Klára Hosnedlová is transforming Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof into a walk-in archive of memories made of flax, concrete and sound in collaboration with the first CHANEL Commission. The monumental installation is called embrace and is an exploration of origin and utopia, decay and transformation. It marks the beginning of a new partnership with the CHANEL Culture Fund.
When nine-metre-high tapestries descend from the ceiling like petrified skins, when fossilised reliefs made of sandstone emerge from metal walls and loudspeakers from Berlin techno clubs blast archaic-sounding choir fragments and beats through the room, you have truly arrived at embrace, the first work commissioned by the CHANEL Commission at Hamburger Bahnhof.
Her installation is more than just an exhibition. It is a walk-in archive of memories and the start of a three-year collaboration with the CHANEL Culture Fund, which will enable large-scale art projects to be realised annually in Berlin’s iconic exhibition venue.
Hamburger Bahnhof, once the terminus of the Berlin-Hamburg railway, is now the Nationalgalerie’s largest museum of contemporary art, covering over 10,000 m². Its industrial architecture – steel girders, brickwork, floods of light – becomes a resonating chamber for works that transcend space and media boundaries.
The new CHANEL Commission is a platform for visionary art on a scale commensurate with the hall which offers 2,500 m² of space each year for a single work. “We are creating a global reference point for installation art,” explains Yana Peel, Global Head of Arts and Culture at CHANEL. With partners such as the Venice Biennale and the British Film Institute, she wants to drive institutions forward and enable artists to fulfil their potential.
Klára Hosnedlová, born in 1990 in Uherské Hradiště, Czech Republic and now living in Berlin, is kicking off the series. In embrace, she combines materials and motifs from East-Central Europe: flax and hemp, concrete, glass, sand and embroidery thread become vehicles of memory and transformation. Her tapestries are hand-woven in Bohemian workshops, dyed with plant pigments, interwoven with ornaments and the scars of history.
Between the textile giants lie over 3,000 concrete slabs – reminiscent of the pavements of her childhood, broken up by earth, puddles of epoxy and traces of vegetation. Fine embroidery can be found in reliefs with sandy surfaces: performative fragments, preserved like fossils – an outstretched finger, a naked back, a lighter.
“My materials are time capsules,” says the artist, who combines traditional local crafts with the language of postmodernism – between socialist brutalism and melancholic folklore. The soundscape, composed by Billy Bultheel, reinforces these tensions: women’s choirs in Moravian micro-dialects meet the bass of Berlin clubs and text passages by rapper Yzomandias.
embrace is a physical experience that sees you walk across crunching panels, circle mirrored puddles, and let yourself be enveloped by hanfu-covered niches. Eight metal panels frame the scene like a monumental stage set that is constantly changing. “The hall becomes a co-author of the art,” explains curator Sam Bardaouil, who is responsible for the exhibition together with Anna-Catharina Gebbers.
A tip: discover the CHANEL Commission, a new fixture on the Berlin art scene.
What’s happening in Berlin in 2025?
Hamburger Bahnhof is not the only place offering spectacular cultural highlights. In 2025, Berlin will be showing off its colourful side with anniversaries, new openings and festivals painting a vibrant picture of the German capital. One significant cultural event is the 200th anniversary of Museum Island. Visitors can look forward to special exhibitions and open-air events throughout the year. The same applies to the 35th anniversary of the East Side Gallery, featuring interactive activities and new experiences along the legendary section of the Berlin Wall.
The cityscape has a fresh feel with impressive new openings: the PETRI Berlin archaeological visitor centre is opening its doors this summer and will provide an insight into hidden traces of the city’s history, while the Hohenzollern Crypt in Berlin Cathedral will reopen in September following renovation work. And the Gendarmenmarkt, which was renovated in February, also basks in renewed splendour.
Our event highlights:
Throughout the capital, amateurs and professionals from the music scene celebrate the start of summer in streets, parks and squares. No matter what style, musicians perform to audiences for free and without payment.
21 June 2025, throughout Berlin
An annual summer highlight in the historic centre of Berlin – the Berlin State Opera’s open-air concert offers a special atmosphere in a location surrounded by magnificent buildings. In 2025, Christian Thielemann will conduct works by Brahms. As always, admission is free.
22 June 2025, Bebelplatz
As mysterious as it is enlightening: archives, laboratories and a wide range of renowned scientific institutions that are not normally open to the public invite visitors to events, guided tours and walks.
28 June 2025, various museums and scientific institutions in Berlin and Potsdam
An atmospheric final concert before the summer break – the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Venezuelan star conductor Gustavo Dudamel present an outdoor event with this Latin American night. The programme also includes lively dances from Bernstein’s musical West Side Story.
28 June 2025, Waldbühne Berlin
One of Europe’s biggest music festivals offers two days of concerts from a wide range of genres, interactive events and lots of fun! Did you know? Lollapalooza is the first festival in Germany to be certified sustainable according to international standards.
12 and 13 July 2025, Olympic Stadium and Olympic Park
Back for the first time at the newly renovated Gendarmenmarkt: the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, jazz legend Gregory Porter, international star Anna Netrebko and many other leading musicians will once again perform in an incredible historical setting at the Gendarmenmarkt.
17 to 21 July 2025, Gendarmenmarkt
Once a year, the LGBTQIA community and their allies celebrate a huge street festival for tolerance and diversity. The highlight of the march against discrimination, hate speech and violence is the Pride Parade through Berlin’s Tiergarten and Schöneberg districts and the Pride Festival Finale.
26 July 2025, streets in Berlin
More than 70 museums open their doors between 6pm and 2am. Whether it’s the big museums on Museum Island, the palace or the planetarium, they all offer a creative programme ranging from special tours and quizzes to dance and acrobatics.
30 August 2025, museums and exhibition venues throughout Berlin
In late summer, Berlin’s concert season kicks off with the Musikfest Berlin. Together with the Berlin Philharmonic, this Berlin Festival invites you to enjoy a wide range of concerts by major orchestras and ensembles in the field of classical and modern music.
30 August to 23 September 2025, Berliner Philharmonie and other venues
The contemporary art scene presents work to national and international visitors in galleries, project spaces, private collections and art fairs.
10 – 14 September 2025, throughout Berlin
THE festival for literature lovers: more than 100 international authors present their works at book launches, panel discussions and readings.
11 – 24 September 2025, Haus der Berliner Festspiele and other venues in Berlin
Berlin has so many exciting historical sites that are not normally open to the public. On Open Monument Day, they open their doors to everyone. Visitors can watch monument experts as they work on restoration projects and ask them all sorts of questions. Held throughout Germany on the second weekend in September, this event is fun for the whole family.
13 – 14 September 2025, historical sites throughout the city
Every year, more than 30,000 fans celebrate athletics and experience world-class sport up close at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. Javelin, shot put, record sprints and many other sporting highlights guarantee excitement and a wonderful atmosphere.
Olympic Stadium, 27 July 2025
One of the world’s biggest running events, the Berlin Marathon attracts more than 40,000 participants from around 120 nations to the German capital every autumn. And, of course, just as many spectators. The route takes runners past Berlin’s main sights.
21 September 2025, streets in the city centre, start and finish: Straße des 17. Juni
The art mile on the banks of the Spree is 1,316 metres long and is the longest surviving section of the Berlin Wall. Immediately after the fall of the Wall in November 1989, it was painted by 118 artists from all over the world. The open-air gallery opened on 28 September 1990 and is now celebrating its birthday with a new documentation centre and various events.
East Side Gallery, September 2025, dates to be announced
Every year, as the days get shorter and darker, Berlin shines brighter. Throughout the city, landmarks, monuments and squares are illuminated by artistic light installations. Berlin glows with colourful illuminations late into the night.
8 to 15 October 2025, various buildings, squares and monuments in Berlin
Fascinating acrobatics and magical surrealism – for the first time in Europe, the famous artists of Cirque du Soleil will be performing at their permanent residence on Potsdamer Platz from Wednesday to Sunday.
From 24 October 2025, Theater am Potsdamer Platz
The Berlinische Galerie in Berlin is turning 50! Alongside first-class art exhibitions, there will be a diverse programme of celebrations in 2025, especially in the summer. The highlight is the anniversary exhibition on Raoul Hausmann, protagonist of the Dada movement in the 20th century.
8 November 2025 to 16 March 2026, Berlinische Galerie
More information: visitberlin.de
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