16 April ‒ 31 May 2026
The Gallery as a Stage: #2_Acting/Reacting

For the second part of the series The Gallery as a Stage: #2_Acting/Reacting, we want to deliberately break with the previous perception of the gallery and give all rooms different functions in order to stimulate new forms of interaction and presentation.
To this end, we are taking the title literally and constructing a stage set designed by Prof. Tilo Baumgärtel in the larger gallery space, while the other rooms can be used as backstage areas, storage rooms, dressing rooms and much more. 
Following an OPEN CALL for students and alumni of BURG, a university jury selected 27 proposals from 41 applications.

The opening will take place on 15 April 2026.

participating artists:

• All of the Above (Tom Germershausen/Gesine Otto)
• BCC: ruckizucki (Anna Darmstädter, Carlin Hefer, Maxim Himmelspach, Patrick Neugebauer, Rebecca Püls, Pia Ritzer, Richard Rothfeld, Clara Scheffler, Phlorian Wagner)
• Alva Berlich
• Clara Behr
• Brianna Leonie Blug
• Bühnen der Existenz (Paula Barth, Clara Berlich, Lena Kron, Sophia Scherer, Michael Schroller, Nut Srisuwan, Prof. Dr. Marita Tatari, Elena Ylva Veit/Simone Jahnkow)
• Volker Buchwald
• Simon Gärtner
• GIGA 8, ein episodischer Modefilm mit Gigi Spelsberg (Projektteilnehmer*innen der BURG: Inanna Natalie Annoh, Frieder Paul Bassfeld, Lea Rosa Casparek, Henriette Gröger, Raffael Jakob Harrer, Mira Lu Haselow, Sophie Kerschbaumer, Malgorzata Leszcyriska, Mattis Melchior Meretz, Magdalena Jocic, Gent Törber
  Projektteilnehmer*innen der UdK Berlin: Subin Ahn, Mika Baum, Carolyn Beyer, Philipp Conrads, Sofie Fink, Felix von der Goltz, Sergey Kuchin, Leara Manhaes Reis, Elsa Maria Molinari, Elvis Perales, Anja Rudzinski, Gala Rummenhöller, Tobias Scholze, Justus Siebrecht, Jereon Wijne, Yechan Yung); Studienrichtung Modedesign Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle (Prof. Lars Paschke / Dana Elmi Sarabi) und Visuelle Kommunikation Klasse Bewegtbild Universität der Künste Berlin (Prof. Stini Röhrs / Pauline Pyras)
• Rouven Guder
• Rouven Guder/Ina Panknin/Antonia Roziewski
• Elena Jung
• Genesis Kahreci (HGB Leipzig)
• Kohllaboration (Katharina Bäuml, Viv Donner, Moegi Morikawa, Anna Pürschel, Christin Radischat)
• Malin Kienle (mit Lucy Maxime Bikar und Hannah Adomßent)
• Klangobjekte (Constantin Carstens, Maximilian Jahn, Samuel Kok, Milan Logar, Sophia Scherer, Michael Schroller, Maria Winkler)
• Lokale Skandale (Nils Jaeger mit Hanner Frerich, Rahel Gebhardt, Nele Lippert, José Madrigal Despaigne, Caro Rüllich, Helen Stolzenberg, Rosa Suhrbier, Louis Voelkel)
• Caroline Palm/Maria Winkler
• Ina Panknin
• Clara Rudolf/Rahel Wagner
• Carolin Rüllich/Ines Wassermann
• Henrike Luise “Luri” Schmidt
• Kaja Semmler
• Jooyeon Shin
• Michelle Sorin
• Phlorian Wagner
• Wear We Meet, SCHMUCK HALLE (Katharina Briksi, Leonie Damm, Nora Heuschmann, Maren Kaden, Cathleen Kämpfe, Samuel Maßmann, Hannah Suda, Larissa Thiel)

Additional participants:

• Prof. Dr. Nike Bätzner
• Prof. Tilo Baumgärtel und Sebastian Hartmann
• Prof. Dr. Veronica Biermann

On 9 May 2026, the Burg Gallery will take part in the Halle & Leipzig Museum Night.

Programme:

3–4 p.m.
Mito by Brianna Leonie Blug
Mito is a larger-than-life doll who wants to explore the Volkspark. Her creator carries the doll herself. Visitors of all ages can learn how Mito came to be and what her plans are.

3–11 p.m.
Live publication, action by BCC: ruckizucki (Anna Darmstädter, Clara Scheffler, Phlorian Wagner and others)
A live publication is similar to a live ticker: reporting is as close to the present moment as possible. It documents what is happening on site, mixing in contributions from the audience. Visitors become actors, interested parties become voyeurs, collectors become producers. Everything is printed and published – the resulting booklets can be taken home by the audience.

9–9.30 p.m.
Reflection, performance with Carolin Rüllich and Ines Wassermann

The lights are off. Black hole on. A feeling of infinity. Armed with torches, the performers set out in search of hidden promises in the corners of the Volkspark. Shadows, light reflections and noises present everyone with a challenge: how do we encounter the unknown, the here and now?

9.30–10 p.m.
Playable Images v1.01, live set with Volker Buchwald

A live set combining exploratory sound and memorable rhythms is planned. Guided by dynamic and reactive images, music and projection merge to create an intertwined audiovisual narrative

18 July  ‒ 9 August 2026
Take Off 2026 – Meisterschüler*innen der BURG

With Take Off 2026, BURG continues its exhibition series that began in August 2021 and will show the final projects of the master students in parallel with the annual exhibition in mid-July 2026.

The opening will take place on 17 July 2026.

14 October ‒ 8 November 2026
Taking Space. Politische Dimensionen des Textildesigns 
(Taking Space. Political dimensions of textile design)

Projects from the Textile Design and Conceptual Textile Design degree programmes

Through the crossing and intertwining of threads, textiles always form a space, however small it may be. Every fabric offers space for narratives, for political negotiations, for symbols, for its origins. Cultural classifications, social changes and sustainability requirements always resonate in the process of textile design, of contextualising fabrics. The exhibited works show various facets of the political classification of creative research and action.

The exhibition will open 13 October 2026.

26 November 2026 ‒ 14 January 2027
GiebichenStein Designpreis 2026

The exhibition for the GiebichenStein Design Prize showcases nominated and award-winning works by students from the Design Faculty at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle, providing a fascinating insight into the latest design concepts, innovative materials and experimental projects. The prize is awarded in the categories Best Idea/Best Concept, Best Communication, Most Committed Cause and Most Interesting Experiment, and various special prizes are also awarded. Design students apply for the coveted award with their works shown at the Annual Exhibition.

The exhibition will open 25 November 2026.

As of  25 February 2026

Art mediation formats

In addition to the conception and realisation of exhibitions, Burg Gallery im Volkspark sees its task as communicating the exhibition ideas and the contemporary art and design positions on display to a wide audience in a variety of ways.

To this end, an extensive accompanying artistic programme is being developed that provides various ways of accessing contemporary art. For example, aspects of artistic work will be examined in discussions with the artists in front of their works, contexts of creation will be illuminated, work contexts will be scrutinised and thematic explorations will be presented. The programme is constantly expanding its formats, also by taking into account the wishes and ideas of the exhibitors and visitors.

The following three focal points I. Actions by artists, II. Dialogue-based art education and III. Discursive events have crystallised and proven themselves in recent years of art education practice.

I. Actions by artists

The concept of an artistic work is constantly changing. Artists often not only work with different media, but also engage with other areas of art such as theatre, literature, music, entertainment and popular culture as well as social and scientific issues.
Artistic works such as performances, but also appearances such as lectures or readings, expand the spectrum of encounters between actors and audiences. In these forums, questions about the conditions of existence of artists and designers, the role of artistic networks and joint actions are also discussed.

• Performances
• Lectures by students and guest artists
• readings
• workshops
• Actions/Interventions

II Dialogue-based art education

In addition to the protagonists, visitors also have their say. We summarise various approaches under the heading of ‘dialogue-based art education’. Artist talks and guided tours are based more on the professional expertise of the mediators. In the art education programme, on the other hand, ideas for participatory forms of exchange are developed and implemented in the exhibitions together with the visitors. This also includes insights into teaching.

• Artist talks before the works
• Guided tours (with curators, professors, etc.)
• Guided tours with students (every Sunday at 3 pm)
• Insights into teaching
• Experimental formats

III Discursive events

Once or twice a year, we organise larger discursive events on relevant issues in art and design. These can be scientific-artistic symposia or panel discussions with representatives from various artistic fields. In this context, we are particularly interested in the type of presentation and exchange of ideas, which can be realised in the form of a controversy or as a creative short form such as a slam or Pecha Kucha.

• Symposia
• (Podium) discussions
• Lectures / keynote speeches
• Audio and film screenings with discussion
• Catalogue presentations

IV. Digital events

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Burg Galerie has also tried out and developed new art education formats. Due to the changed framework conditions, established formats such as artist talks via livestream were transferred to digital. This gave rise to new questions. At the same time, other avenues were explored and initial ideas were realised that incorporate the digital.

New questions have arisen and we are looking for answers to them:

• What does it take to make a sensory experience possible when it means being there without being physically present?
• What does it mean to no longer stand directly in front of the artwork?
• How can forms of dialogue be implemented in digital space?
• How can artistic processes and material handling be conveyed in digital workshops?