William Kentridge turns 70 - Dresden and Essen are honouring the outstanding artist with a double exhibition as of September 2025

To mark William Kentridge‘s 70th birthday on 28 April, Museum Folkwang and Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden are showcasing the work of the South African artist in the form of an extensive joint project entitled Listen to the Echo. The exhibitions will open in Essen and Dresden at the beginning of September 2025, and both will offer a unique overview of William Kentridge's multifaceted work and methods.

Kentridge is one of the most acclaimed artists of our time and has for many years poetically addressed social and political issues that are of great relevance not only in his home country of South Africa. He came to international fame in the 1990s with his animated short films, which are based on charcoal drawings and interweave political and personal stories. To this day, drawings form the basis of his multifaceted oeuvre, which includes prints, sculptures, and films as well as productions for opera and the conception of his own theatre plays.

The exhibition at Museum Folkwang traces Kentridge’s artistic development from the late 1970s to the present day. In addition to drawings and films from the famous “Drawings for Projection” series, the show includes prints, sculptures, tapestries, and multi-channel film installations. One focus is on works in which Kentridge explores the chequered history of his home country of South Africa, as well as colonialism, social power and personal responsibility. References to the history of the Ruhr region (for example, as regards to industrial change or colonial traces) create new spaces for resonance. The artist’s studio also plays an important role as a laboratory for creative and collective processes.

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden is presenting Kentridge’s output in three locations at once. The focus is on his preoccupation with processions as a metaphor for human community(ies). The Kupferstich-Kabinett in the Residenzschloss is exhibiting a broad selection of his prints. In the Albertinum, the video projection ‘More Sweetly Play the Dance’ (2015) is set in relation to the large-format preparatory drawings (1869-1876) for the famous, 100-metre-long porcelain tile painting of the Dresden Procession of Princes. Other smaller presentations in the palace link Kentridge's themes to the princely collections. In addition, the Centre for the Less Good Idea, founded by Kentridge in Johannesburg, is curating the 2025–26 iteration of the annual Puppet Theatre Collection exhibition at Kraftwerk Mitte in Dresden.

Peter Gorschlüter, Director Museum Folkwang, comments: ‘With Listen to the Echo, we are honouring one of the most important artists of our time. The show is a tribute to William Kentridge on the occasion of his 70th birthday and at the same time the highlight of our exhibition year. We are delighted that from September onwards we will be presenting works spanning four decades- - pieces by an artist who addresses themes such as colonialism and social utopias, and tirelessly campaigns for human rights and human dignity.’

Marius Winzeler, Interim SKD Director General: ‘In a few days, we will be celebrating William Kentridge’s 70th birthday and we are all already excited in anticipation of our festival at the beginning of September. In Dresden, we are dedicating exhibitions to the world-famous and exceptional artist from Johannesburg in three locations at once. Here, the Kupferstich-Kabinett, Albertinum and Puppet Theatre Collection will prompt precisely that echo alluded to in the show’s title. We are focussing in particular on the theme of the ‘procession’, which is a recurring motif in Kentridge’s work. Thus, to coincide with the opening, a ceremonial procession complete with choir and band will march through downtown Dresden, past one of the most unusual monumental procession paintings, the Dresden Procession of Princes.’

The exhibitions in Dresden and Essen are being organised in close collaboration with William Kentridge. The joint exhibition catalogue will be published by Steidl Verlag, Göttingen.

Information
William Kentridge in Dresden and Essen
Listen to the Echo
Museum Folkwang: 4 September 2025 – 18 January 2026
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden: from 6 September 2025

Admission
Museum Folkwang:
€ 14 (regular) / € 8 (reduced)

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden:
Combination ticket 6 September 2025 – 4 January 2026: € 20 / € 15 (reduced)
Ticket Albertinum: € 14 / € 10.50 (reduced)
Ticket Kupferstich-Kabinett: € 6 / € 4.50 (reduced)
Ticket Puppentheatersammlung: € 7 / € 5 (reduced)
Free admission for children and young people under the age of 17

Advance sales for the exhibitions start on 28 April 2025. Tickets are available online at: www.museum-folkwang.de or www.shop.skd.museum

The exhibition in Dresden was supported by Kulturstiftung des Bundes and Freunde der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden e. V.

The exhibition in Dresden is sponsored by Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, A. Lange & Söhne and SachsenEnergie.

The exhibition at Museum Folkwang is kindly sponsored by the RAG-Stiftung and Sparkasse Essen, with funds from the lottery ‘PS-Sparen und Gewinnen’.

Press images can be downloaded from www.museum-folkwang.de and www.skd.museum/besucherservice/presse