Modern and contemporary, the Stiftung Kunstforum Berliner Volksbank exhibition space at Lietzenseepark presents itself in a light gallery style. Since moving into the new space in November 2018, various perspectives of the bank’s own collection have been presented.
For example, Berlin artists Harald Metzkes and Hans Laabs were honored with solo exhibitions. On the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the exhibition “Zeitenwende” contrasted works of art from the West with ones from the East. The exhibition “Tête-à-Tête” showed paintings and sculptures exploring the “head”. It was followed by “Die wilden 20er – Nach(t)leben einer Epoche.” In 2021 employees of Berliner Volksbank co-curated the anniversary show “WIR. Nähe und Distanz”. Since 2022 at least two exhibitions per year are realised.
Today’s Stiftung Kunstforum Berliner Volksbank opened in 1985 on Budapester Straße 35 as Kunstforum der GrundkreditBank. The exhibition space was a rotunda located on the first floor of the former headquarters of GrundkreditBank. Initially, Neue Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, and Berliner Festspiele used the space for their respective exhibitions.
In the early 1990, GrundkreditBank itself started to operate Kunstforum by staging exhibitions in collaboration with different institutions. In 1999, the cooperative banking institutions GrundkreditBank eG – Köpenicker Bank and Berliner Volksbank merged to form Berliner Volksbank eG. In 2002/2003, Berliner Volksbank made the rotunda available to Berlinische Galerie as an alternative venue during the construction phase of the museum’s new building.
In January 2004, Kunstforum, together with Brücke Museum, conceived the exhibition ” unmittelbar und unverfälscht – Aquarelle, Zeichnungen und Druckgraphik der Brücke “ at Kunstforum der Berliner Volksbank. In 2007 Stiftung KUNSTFORUM der Berliner Volksbank was founded. Part of its mission was to take over the organization of exhibitions and cooperations at Kunstforum. In mid-2016, Kunstforum said goodbye to the location on Budapester Straße with the exhibition “bankART – Drei Jahrzehnte Kunstsammlung der Berliner Volksbank.” Shortly thereafter, it re-opened its current location on Kaiserdamm 105 in Charlottenburg.
In mid-2021, an additional exhibition space on the 2nd floor was added to the previous one on the first floor thus enabling the Stiftung Kunstforum Berliner Volksbank to cooperate with regional and national partners on larger exhibitions.