Art exhibition
Real-time Project
Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Künste - Haus der Wissenschaften
Palmenstraße 16, 40217 Düsseldorf
In ‘ ’ (In Real Time), this significant example of post-war modernist architecture enters into a dialogue with artistic works that reflect on questions of architecture, space and time in the context of a present that is constantly accelerating.
Real-time ‘ ’ is, following ‘Leben nach Microsoft’, the second instalment in a multi-part, interdisciplinary exploration of the so-called ‘House of Sciences’ – also known as the ‘Karl-Arnold-Haus’. Since 1970, the building – designed by Hans Schwippert between 1958 and 1960 and now a listed building – has housed the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
In real time, this significant example of post-war modernist architecture enters into dialogue with artistic works that reflect on questions of architecture, space and time in the context of an ever-accelerating present. Sluggish and resistant architecture encounters the promise of permanent availability and immediacy. Within this framework, art does not unfold in ‘white cubes’, but interacts directly with the spatial conditions – indeed, makes them its own.
Architectural interventions by Johannes Schilling, a member of the Class of Arts, in collaboration with Schilling Architekten, Professor Manuel Thesing, Professor Thorsten Bürklin and the three students Louise Albrecht, Theresa Bredemann and Johannes Löcken from Münster University of Applied Sciences – transform the perception of the House of Sciences for the duration of the project and expand its use. The entrance is being relocated to the garden side of the building; previously hidden functional areas are being opened up to the public and made available to a young generation of artists as temporary project spaces for artistic interventions.
With ‘Real Time’, the Class of the Arts also examines the role of the Academy itself and its annual theme, ‘Truth’. What does a rapidly accelerating present mean for an institution whose work is based on scholarly and artistic exploration? And how can the time required for an intensive, long-term search for truth and knowledge be preserved under these conditions?
Hans Haacke’s ‘News’ also occupies a central position in the project; it was first presented in 1969 as part of Prospect 69 at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf.
At the time, the work unfolded in parallel with the federal election taking place: a teletype machine received reports from the German Press Agency. These were printed out immediately in the exhibition space on continuous paper. Before the audience’s very eyes, a metre-long, interwoven strip of paper emerges, depicting current events. In 2026, the work returns to Düsseldorf with the latest daily news.
Alongside ‘News’, works by Julia Scher, Nina Canell, Liz Deschenes, Candida Höfer, Oliver Laric, Seth Price and Yoora Park are on display. Moritz Riesenbeck is presenting work in one of the project rooms. Works by Tobias Hohn & Stanton Taylor and Rosemarie Trockel, which were already on display in the first chapter of the project series, are recontextualised in the second chapter.
About the project: Real Time – Chapter II of a project by the Class of the Arts, curated by Martin Germann in collaboration with Sophia Naumann.
Exhibition dates: 7 October 2026 to 26 February 2027
About the Class of the Arts: Founded in 2008, the Class of the Arts brings together renowned figures from the visual arts, literature, music, architecture, the performing arts and media art, as well as art-related sciences and practice. This makes the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy the only state academy of sciences in Germany with a separate Class of the Arts. (Source: North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and the Arts)
In real time, this significant example of post-war modernist architecture enters into dialogue with artistic works that reflect on questions of architecture, space and time in the context of an ever-accelerating present. Sluggish and resistant architecture encounters the promise of permanent availability and immediacy. Within this framework, art does not unfold in ‘white cubes’, but interacts directly with the spatial conditions – indeed, makes them its own.
Architectural interventions by Johannes Schilling, a member of the Class of Arts, in collaboration with Schilling Architekten, Professor Manuel Thesing, Professor Thorsten Bürklin and the three students Louise Albrecht, Theresa Bredemann and Johannes Löcken from Münster University of Applied Sciences – transform the perception of the House of Sciences for the duration of the project and expand its use. The entrance is being relocated to the garden side of the building; previously hidden functional areas are being opened up to the public and made available to a young generation of artists as temporary project spaces for artistic interventions.
With ‘Real Time’, the Class of the Arts also examines the role of the Academy itself and its annual theme, ‘Truth’. What does a rapidly accelerating present mean for an institution whose work is based on scholarly and artistic exploration? And how can the time required for an intensive, long-term search for truth and knowledge be preserved under these conditions?
Hans Haacke’s ‘News’ also occupies a central position in the project; it was first presented in 1969 as part of Prospect 69 at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf.
At the time, the work unfolded in parallel with the federal election taking place: a teletype machine received reports from the German Press Agency. These were printed out immediately in the exhibition space on continuous paper. Before the audience’s very eyes, a metre-long, interwoven strip of paper emerges, depicting current events. In 2026, the work returns to Düsseldorf with the latest daily news.
Alongside ‘News’, works by Julia Scher, Nina Canell, Liz Deschenes, Candida Höfer, Oliver Laric, Seth Price and Yoora Park are on display. Moritz Riesenbeck is presenting work in one of the project rooms. Works by Tobias Hohn & Stanton Taylor and Rosemarie Trockel, which were already on display in the first chapter of the project series, are recontextualised in the second chapter.
About the project: Real Time – Chapter II of a project by the Class of the Arts, curated by Martin Germann in collaboration with Sophia Naumann.
Exhibition dates: 7 October 2026 to 26 February 2027
About the Class of the Arts: Founded in 2008, the Class of the Arts brings together renowned figures from the visual arts, literature, music, architecture, the performing arts and media art, as well as art-related sciences and practice. This makes the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy the only state academy of sciences in Germany with a separate Class of the Arts. (Source: North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and the Arts)
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