ALAIN BIEBER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF DüSSELDORF’S NRW FORUM, WILL NOT EXTEND HIS CONTRACT

The NRW Forum in Düsseldorf has announced that managing and artistic director Alain Bieber, who has helmed the exhibition center since 2015, will not renew his contract when it expires in 2020.

In a statement explaining his decision to leave the institution, Bieber cited a lack of political backing for his program. He told the regional newspaper the Rheinische Post: “In Düsseldorf, I miss the bravery to renew, to be open towards unusual projects, contemporary cultural discourses, and digitalization—to try paths away from the mainstream.”

During his tenure at the NFW Forum, Bieber oversaw more than thirty curatorial projects and sixty other events such as symposia and festivals. His accomplishments include realizing offbeat exhibition concepts on selfie culture, pizza, and conspiracy theories; major retrospectives of the work of Erik Kessels, Thomas Mailaender, and Olaf Breuning; and blockbuster shows such as “DEUTSCHLAND” (2017–18), curated by satirist Jan Böhmermann, which attracted thirty thousand visitors. 

While Bieber faced some criticism for staging an exhibition that showcased work by almost only male artists, many of Düsseldorf’s politicians praised his leadership of the institution. The city’s mayor, Thomas Geisel, of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, noted that Bieber’s program for drew a young, diverse audience to the forum, and cultural affairs minister Hans-Georg Lohe told the Rheinische Post that _he regrets Bieber’s decision.