Image: Candice Breitz, Stills from Love Story, 2016, Courtesy Goodman Gallery, Kaufmann Repetto + KOW, © Candice Breitz, Kunstmuseum Bonn
The Kunstmuseum Bonn is presenting '#ifeelyou – Dimensionen der Empathie', a group exhibition examining how empathy is negotiated in contemporary art amid war, postcolonial debate, climate activism, questions of gender justice, racism and political radicalisation. The exhibition is on view at the Bonn museum from 21 May through 11 October 2026.
The exhibition approaches empathy as the ability to engage with the thoughts, feelings and perspectives of other people. According to the museum, this capacity can help individuals and groups recognise differences and enable forms of understanding. The works on display address the social, political and societal dimensions of empathy from a range of perspectives rather than treating it as a single, fixed condition.
Artists represented include Ulf Aminde, Renate Bertlmann, Joseph Beuys, Candice Breitz, Philipp Gufler, Hans Hemmert, Alfredo Jaar, Nikolaj Larsen, Franco & Eva Mattes, Katharina Mayer, Boris Mikhailov, Claudia Robles-Angel and Evamaria Schaller. Works highlighted in the museum’s exhibition documentation include Breitz’s 'Love Story' (2016), Gufler’s 'Lana Kaiser' (2020), Hemmert’s 'Level (2m gross sein)' (1997), Jaar’s 'The Sound of Silence' (2006), Bertlmann’s 'Im Visier und Messer-Rucksack, Le Voyage' (2025) and Robles-Angel’s 'Reflexion – In Sync/Out of Sync' (2019–2026).
The Kunstmuseum Bonn frames itself in the exhibition as a place for exchange, participation and changes of perspective. A substantial part of the project involves cooperation with people, groups and associations from Bonn’s civic community, alongside experiments with new formats for encounter. Partners named by the museum include Bonner Werkstätten Lebenshilfe Bonn, the city’s media-pedagogy advisory service, Lenas Raum, Pride Bonn, stadtstreifen, The Beautiful Minds, the Verein für Gefährdetenhilfe and zuhören draussen Bonn.
The public programme extends across the exhibition period. A 'Zuhör.Bank', organised by zuhören draussen Bonn, is scheduled to stand in the museum on selected Saturdays, where trained listeners will offer an open ear. Monthly 'Atelier am Sonntag' workshops, held with Bonn organisations and initiatives, will explore exhibition themes through creative methods. Interdisciplinary dialogue tours led by Lucy Degens and changing discussion partners will address subjects related to empathy, while curator-led tours will be conducted by Dr Barbara J. Scheuermann.
Performances and interventions form another strand of the programme. Evamaria Schaller is scheduled to present interactive performances, including one on 21 May and a group performance with students during the Museumsmeilenfest on 6 June. 'Loreley wird gesucht!' is a performative intervention by the Verein für Gefährdetenhilfe, directed and dramaturgically developed by Alex Mello with educational support from LATIBUL – Zentrum für pädagogisches Theater. The Bonn theatre collective The Beautiful Minds will present 'Breaking the Wave' on 26 September, 27 September and 3 October. The exhibition is supported by the Karin und Uwe Hollweg Stiftung and remains on view through 11 October 2026.
