Focus Year

As part of Public Art München, local and international artists explore how we communicate with our surroundings, how we interact with them, and how we ourselves become effective within them. The aim is to take the time to rediscover the public space as a place where many things are possible, inviting us to broaden our horizons and bring people together.

Artist Karimah Ashadu kicked things off in October 2025 with the new format “Public Art Passage,” in which 11 monitors in historical display cases directly on Marienplatz were used to show her work. Karimah Ashadu addresses the themes of work and self-determination in the social, economic and cultural context of West Africa and its diaspora. The adaptation of the ca. 30-minute film Plateau (2021) for the passage shows the challenges faced by a group of undocumented, self-employed tin miners in Nigeria’s Jos Plateau, who struggle to earn a living under precarious conditions.

The Focus Year brings six art projects into the urban space that highlight very different aspects of the public sphere. The themes were set by the artists themselves and are as diverse as the urban landscape itself: On eleven monitors in historical display cases in the Public Art München Passage on Marienplatz, Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader present abstract animations depicting the cultural development of American Sign Language. Many people are unaware that each country has its own sign language, which due to physical barriers and small communities develops similarly to spoken languages. Their work ABC – Always Be Communicating illustrates the development of American Sign Language to its present form from a mixture of French Sign Language, the sign languages of North American indigenous peoples, and other European sign languages.

Sofia Dona’s video installation Pitch Invaders brings political activism in sport to the 2026 FIFA World Cup with rare and never-seen-before television footage of pitch invasions and game interruptions in Munich’s urban space. Using archive footage from FIFA and the German Bundesliga from 1974 to the present, the project highlights activist interventions against homophobic laws, arbitrary police violence, femicide, and environmental destruction.

In the Tree River project by Ooze (Eva Pfannes & Sylvain Hartenberg) and Marjetica Potrč, seven listed trees in Munich become storytellers. In a series of open-air puppet theater performances, they bear witness to the connection between water and life. The performances each take place next to one of the trees, which are located in different parts of the city, while mobile seating invites visitors to listen and linger.

POOL PEOPLE by Christiane Huber deals with the past, present and possible future of outdoor swimming pools as places of democratic negotiation and social diversity. In August 2026, a three-part art project will be presented at the “Michi” (Michaelibad), Munich’s largest outdoor swimming pool: a performance, an underwater sound installation, and a pool party.

Nachleben. Eine Spurensuche zu Orten rechter Gewalt und zu Stimmen der Resilienz (“Afterlife. A search for traces of right-wing violence and voices of resilience”), a work by artist Cana Bilir-Meier in collaboration with curator Chana Boekle and graphic designer Silvia Troian, creates mobile memorial sites marking right-wing violence in Munich. The art installation consists of around 15–20 sculptures in the form of street signs with specially designed motifs. These memorial signs are being developed in collaboration with victims and survivors of right-wing violence in Munich, following extensive discussions and interviews. 

Artist and architect Feda Wardak is developing an oversized crane sculpture at the Kabelsteg. The installation examines water as a resource and addresses both water management policies and the associated distribution systems. Wardak’s water machines make the paths of water legible and visible, providing society with a deeper understanding of these processes and creating a space for active participation in their management.

In addition, Public Art Excursions invite Munich artists to perform throughout the city: A mobile dance and storytelling format by Sandra Chatterjee makes the city of Munich visible through the stories of people who dance here—in migrant communities, alternative scenes, clubs, parks, basements, and in some places that no longer exist today. Artist Lea Geerkens organizes bicycle excursions from the former airport runway in Riem to the “biotope lake” in Aschheim, where stories of local water connections are traced together with residents and experts. Judith Egger initiates a costumed march by a group of holobionts—based on the biological concept of a community of organisms that form an ecosystem—through Munich’s urban space to draw attention to the central role of plants, nature and ecological diversity. In addition, Bülent Kullukcu and Anton Kaun will transform Munich into an audible urban system. In their mobile sound and film excursions, ambient noises and audience action merge in real time into a live composition, accompanied by short films that reflect the cityscape and the voices of its inhabitants. A performative city excursion by Francesco Giordano and Anian Halder makes Munich’s queer history visible. With their contributions, Munich drag artists embody stories of persecution and empowerment as they fight against discrimination and the disappearance of safer spaces. Stefanie Zoche and Claus Biegert develop a performative project on the banks of the river Isar that addresses the relationship between humans and nature as well as the rights of nature. Over three evenings, various locations will be transformed into Speakers’ Corners with interdisciplinary excursions and film screenings.

For the Focus Year, the large billboard on Lenbachplatz will also be relocated to a new site in Neuperlach, where it will be redesigned in close collaboration with the artist collective Raumfragen and with the involvement of the entire neighborhood.

The new Artothek Pavillon in the courtyard of Burgstraße 4 will also become a special public art pavilion for two months. It invites visitors to enjoy screen printing, music, karaoke, art events, discussions, and simply to spend time reflecting on what they have seen.