K21 presents the international contemporary art collection of the Kunstsammlung North Rhine-Westphalia and is located in the former Ständehaus by the Kaiserteich in Düsseldorf. While temporary exhibitions are shown in the museum’s basement and on the Bel Etage, the permanent collection of contemporary art is displayed on the second and third floors in galleries surrounding the arcades. The collection includes photographs by Thomas Struth, sculptures by Thomas Schütte, and video art by Robert Wilson, among others. A key highlight is Reinhard Mucha’s Das deutschlandgerät (The germany device, 1990/2021), installed in the former plenary hall since K21 opened in 2002. This work reflects the historical dimensions of contemporary artistic practice.

There are numerous new acquisitions to discover in the constantly changing collection presentation on the 2nd and 3rd floors. Many of these are exhibits from recent temporary exhibitions at K21, including works by Lutz Bacher, Raqs Media Collective, Cao Fei, Ai Weiwei, Carsten Nicolai, Hito Steyerl, Marcel Odenbach and Isa Genzken. The new acquisitions also include black and white photographs from Syria and Iraq by Ursula Schulz-Dornburg and paintings by Tamina Amadyar, Paul Czerlitzki and Anna Boghiguian. As the most recent acquisitions to the collection, they all reflect the relevance of politically and aesthetically engaged contemporary art. These paintings are exhibited alongside William Kentridge’s video installation Tide table (2002).

The presentation of the K21 Global Art Award (2023: Senzeni Marasela, 2024: Wang Tuo), which is given annually to an international artistic personality, is integrated into the presentation of the collection, as is the archive of Dorothee and Konrad Fischer on the first floor. At irregular intervals, artistic positions or themes (2025: Lawrence Weiner) represented by the Düsseldorf gallery owner couple, who are important for contemporary art, will be presented from their estate.