New artistic directors for 2026: Julia Heunemann and Ulrike Riebel.

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vlnr.: Ulrike Riebel, Julia Heunemann; Foto: Michael Zeeh

New artistic directors for 2026: Julia Heunemann and Ulrike Riebel.

The two curators will succeed Veronika Witte and, in 2026, will realise the exhibition and events programme they have planned at the rk-Galerie in Lichtenberg – the Kunstverein Tiergarten will be a guest in a different space, in a new district, in a new neighbourhood.

At the heart of the year-long project lies collecting as an artistic, institutional and also private practice. The linchpin is an open display depot. This will be assembled at the start of the project as part of a symposium, together with visitors, artists and institutions. Throughout the project, the ever-growing collection of artists’ works will be continually re-examined, transformed and made tangible through exhibitions and collaborations.

Julia Heunemann’s curatorial practice explores spaces, narratives and the production of knowledge and art. In her curatorial practice, she explores the relationships between knowledge, collections and art, bringing contemporary artistic practices, everyday objects, scientific instruments and archival materials into open and multi-layered dialogues, for example for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and the Mail Art Archive of Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt and Robert Rehfeldt.

Publications in the fields of art, media studies and cultural studies, including work on the mediality of Mail Art and the deep sea. Julia Heunemann has curated exhibitions at venues including the Circus Building in Chisinau (Republic of Moldova), the FLUXUS+ Museum in Potsdam, the Kommunale Galerie Berlin, Galerie Nord | Kunstverein Tiergarten, the Museum der Dinge, Galerie Weisser Elefant and Bärenzwinger.

In her practice, Ulrike Riebel focuses on developing new and experimental curatorial setups. This work is characterised by breaking away from traditional exhibition formats and also takes place in spaces that negate the classical display of art, such as the Institut für alles mögliche and K29 Düsseldorf. Since 2023, she has been developing her curatorial practice within the Riebel collective. She continued her work with Rohrbach and, within this framework, founded the OFF-Raum for curatorial experiments K29 in Düsseldorf in 2024 and was co-editor of the M-OFF magazine takeover. Furthermore, she co-curated exhibitions at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna, the Bärenzwinger in Berlin and the Japanese Palace in Dresden. Galerie Nord | Kunstverein Tiergarten and at the Kunstverein Grafschaft Bentheim, which she has been co-directing with Roger Rohrbach since 2025.