HKW Takeover: The Possibility of Unvernunft

Jan Böhmermann & Gruppe Royale, the creative team behind ZDF Magazin Royale, will take over Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin from September 27 to October 19, 2025, presenting the exhibition The Possibility of Unvernunft alongside an extensive event programme.

‘The windows of what can be said, explored, and depicted, must be broadened rather than narrowed. It’s time to hold up the sausage to society’, says Jan Böhmermann, describing the leitmotif of the three-week residency at HKW—a building originally donated by the United States as a congress hall in 1957.

‘The political, social, and legal questions of our time must be posed where they are being negotiated’, Böhmermann explains, justifying the choice of the project location in the heart of Berlin—right next to the German Chancellery, Reichstag, and Bellevue Palace: ‘This building, a gift from the US to West Berlin and the democratic Federal Republic of Germany, is a time capsule and reminds us never to let the beacon of freedom go out.’

With The Possibility of Unvernunft, Jan Böhmermann & Gruppe Royale are opening their third, most extensive exhibition to date in the ‘Pregnant Oyster’. The exhibition will be accompanied with a diverse three-week programme of events with special concerts, shows, TV recordings, performances, film screenings, and talks with artists, musicians, and other guests.