Kunstmuseum Bochum

Current exhibitions

About the museum

In 1960, the city of Bochum founded the Städtische Kunstgalerie (Municipal Art Gallery), from which today's Kunstmuseum emerged; its forerunner was a municipal collection established back in the 1920s. Founding director Peter Leo focused on art from 1945 to the present and deliberately looked beyond the Iron Curtain. As a result, a collection that was unusual for West Germany emerged early on, with works from countries of the former Eastern Bloc.

The museum was initially housed in Villa Marckhoff-Rosenstein by the Stadtpark (city park). In 1983, a new building was added, designed by the Danish architects Jørgen Bo and Vilhelm Wohlert, who had previously designed the Louisiana Museum near Copenhagen. The light-filled building opens onto the park with large windows and is connected to the villa.

Under Leo and his successor Peter Spielmann, the collection grew to its current size of more than 8,000 objects: painting, sculpture, prints and drawings, photography and installations, including works by Andy Warhol, Louise Nevelson and Tadeusz Kantor, as well as an estate with Fluxus works.

Noor Mertens has headed the museum since 2021. The program combines the presentation of the museum's own collection, which is free to visit, with temporary exhibitions on international contemporary art and social issues, often with a connection to Bochum and the Ruhr region.

Highlights

• Art after 1945 with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe
• Works by Andy Warhol, Louise Nevelson and Tadeusz Kantor
• Fluxus holdings
• New building by Bo and Wohlert (1983) by the Stadtpark
• Collection display with free admission

Permanent exhibitions

• SICHTBAR: Die eigene Sammlung – Changing selection from the collection of more than 8,000 works, which also traces the history of the museum and its acquisition policy; free admission.

Founded

1960

Operated by

Stadt Bochum

Director

Noor Mertens

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Every first Wednesday of the month, for the entire museum

The collection display is always free; the price applies to temporary exhibitions. Also free with an ICOM/Museumsbund card, RuhrKultur.Card and ArtCard.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Ground-level entrance; most rooms are step-free via a large ramp, elevator to the upper floors. Accessible restroom on the first floor with baby changing table. Accessible parking spaces on Kortumstraße and Goethestraße. Audio tour via QR code; texts in German and English.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Baby changing facilities

Family tour on the first Sunday of the month (included in admission), monthly "Elternzeit mit Kunst" (Parent Time with Art) for parents with babies up to 2 years, multi-week art courses for children aged 4 and up, and a holiday program.

Getting there & parking

Reachable on foot from downtown Bochum; by car via the A40, exit 36 Bochum Ruhrstadion.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant: not available

Museum café with coffee and cake.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit