes on to look at the artist’s views on these questions.
The director of the KW Institute for Contemporary Art is Emma Enderby. She and her team of curators are responsible for the exhibitions.
KW does not have its own collection. This means that it is free to create very different exhibitions. It sometimes asks artists to create works of art and then shows these works of art.
The KW Institute for Contemporary Art is well-known all over the world. It works with many artists and other institutions.
For example:
- MoMA PS1 in America
- Biennale di Venezia in Italy
- Documenta in Kassel, Germany.
2. Information for your visit
Directions
Our address: Auguststraße 69, 10117 Berlin
We recommend you use public transport. Parking is very limited.
Opening hours:
- Monday: 11 am to 7pm
- Tuesday: closed
- Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: 11 am to 7 pm
- Thursday: 11 am to 9 pm
Tickets
You can only buy tickets at the ticket counter.
We only accept payment with a card.
The cards we accept are:
Girocard, Mastercard, Amex, VISA, Maestro, VISA Electron and ApplePay.
Ticket prices
10 Euros: Regular price
6 Euros: Reduced price
Visitors with disabilities (50% GdB)
Students
Visitors doing community service
BBK members
Holders of the Berlin Ehrenamtskarte
Please bring your identification with you.
6 Euros:
Berlin Welcome Card holders
Reduced Price: 4,50 €
4 Euros:
Holders of a Berechtigungsnachweis.
This permit used to be called the Berlin pass.
Free entry:
- Assistants of visitors with disabilities
- All visitors up to 18 years
- Holders of the KW Lover season ticket
- Friends of KW and Berlin Biennale
- Unemployed persons
Admission to the KW is also free for all visitors:
- Thursdays from 6 pm to 9 pm
With the KW Lover annual pass, you can visit all exhibitions free of charge for one year. The price for the annual pass is 35 euros, reduced 25 euros. You can purchase it in our online shop. Click here to go to the shop.
Guided Tours
On weekends, we offer overview tours and thematic tours of the exhibitions. These guided tours are not in Plain English.
The meeting point is at the KW ticket office.
The price for the guided tours is included in the exhibition ticket.
Please register for the guided tours at the ticket office in the entrance area.
Only a certain number of people can take part.
The guided tours take place in cooperation with the Museumsdienst Berlin.
Travel by public transport:
- By Train
S1, S2, S25, S26 to Oranienburger Tor.
KW is 200 metres from the train station.
The station has a lift to the exit Tucholskystraße
- By underground
Both stations have lifts
U6 to Oranienburger Tor
KW is 600 metres from the train station.
U8 to Rosenthaler Platz
KW is 750 metres from the train station.
Parking
Unfortunately, there are no parking spaces directly at KW. You can park your car in front of the main entrance of KW to get in or out.
However, there is a parking lot for people with disabilities directly in front of KW next to the bicycle racks. You can park here if you have a pass for people with disabilities and while we are open.
3. Accessibility
The building
The KW Institute for Contemporary Art is an old and protected building.
Because of this some of the building is not accessible to all visitors.
To plan your visit to KW, please email us a week before your visit at: mediation@kw-berlin.de
or call us on 030-24 34 59-132.
Spontaneous visits are also possible. Unfortunately, the lift cannot be used independently. Please allow up to 30 minutes waiting time for spontaneous visits.
Entrance to KW’s courtyard
The main entrance does not have any steps.
There is a concrete path to the courtyard. But the courtyard is made of cobblestones.
Lifts to other floors
There is a lift to the
- exhibition rooms
- Pogo Bar in the basement
- accessible toilet on the 4th floor
Unfortunately, it is not possible to use the lift independently. Please ask our staff at the ticket counter if you wish to use the lift.
The KW studio is at the front of the building.
It is not accessible to all visitors.
There are 15 steps with railings leading to the studio.
Café
Café Bravo is in the courtyard. The courtyard is made of cobblestones. The entrance to the café is at ground level.
The door does not open automatically.
There is seating available.
Ticket Counter
The entrance to the ticket office and bookshop is at the back of the courtyard, straight ahead. It has a slightly ascending ramp as access.
Cloakroom
The cloakroom and entrance area can be used via the lift entrance on the left-hand side.
You can use the lockers in the cloakroom. There is also an unlocked cloakroom. Please note: KW accepts no responsibility for items stolen from the cloakroom.
Wheelchairs
We have foldable stools and wheelchair.
If you wish to use a stool or wheelchair during your visit,
please reserve it before your visit.
Call us on 030-24 34 59-69.
Prams
You cannot take prams into the exhibition rooms.
Please leave prams on the ground floor near the ticket office.
Our staff will help you.
Information in Plain English
All our exhibition texts are also in Plain English. You can find the link to these texts on the pages of the exhibitions or pick up a printed version when you arrive.
Assistance during your visit
If you come alone, we are happy to offer you support.
Send us an email one week before your visit to: mediation@kw-berlin.de. You can also reach our mediation team at: 030 24 34 59 132.
If you come spontaneously, you will find a sign with a bell at the main entrance on the right. This bell is connected to the ticket office. If you use this bell, you will then be assisted to walk or drive through the courtyard and into Café Bravo.
Please be aware of possible waiting times if you come without prior registration.
Support and feedback
Please contact us and let us know how we can improve our service. You can send us
an email mediation@kw-berlin.de
or call us on 030-24 34 59-132.
4. The exhibitions in spring 2025
In spring 2025 you can visit four exhibitions at KW.
The exhibitions are:
The exhibitions are open from 15 February to 4 May 25.
- Matt Copson
- Coming of Age. Age of Coming. Of Coming Age.
15 February – 4 May 25
Curator: Emma Enderby
Assistant Curator: Lara Scherrieble
- Schering Stiftung Award for Artistic Research 2024
- Sung Tieu
- 1992, 2025
15 February – 4 May 25
Curator: Léon Kruijswijk
Assistant Curator: Linda Franken
- Miloš Trakilović
- Not a Love Song
15 February – 4 May 25
Curators: Emma Enderby, Léon Kruijswijk
Assistant Curator: Linda Franken
- Jessica Ekomane
- Antechamber
15 February – 4 May 25
Curator: Emma Enderby
Assistant Curator: Nikolas Brummer