Munich Tip: On the Future of Museums – The 3rd Duke Franz Lecture - will be held in English
Lecture at the Pinakothek der Moderne: "The Museum as Body, the Body as (Pre)Text – Contemplating Performativity of Cultural Institutions" – How can museums keep what has been entrusted to them alive and in dialogue with the present?
On November 17, 2026, at 7:00 PM, Prof. Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung will deliver the third Duke Franz Lecture in the Ernst von Siemens Auditorium at the Pinakothek der Moderne (DEUTSCH, ENGLISH)
Munich. Prof. Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung—Director and Chief Curator of the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin and Chief Curator of the 36th São Paulo Biennial—will address the question of how museums and other cultural institutions can function as living, mutable organisms. Museums preserve artworks, objects, memories, and knowledge. But how can they keep what has been entrusted to them alive and in dialogue with the present? Ndikung views cultural institutions as bodies whose parts work in concert, and as a fabric that connects people, objects, and ideas. Drawing on the example of the HKW, he explores how curatorial work—beyond the acts of preservation and presentation—can facilitate movement and change, and how the institution itself can become a living body in motion. As an internationally renowned curator, author, and biotechnologist, Ndikung shapes contemporary art discourse through his work.
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| Pinakothek der Moderne and Alte Pinakothek in Munich – Photo collage – Cover for an art and culture blog; press photos: Helga Waess |
Prof. Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung – Curriculum Vitae
Prof. Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung is a curator, author, and biotechnologist. He currently serves as the Director and Chief Curator of the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin, as well as Chief Curator of the 36th São Paulo Biennial. He is the founder and former artistic director of SAVVY Contemporary in Berlin and served as the artistic director of sonsbeek20–24, a quadrennial contemporary art exhibition held in Arnhem, the Netherlands.
In 2017, he worked as a curator-at-large for Adam Szymczyk’s Documenta 14 in Athens and Kassel, and in 2018, he served as a guest curator for the Dak’Art Biennial in Dakar, Senegal. Furthermore, he was the artistic director for the 12th and 13th editions of the “Bamako Encounters” photography biennial in Mali, holding the position in 2019 and 2022. In 2019, he co-curated the Finnish Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale alongside the Miracle Workers Collective.
Prof. Dr. Ndikung served as a visiting professor for Curatorial Studies and Sound Art at the Städelschule in Frankfurt and is currently a professor and head of the Master’s program in Spatial Strategies at the Weissensee Academy of Art Berlin. In 2020, he was the inaugural recipient of the OCAD University International Curators Residency fellowship in Toronto.
His publications include, among others, “The Delusions of Care” (2021), “An Ongoing-Offcoming Tale: Ruminations on Art, Culture, Politics and Us/Others” (2022), and “Pidginization as Curatorial Method” (2023).
Opening Doors: In 1965, HRH Duke Franz of Bavaria was a co-founder of the *Galerie-Verein*, which was later succeeded by PIN.—the association of friends supporting the Pinakothek der Moderne and the Museum Brandhorst.
His vision has always been to open doors, transcend boundaries, and cast a gaze beyond Bavaria toward the wider world. In recognition of his enduring, dedicated support, his inspiring contributions, and his extraordinary commitment, the four museums of the Pinakothek der Moderne, the Museum Brandhorst, and their joint association of friends, PIN., have established the Duke Franz Lecture.
This lecture series honors an outstanding collector and patron who has left a lasting mark on the Munich art scene.
Each year, the "Herzog Franz Lecture" is delivered by an internationally prominent figure who sheds light on a timely, socially relevant topic—serving as a celebratory tribute to Duke Franz of Bavaria.
LECTURE:
The Museum as Body, the Body as (Pre)Text – Contemplating Performativity of Cultural Institutions
by
Prof. Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung
Director and Chief Curator of the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin
November 17, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.
at the
Ernst von Siemens Auditorium
in the
Pinakothek der Moderne – Barer Strasse 40 – 80333 Munich
The event is open to the public, free of charge, and will be held in English.
- Seating is limited.
