Beziehungsweise Familie

Family: (Almost) everyone has one, and yet every family is different! But what holds us together as a family? And who actually came up with the idea? Through a year-long program, the Humboldt Forum explores the fabric from which family ties are woven. Whether full of holes or tightly knit, held together by a silken thread, patchwork, or macramé: networks of relationships are the focus—artistically, historically, scientifically, internationally, and in dialogue with Berlin’s urban community. 

Discover what and whom family and kinship can encompass, and how differently these relationships are lived out. All stakeholders at the Humboldt Forum are jointly dedicated to the theme of familial networks in the present, past, and future, through various formats such as exhibitions, performances, discussions, workshops, guided tours, and interventions throughout the building.

Exhibitions and Interventions

What makes this exhibition unique is that it winds its way through all the exhibition spaces and collections at the Humboldt Forum. Ten partly interactive stations in the “Family Connections” section on the ground floor offer an introduction to the theme—ranging from your own family constellation to a virtual-reality dinner table gathering to personal stories about pet names; from global family history, conflicts, and compromises to personal defining moments. Challenge and expand your ideas and understanding of family. Share your family experiences through this encounter!

More than 40 selected objects in the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art, from the historic Berlin Palace, in the Humboldt Laboratory and at BERLIN GLOBAL, as well as at the Knoblauchhaus Museum, will be part of the annual program. They demonstrate how deeply power dynamics shape family biographies. They also demonstrate how personal family histories can lie at the origin of grand narratives of power or religions.

Temporary exhibitions focus on the preservation of endangered languages from around the world and the transgenerational transmission of knowledge. They also present contemporary works by international artists that explore the family realities of queer and migrant experiences.

Events

Numerous events for adults and children offer new perspectives on this theme: This year, the Transcontinental series brings family stories from Africa, South America, and Asia to Berlin, as does the Namibian-German musical theater production “People of Song,” which is making its European premiere. Things will get especially colorful at the end of October, when the Dia de Muertos family festival is celebrated for the second time at the Humboldt Forum. That’s a preview, but there’s also plenty on the program for the opening: during the first themed days in October.

Care or Chaos? Theme Days, October 3–5

Over three theme days following the exhibition’s opening, the Humboldt Forum will focus on central questions of care, nursing, and family relationships. Small gestures, big impact—through artistic interventions, performances, readings, and discussions, the concept of family will be reimagined: at the “In the Dreamhouse” workshop, through dance interventions in the permanent exhibition, a cake buffet featuring healing flowers, and African Street Games for the whole family. Participants include author and musician Christiane Rösinger, the Resident Music Collective, feminist author Sophie Lewis, the film “Im Prinzip Familie” by director Daniel Abma, and many more.

In the workshop spaces, there will be drop-in sessions for hands-on activities, crafts, and exploration, and the picture book cinema will bring captivating stories to the screen, read by well-known voices with musical accompaniment.

Two additional theme days are planned for 2026: “Family Secrets” and “Together Against Resistance: Alternative Forms of Coexistence.”

Guided Tours and Workshops for All Generations

A family scavenger hunt invites visitors to explore the building with a lovingly designed activity booklet—featuring exciting tasks, little surprises, and stories at every station. At the “Treasure Chest” drop-in session, held every Sunday in the workshops, participants can design a pop-up box featuring their favorite people, animals, and special objects—a keepsake to take home. An interactive guided tour becomes an inspiring journey through the diversity of Asian art, and the “Family Things” object salon serves as a place for sharing family stories. For daycare centers and school classes, there are experiential tours and theater-based educational workshops.

Book Publication

The accompanying publication paints a multifaceted picture of how family is conceived, lived, and questioned in different regions of the world: from personal insights into family life to scholarly analyses of social circumstances to artistic forms of knowledge transmission. A book for anyone who wants to reflect on the meaning of family in today’s world, featuring comics by Nando von Arb and contributions by Sophie Lewis, Janet Carsten, Aparecida Vilaça, Catalina Ruiz-Navarro, Tatjana Thelen, and many more.

The program and the exhibition were curated jointly by all partners of the Humboldt Forum: the Humboldt Forum Foundation at the Berlin Palace, the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation / State Museums of Berlin), the Berlin City Museum Foundation, and Humboldt University of Berlin. Chief Curator: Dr. Laura Goldenbaum ( SHF).

- Location: All floors of the Humboldt Forum

- Dates: Fri, October 3, 2025 – Sun, July 12, 2026

- Hours: Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 10:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Tue: closed

- Price: regular admission 14 EUR