[Photo from hamburg-travel.com]

Located in the heart of Hamburg next to the Town Hall, the Bucerius Kunst Forum exhibits art from ancient to modern times in four rotating exhibitions each year. A visit is an absolute must for art lovers.

The museum in the Hanseatic city has its origins in the foundation "ZEIT Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius". This was begun in the 1970s for the promotion of science, art and education, and in 2002 this led to the foundation of an exhibition centre in the heart of Hamburg near the Town Hall and Stock Exchange. The concept of the Kunst Forum is based on the attempt to take the familiar and convert it into a new form, so allowing art lovers and novices alike to discover new interrelationships. The Matisse exhibition in 2009 was thus the first in which all of the portraits of the artist were brought together. One main focus is classic modern art with artists such as Picasso, Kokoschka and Frida Kahlo, yet there are also exhibitions that are organised to include every epoch. They range from Mannerism to the Etruscans and art from the far east. It is this broad spectrum of topics that is the major attraction of the Kunst Forum. Concentrating the presentation into four exhibitions a year also makes each one ingenious and special. Even the architecture of the halls is adapted to suite the particular theme. The 100 exhibits in the exhibition are selected with care so that visitors to the Bucerius Kunst Forum in Hamburg leave with a great impression. In parallel with this, a diverse supporting programme is offered with lectures, readings and concerts. The annual music and literature festival "Octogonale" thrills not only music lovers.

Children and young people up to the age of 18 can visit the exhibitions for free. But that is not the only thing that would recommend it for a family visit: The "Kinder Kunst Club" (children's art club) introduces young visitors to art in a fun way. On Saturdays there are always special family tours that address the special features of the particular exhibition, taking into account the level of understanding of children. This is followed by a painting lesson. During the holidays, there are also programmes for young people as well as painting competitions.

With the opening of the exhibition "Descent into the World", the Bucerius Kunst Forum also uses the areas in the first floor of the building on the Rathaus Market in addition to the ground and basement floors. It thus gains a second exhibition space as a counterpart to the central octagon on the ground floor, a separate event hall – the Ian Karan Auditorium – and a film room and a painting school.