Save the date: In 2027, Skulptur Projekte Münster (in English: Sculpture Projects Muenster) is an experience that art travelers plan years in advance and, once discovered, never quite forget. The exhibition attracts tens of thousands of international visitors and transforms Münster into a temporary open-air museum for modern sculpture, installations, and performances.
Sculpture Projects Münster is a world-renowned major exhibition of contemporary art in public spaces, held every 10 years in Münster since 1977. The next edition takes place from June 13 to October 3, 2027. International artists develop site-specific works that examine the urban context and often have a lasting impact on the cityscape.
The premise is elegantly simple: every ten years, the medieval Westphalian city of Münster opens its streets, parks, squares, and waterways to internationally acclaimed artists, inviting them to create site-specific works that respond to the city itself. Art that’s monumental, provocative, playful, and thought-provoking, and deeply woven into the fabric of daily urban life. This open-air museum is free for every visitor.
Save the date: June 13 – October 3, 2027
The sixth edition of Skulptur Projekte Münster runs just under four months, celebrating the exhibition’s golden anniversary. Mark the calendar accordingly.
How It All Started
The origin story is worth telling. In 1973, American kinetic artist George Rickey installed his sculpture Three Rotating Squares in Münster. The lively public debate that followed channeled civic energy into something enduring: a platform for genuine dialogue between contemporary art and public space. What was planned as a one-time experiment in 1977 grew into one of the most respected recurring art exhibitions in the world.
Over five editions, more than 220 artists have accepted the invitation to Münster, including Richard Serra, Bruce Nauman, Isa Genzken, and Ayşe Erkmen. The exhibition has always operated on a generous and ambitious principle: artists are invited not to fill a space, but to engage with the Historic Highlights heritage city of Münster: with its history, its architecture, its people.
What to Expect in 2027
The 2027 edition of Skulptur Projekte will be led by an all-female curatorial collective: Ivet Ćurlin, Nataša Ilić, and Sabina Sabolović of Zagreb-based What, How & for Whom — known internationally by the acronym WHW.
Founded in 1999, WHW brings a socially engaged, internationally minded curatorial lens that promises to expand the conversation in fresh directions. Their guiding vision centers on how art in public space can meaningfully address the fragility of democracy, ecology, and common life — and whether it can strengthen mutual respect and a sense of shared possibility.
At the heart of Skulptur Projekte Münster 2027 is the poetic, philosophical, and connecting potential of art. The event is an invitation to listen to one another, learn together, and reflect on the relationships this specific place and moment have with the wider world. As the curators themselves put it, they are bringing “new artistic proposals and ways of thinking” to an exhibition they intend to honor while also boldly taking it forward.
The Münster Experience
Part of what makes Skulptur Projekte unlike any other art event is the city itself. Münster is compact, beautifully walkable, and famously bike-friendly: the ideal setting for an exhibition that scatters works across the entire urban landscape. Previous editions have placed installations along the Aasee lake, in the harbor district, on the leafy Promenade ring road, and into residential neighborhoods. Discovering the works on foot or by bicycle is half the adventure, and a genuine pleasure in a city this charming university town.
The 2017 edition alone welcomed around 650,000 guests from 72 countries, impressive numbers for a relatively compact city, and a testament to the magnetic pull of this singular event.
Already in Münster: The Permanent Collection You Can Visit Any Time
One of the most rewarding aspects of Skulptur Projekte’s legacy is what it leaves behind. Approximately 40 works from previous editions have been acquired by the city or private collectors and remain permanently installed throughout Münster, creating a remarkable open-air museum of contemporary sculpture. A visit ahead of — or after — the 2027 exhibition offers a beautiful way to trace the evolution of public art over nearly five decades.
Here are some highlights to seek out:
Giant Pool Balls — Claes Oldenburg (1977) | Aasee Lake Three enormous concrete spheres resting at the water’s edge, Oldenburg’s playful trio has become one of Münster’s most beloved landmarks. Equal parts surreal and joyful, they’re the perfect introduction to what Skulptur Projekte is all about.
Untitled — Donald Judd (1977) | Slope above the Aasee Two large concrete rings placed in the Aasee park, exemplifying Judd’s minimalist approach to form and space, creating a quiet dialogue with the landscape through geometric precision.
Oktogon für Münster — Dan Graham (1987) | Palace Gardens An octagonal pavilion mirrored on all sides in the palace gardens — a playful and disorienting game of reflection and perception that draws you in at every angle and every season.
Pier — Jorge Pardo (1997) | Aasee Its minimalist design is reminiscent of Japanese garden architecture. The long walk across the pier invites visitors to slow down, savor the landscape, linger on the deck, and take in the view across the water toward the city.
We Are Still and Reflective — Martin Boyce (2007) | City Center Letters embedded quietly in the ground, easy to miss but impossible to forget once found. The work does not impose itself on visitors, but sits beneath the horizon, embedded in the earth.
Sketch for a Fountain — Nicole Eisenman (2017) | Kreuzschanzen Park, Promenade Five bronze figures — expressive, gender-neutral, wonderfully odd — clustered around a working fountain. The citizens of Münster campaigned to keep it after 2017, and it remains one of the most talked-about works in the collection.
Jenny Holzer Benches | Various locations Scattered throughout the city, Holzer’s benches inscribed with text invite visitors to pause, sit, and read — public art at its most intimate.
Practical Notes for Visitors
Admission to Skulptur Projekte is always free. The LWL-Museum für Kunst und Kultur on Domplatz serves as the official exhibition hub and starting point. A dedicated guide (available as an app and in print) will help visitors navigate works across the city. Plan at minimum a full day; ideally two or three, especially if you want to experience both the new 2027 commissions and the rich permanent collection already waiting for you.
For updates and the latest programming, visit skulptur-projekte.de and sign up for the newsletter. The Instagram page is here, and the Facebook page is here.