‘ARE WE STILL UP TO IT?’ – ART & DEMOCRACY
18.05 - 18.10.2026
OPENING: SUNDAY, 17 MAY 2026 DURATION OF THE EXHIBITION: 18 MAY – 18 OCTOBER 2026
From mid-May, a new iteration of the exhibition “Are We Still up to It? – Art and Democracy” will be on display at the Neues Schloss Herrenchiemsee. Building on the positive public response in 2025, this edition of the exhibition once again brings into focus the most pressing questions of our time: the core values of our democracy. Spanning from early twentieth-century modernism to the art of the present day, the exhibition brings together works by Pablo Picasso, Max Beckmann, Rosemarie Trockel, Joseph Beuys, Maria Lassnig, Gerhard Richter, Andy Warhol, and many more. Their works spark an exciting dialogue with the striking architecture of the palace, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site just last year. The show sees more than 50 major works from the Sammlung Moderne Kunst at the Pinakothek der Moderne take up temporary residency in the historic unfinished rooms and exposed brickwork of Schloss Herrenchiemsee. Structured into ten chapters, the exhibition explores themes such as constitutional values, creative self-expression, and the possibilities of social participation, as reflected through art. The exhibition thus serves as a reminder of the Constitutional Convention held at Herrenchiemsee in 1948, which laid the foundations for the modern German constitution.
The exhibition title ‘Könnt ihr noch?’ (‘Are We Still up to It?’) quotes a track by the electro tech-rap group Deichkind and calls on us to reaffirm democratic values in times of increasing polarisation.
This year, a new installation by Paloma Varga Weisz is featured in the grand staircase. One of the leading sculptors of her generation, Varga Weisz explores existential themes through her sensitive handling of materiality. The sculptures, developed specifically for this setting, engage directly with the historic architecture.
Featured artists (selection): Max Beckmann, Joseph Beuys, Lisa Brice, Deichkind, Günther Förg, Sheila Hicks, K. H. Hödicke, Jörg Immendorff, Asger Jorn, Anselm Kiefer, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Maria Lassnig, Henri Laurens, Inge Mahn, Henry Moore, A. R. Penck, Pablo Picasso, Sigmar Polke, Judit Reigl, Gerhard Richter, Rosemarie Trockel, Paloma Varga Weisz, Andy Warhol among others
Curated by Verena Hein, Anja Heitzer, and Oliver Kase
CONVIVIUM. FOOD SYSTEMS AT THE LIMIT
23.04 - 18.10.2026
The safe and equitable supply of food to the world's population relies on a system of global networks: farmers, fishermen, breeders, traders, transport companies, markets and industrial processing plants. However, these networks not only produce and distribute what is necessary for human nutrition. They are driven by the capitalist imperative of growth to produce ever more products, which leads to poor eating habits and massive food waste due to overconsumption. Yet this system is increasingly reaching its limits on account of global warming and political and economic factors.
The exhibition aims to show visitors the spatial and technical foundations of our food production, as well as the challenges and opportunities this poses for the future.
