VIDEONALE.20

As a great celebration of encounters with video art and its creators—this is how Videonale celebrates its 20th edition and thus 40 years of the festival.

VIDEONALE.20—exhibition and festival program
26 international historical and contemporary works of video art can be seen from April 11–May 18, 2025 in an elaborate exhibition presentation at the Kunstmuseum Bonn and at six exhibition stations in the city of Bonn. They form the VIDEONALE.20 parcours, which can be explored with the Videonale city map or during guided tours and walks. Various other events also invite visitors to engage intensively with the artworks. Twenty Bonn initiatives and organizations are involved in the development of the parcours and the program.

Tasja Langenbach and Annette Ziegert (Artistic Directors of VIDEONALE.20): “Uncovering the unspoken, focusing on what has been lost sight of, capturing in image and sound where words alone are not enough: Since the emergence of video art in the 1960s, artists have been using the medium of video with its almost inexhaustible variety of narrative styles to critically question the political, social and artistic conditions of our time. The result is surprising and forward-looking, resilient and empathetic narratives that invite us to think, see and hear anew.”

VIDEONALE.20 artists
Mark Bain, Mareike Bernien & Alex Gerbaulet, Viktor Brim, Pauline Boudry & Renate Lorenz, Chto Delat, VALIE EXPORT, Ken Feingold, Beatrice Gibson & Nick Gordon, Gorilla Tapes, Philipp Gufler, Akiko Hada, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Ida Kammerloch, Stéphanie Lagarde, Alwin Lay, Lukas Marxt, Angelica Mesiti, Ana María Millán, Marcel Odenbach, Stefan Panhans & Andrea Winkler, Dani & Sheilah ReStack, Julia Scher, Ana Torfs, Jan Verbeek, YAN Wai Yin, Anna Zett

Opening days and program
On April 10, 2025, the VIDEONALE.20 will be officially opened at the Kunstmuseum Bonn. On this evening visitors will have the first opportunity to see the exhibition at the Kunstmuseum with 20 video artworks and installations (free admission). From April 11, the parcours stations with six more artworks will open in the city.

During the V.20 Opening Days (April 11–13), most of the artists will be on site in person and provide insights into the creation of their works, their artistic working methods, and their approach to the medium of video. In the RESONANZEN format, they will make references between their works and to literature, music culture and perspectives that are significant for their artistic work. On Friday evening, the Trinkpavillon in Bonn-Bad Godesberg will be the venue for the VIDEONALE and invites visitors to “bathe” in sound. 

On April 12, with the INTRODUCTION format there will be an opportunity to try out artistic approaches to works from the VIDEONALE.20. In the afternoon, performative city walks along the exhibition stations in the city will take place, ending in the evening at a bread & butter buffet in one of the exhibition venues in the city.

April 13 will be dedicated to the Young Videonale with a children's short film program, an open art studio and the opening of an exhibition of works from the VIDEONALE.20 by young people from the region.

An extensive program of guided tours, city walks, satellite events in different locations in the city including screenings, talks and a queer performance night will continue after the opening days throughout the whole festival period. 

Visit and tickets
The complete program, all information about the visit and the possibility to book tickets can be found at videonalefestival.org.

Funders and supporters
VIDEONALE.20 is funded by: Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Kunststiftung NRW, Stiftung Kunst der Sparkasse in Bonn, Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Rheinland, Stadt Bonn
Project funders: Fonds Kulturelle Bildung im Alter, Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen
Support new artistic productions: FLUENTUM
Sponsors: cine+
Preferred Logistic Partner: DHL