DAS MINSK Sets the Tone for 2026 with a Bold Year of Art, Dialogue and Cultural Discovery

Potsdam is preparing for a landmark year in its cultural calendar as DAS MINSK Kunsthaus unveils an exhibition program that feels both deeply reflective and provocatively forward looking. Under the direction of Anna Schneider, the institution continues to establish itself as a place where the past is read through a contemporary lens and where art becomes a bridge that connects histories, ideas and communities.

The 2026 line up speaks to this mission with clarity. It brings together two artists whose practices could not be more different yet share a commitment to questioning the world around them. The result is a pair of exhibitions that promise to challenge, illuminate and expand the cultural conversation in Potsdam.

Oscar Murillo. Collective OsmosisMarch 14 to August 9, 2026

Oscar Murillo, one of the most dynamic voices in international contemporary art, arrives at DAS MINSK with a project that seeks to dissolve boundaries rather than reinforce them. Collective Osmosis is an exploration of mark making as a universal language, creating unexpected encounters between Murillo’s energetic practice and the romantic vision of Claude Monet. In a rare collaboration with Museum Barberini, visitors will find Murillo’s works across both institutions, linking them through a shared creative pulse.

Murillo adopts the scientific idea of osmosis as a poetic framework. Water moves through a porous membrane in search of balance and Murillo applies this to the museum itself. The exhibition becomes a study in openness, one that looks beyond the walls of DAS MINSK to the city, the wider world and the many invisible borders that shape our collective experience. His intention is both ambitious and deeply human.

Anna Schneider describes the project as a reimagining of what a museum can be. She praises Murillo for pushing forward the conversation around painting and for stripping away both visible and unseen restrictions that often define cultural spaces. She notes that choosing Monet as a creative partner in this experiment is a masterstroke, a meeting of artists who, in different eras, have taken on the challenge of translating the world around them into images that speak to universal emotion.

Murillo has long stood at the intersection of social consciousness and artistic innovation. His work ranges across painting, sound, installation and collaborative projects, carrying a commitment to shared culture and lived experience. His monumental installation The flooded garden captivated audiences at Tate Modern in 2024, and his list of accolades includes the Turner Prize and an honorary doctorate from the University of Westminster. Collective Osmosis builds on this legacy, offering a fresh insight into his evolving practice.

Annemirl BauerSeptember 5, 2026 to February 7, 2027

The second major exhibition of the year turns the focus toward a voice that history has too often overlooked. Annemirl Bauer, a Berlin and Brandenburg based artist and an uncompromising critic of social and political injustices in the GDR, receives a long overdue retrospective. Her work, spanning painting, drawing, collage and object based pieces, resonates with a clarity of vision that feels strikingly contemporary.

Bauer was relentless in her commitment to truth telling, frequently challenging the restrictive policies of the SED. Her work stands as a testament to artistic courage and personal conviction. For many years she remained excluded from the established canon, but the upcoming exhibition positions her exactly where she belongs: as a vital and fiercely independent artistic force.

Curated by Marie Gerbaulet with support from Luisa Bachmann and in close collaboration with Bauer’s daughter Amrei Bauer, the retrospective will offer the most extensive view so far of an artist who helped shape the cultural identity of the region, even when official narratives attempted to silence her.

Schneider emphasises that the Hasso Plattner Collection of post war art forms the foundation of DAS MINSK and that its purpose goes far beyond presentation alone. The institution is developing discursive formats, expansive educational programmes and partnerships that extend from the local community to international collaborators. She notes that the architecture, both inside and out, and the growing digital presence all play a role in turning DAS MINSK into a place where genuine dialogue takes root.

With the 2026 programme, DAS MINSK positions itself as one of the most compelling cultural destinations in Germany. It is a space where contemporary practice meets historical depth, where new ideas take shape and where the conversation never stops evolving.