Art & Culture – Düsseldorf

Arts and culture have been an integral part of Düsseldorf’s life ever since, in the 17th century, the art-loving elector Johann Wilhelm resided here. With his wife, Anna Maria Luisa of Tuscany from the Medici family, he gave rise to Düsseldorf’s first cultural heyday in 17th/18th century. Heinrich Heine, Clara and Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartoldy established Düsseldorf’s reputation in the cultural world more firmly. Ever since, the city’s cultural scene has continued to develop and change. Today, it is as colourful and lively as the city itself. At the world-famous Art Academy, internationally renowned artists such as Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter and Jörg Immendorff studied and taught. With “KIT – Kunst im Tunnel” – Düsseldorf has recently created a spectacular forum for the graduates of the Art Academy.

Apart from the Academy, Düsseldorf has been enriched, with a decidedly heterogeneous spectrum of more than 100 galleries and art spaces and a lively museum landscape with 25 museums: K20 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen at Grabbeplatz proves its outstanding position in international comparison through masterpieces of classical modernism and American art after 1945 with masterpieces from Picasso, Matisse, Klee, Warhol, Pollock, Beuys and Richter.  K21 at Ständehaus focuses on contemporary international art starting with the time around 1980 – the artistic diversity of the permanent exhibition ranks from Nam June Paik, Jeff Wall to Candida Höfer and Andreas Gursky. The museum kunst palast, culure center Ehrenhof,  is dedicated to the presentation of Old Masters with exhibits from the Middle Ages and the Baroque period, works of classical modernity and contemporary art. Highlights are the Collection of Prints and Drawings and the Hentrich Glass Museum.

From political cabaret at the Kom(m)ödchen, plays at the Duesseldorfer Schauspielhaus, world class variety shows in Roncalli’s Apollo Varieté, pop and rock concerts at Philips-Halle, classical concerts at the Tonhalle, opera and ballet at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein – Düsseldorf’s theatre and music scene caters for the most discerning tastes.

Düsseldorf’s variegated scene of art and culture is illuminated by two baronial gems:
The late- Baroque Benrath Palace (18th century), housing in its eastern wing the Museum for European Garden Art - uniqe worldwide - and the moated castle Dyck with its forework and outstanding English Garden, which is located close to Düsseldorf.

With three literary institutes, Düsseldorf is a unique example of local cultural work. The Heinrich-Heine-Insititute is a centre of German research into the life and work of Düsseldorf’s most famous son. At the Goethe Museum (Jägerhof Palace), the spirit of Goethe’s time is coming alive. After Frankfurt and Weimar, this museum is the third important place dedicated to the memory of Goethe. Finally, the Hetjens-Museum shows – unique worldwide – 8.000 years of ceramics history, from the beginnings to the present. .