Under the responsibility of director Emma Enderby, the current program evolves around the central objective of using the participating artists’ perspective as a starting point, entailing their subjects and points of view as ways to reflect on social and political issues. The institution is thereby conceived as a social space that facilitates contemplation and exchange between different protagonists and cultures, consistently challenging its audience. The building complex includes exhibition halls, apartments, offices, and event spaces, as well as the Café Bravo in the courtyard, that was designed by Dan Graham in 1999.

In addition to its internationally renowned exhibition program, KW collaborates on a regular basis with national and international partners, such as MoMA PS1, the Biennale di Venezia and Documenta in Kassel.

KW Institute for Contemporary Art is institutionally supported by the Berlin Senate Departement for Culture and Social Cohesion. The program of KW is kindly supported by the KW Freunde e. V.

In 1995, the heritage-listed front building from the late 18th century as well as the factory building, which dates back to the 1870s, were acquired by the Berlin Lotto Foundation after the settlement of pending restitution claims and made available to KUNST-WERKE BERLIN e. V., the support association of KW, for cultural use.

Thanks to the support of the national urban heritage conservation program, the foundation for heritage conservation, as well as the Berlin Lotto Foundation, the KUNST-WERKE BERLIN e. V. was able to renovate the buildings and add two new annexes: Café Bravo, designed by American artist Dan Graham, and realized in cooperation with the architect Johanne Nalbach, and the expansion of the transverse wing of a 400 m² exhibition hall by the Berlin architect Hans Düttmann. When the newly renovated buildings of KW reopened in autumn 1999, the complex had several office and studio spaces in its side wings, one of the most beautiful courtyards in Berlin-Mitte, and 2,000 m² of exhibition space spread across five floors at its disposal.

Since 1998, the exhibition spaces are also used every other year by the Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art. Founded through a private initiative in 1996, the Berlin Biennale has been receiving exclusive funding as a lighthouse project from the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation) since 2004. Since then, KUNST-WERKE BERLIN e. V. functions as the support association of the Berlin Biennale.

In 2016, it was decided to restructure KUNST-WERKE BERLIN e. V. and form two institutional branches: KW Institute for Contemporary Art and the Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art. Gabriele Horn—the successor of Founding Director Klaus Biesenbach who had served as Director of both institutions since 2004—remained Director of the Berlin Biennale while Krist Gruijthuijsen was appointed Director of KW Institute for Contemporary Art in July 2016. In May 2024 Emma Enderby became the new Director of KW Institute for Contemporary Art.  

Since its inauguration, KW has aimed to critically examine current tendencies within society through the production, display, and discourse of contemporary art. By means of exhibitions, commissioned works, and various event formats, KW has aligned itself with the national and international art and cultural discourse through collaborations with artists and other institutions.

Over the years, many outstanding artists have presented their first solo exhibitions as well as significant new works at KW, amongst others, Absalon, Kader Attia, Kate Cooper, Keren Cytter, Anna Daučíková, Ceal Floyer, Cyprien Gaillard, Beatriz González, Sidsel Meineche Hansen, Judith Hopf, Channa Horwitz, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Hanne Lippard, Renata Lucas, Hiwa K, Annette Kelm, Adam Pendleton, Mika Rottenberg, Christoph Schlingensief, Hassan Sharif, Wael Shawky, Santiago Sierra, Ryan Trecartin and Lizzie Fitch, as well as Ian Wilson.

Thematic shows and group exhibitions such as 37 Räume (1992), when tekkno turns to sounds of poetry (1995), Stand der Dinge (2000), Territories (2003), Zur Vorstellung des Terrors: Die RAF-Ausstellung (2005), Into Me / Out Of Me (2006), History Will Repeat Itself. Strategies of Reenactment in Contemporary Art (2007), Seeing is Believing (2011), One on One (2012/13), Fire and Forget. On Violence (2015), or The Making of Husbands: Christina Ramberg (2019/2020) have shaped the profile of KW and continuously influenced the international art discourse.

The artistic team of Emma Enderby currently consists of Sofie Krogh Christensen as Associate Curator, Léon Kruijswijk as Curator, Linda Franken as Assistant Curator, Lara Scherrieble as Curatorial Assistent, Nikolas Brummer as Live Programmer as well as Marc Hollenstein as Graphic Designer. Previous members of the artistic team count Anna Gritz as Curator (2016–2022), Maurin Dietrich as Assistant Curator (2016–2019), Cathrin Mayer as Assistant Curator and Curator (Parental Leave Replacement) (2016–2020), Tirdad Zolghadr (2016–2020), Clémentine Deliss and Mason Leaver-Yap as Associate Curator, and Nadim Samman as Curator for the digital sphere.

Earlier curatorial staff members of KW also count Anselm Franke (2001–2006), Susanne Pfeffer (2007–2012), and Ellen Blumenstein (2013–2016) as Chief Curators. Internationally renowned guest curators were furthermore regularly invited to develop their exhibition projects within KW.