KubusKunsthalle

Kunsthalle / no collection / since 1978

Kubus

One room, twelve metres by twenty-two, four times a year. We own nothing and we show everything in it.

What is on

Four this year

Each one has the whole building. The fourth is the building itself.

  1. 01

    Nothing to Scale

    Marta ReinholdtNine plaster volumes, none of them the size the drawings say12 Sep – 22 Nov 2026Halle
  2. 02

    A Room Lit From Below

    Osei AmpofoOne light source, moved twice a day by a gallery attendant05 Dec 2026 – 14 Feb 2027Halle
  3. 03

    Two Hundred Grey

    Group show, eleven artistsEverything in the show is the same value and nothing is the same colour27 Feb – 09 May 2027Halle + Kabinett
  4. 04

    The Building

    KubusThe kunsthalle exhibits itself: plans, arguments, and the wall we removed22 May – 29 Aug 2027Halle

A kunsthalle with a collection eventually programmes its store room. We have no store room. Every wall in this building is empty four times a year and it is the most expensive decision we make.

Kubus opened in 1978 in a former tram depot. The hall is the depot floor, the roof lights are the original ones, and the wall between the hall and the yard was removed in 2011 and never replaced.

Eleven people work here. Every exhibiting artist is paid a fee, which is set once a year by the board and printed in the annual report next to everybody’s salary band.

4

Exhibitions a year

1

Rooms in the main hall

0

Works in a collection

272

Square metres, the Halle

Three refusals

Written into the constitution in 1978 and never amended.

I

No collection

Kubus owns no art and never will. A collection turns a kunsthalle into a museum, and a museum has to keep saying yes to what it already said yes to.

II

One room at a time

Four exhibitions a year in one twelve-metre room. An artist gets the whole building or none of it, and the answer arrives within six weeks.

III

Nothing on the wall labels

Title, artist, year, materials. No interpretation on the wall. The interpretation is a free sheet at the door, written by somebody who signs it.

Five rooms

Published so an artist can plan a show before visiting. Lux figures are measured at the wall.

  1. Halle12.4 × 22.0 m7.8 m high620 lx maxDaylit, north
  2. Kabinett6.2 × 8.1 m3.4 m high180 lx maxNo daylight
  3. Treppe4.0 × 4.0 m11.2 m highDaylight onlyStairwell, hangable
  4. Keller9.0 × 14.5 m2.6 m high90 lx maxDamp, monitored
  5. Hof18 × 24 mOpen to the sky—Outdoor, summer only

An empty room is not a problem to be solved. It is the offer.

Hanne Ravn, director

Autumn programme

Talks, tours and two late openings. Everything free unless it says otherwise.

  1. Opening talkTh 17.09Marta Reinholdt with the curator19:00Free
  2. Guided tourSa 26.09In German15:00Free
  3. Late openingTh 01.10Until 22:00, bar in the Hof18:00Free
  4. Guided tourSa 10.10In English15:00Free
  5. ReadingWe 21.10Three writers on scale19:30€ 6
  6. Late openingTh 05.11Until 22:0018:00Free
  7. WorkshopSa 14.11Plaster, for anybody over 1211:00€ 12
  8. FinissageSu 22.11The artist takes questions for an hour16:00Free
  9. Opening talkTh 10.12Osei Ampofo in conversation19:00Free
  10. Guided tourSa 19.12In German15:00Free

How it is paid for

Funding
Two thirds from the city, one third from a foundation and the door.
Fees
Every exhibiting artist is paid a fee. It is published in the annual report.
Board
Nine people, five of them artists, terms of four years and no renewals.
Report
Published every March, with the budget, in full, as one PDF.

Coming in

Open
Wednesday to Sunday, 11:00 – 18:00. Thursday until 22:00.
Admission
€ 9, concessions € 5, free on Thursdays and free under 18 always.
Access
Step-free throughout except the Treppe, which is the stairwell.
Photography
Yes, unless a wall label says otherwise, which is rare.
Cloakroom
Free and unattended. Nobody has lost anything since 2019.
Getting here
Trams 3 and 11 to Kunsthalle. There is no car park and there will not be.

The desk, and when it is there

+41 61 000 04 00

Depotstrasse 4. Proposals are read twice a year, in March and in September, and answered inside six weeks either way — the desk cannot tell you anything the letter will not.

Monday
Shut
Tuesday
11 – 18
Wednesday
11 – 18
Thursday
11 – 21
Friday
11 – 18
Saturday
10 – 18
Sunday
10 – 18

Thursday evenings are free after 18, and the building is emptier at 20 than at any other hour of the week.