50th anniversary

In 2026, the Museum Ludwig is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary by looking back on half a century filled with trailblazing exhibitions, major acquisitions, and significant developments in art. Since its foundation in 1976, made possible through a donation by the collectors Peter and Irene Ludwig to the city of Cologne, the museum has established itself as one of Europe’s leading institutions for modern and contemporary art.

Today, the Museum Ludwig is home to the largest collection of American Pop Art outside the United States, the world’s third-biggest Picasso collection, numerous works of Cubo-Futurism, Suprematism and Constructivism, major works of Expressionism and contemporary art, and an extensive photography collection. Together, these collections provide a comprehensive overview of twentieth-century art that showcases diverse media and key movements, including Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, Conceptual Art, and European approaches from the 1950s and 1960s.

A major focus of the museum’s work is the ongoing reevaluation of its collection. This includes a continuous reassessment of its holdings and history that takes into account postcolonialism and gender and queer studies. The goal is to critically examine the canon of art history, its values and the hierarchies it establishes between different cultures. In this context, the Museum Ludwig has devoted considerable attention to art from South America, Africa, and Asia while also strengthening the presence of female artists within the collection.

To mark its fiftieth anniversary, the Museum Ludwig presents two major exhibitions. The first was a retrospective dedicated to the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, developed in collaboration with the Fondation Beyeler and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Thanks to Peter and Irene Ludwig, since its inception, the museum has been home to a work by Kusama, which is today part of its outstanding collection of Pop Art. This retrospective celebrated a unique figure within Pop Art and examined this movement from a non-Western perspective. On August 2, the Kusama exhibition closed with 480,335 visitors, making it the most successful in the history of the Museum Ludwig.

The second exhibition, Along the Color Line – Traces of a Transatlantic Modernism, addresses certain gaps in the collection. The show spotlights a number of Black cultural movements and works by African American artists, some of whom emigrated to Europe during the first half of the twentieth century or spent significant time there. It also explores the structures and societal systems that have contributed to the exclusion of these important perspectives from the collection.

On Sunday, September 13, the Museum Ludwig invites all residents of Cologne and friends of the museum near and far to our anniversary party. The celebrations will include numerous activities for people of all ages, performances, workshops, and guided tours. The entrance is free.  

“The Museum Ludwig has continued to evolve over the past fifty years. Our collection has grown more diverse, and today we aim to talk about it with a deeper awareness,” explains Yilmaz Dziewior, Director of the Museum Ludwig. “As an institution, we have become more open, with our exhibitions and programs such as Late Night Thursday attracting a very broad audience. At the same time, we are increasingly aligning our activities with the principles of sustainability. All of these processes are long-term ventures, requiring time and energy. Looking ahead, we also face a number of challenges: What position do we take in political and social discussions? Our credibility is built on the fact that our actions are not guided by short-term policies; rather, our program is based on responsibility. Our aim is to be a museum that inspires, one where people can share their views—a living, open venue accessible to one and all.”

The anniversary year is taking place under the patronage of Hendrik Wüst, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia and member of the Landtag, the state parliament. We would like to thank our anniversary partners, RheinEnergie and the REWE Group, for their generous support. We would also like to thank our Leading Partner, the Peter and Irene Ludwig Foundation.