Family Matters

Father, mother, child? Surprising perspectives on the traditional family model in the past and present.

Baron von Budberg mit seiner Familie, Berlin, 1858 – Familienportrait, sitzender Vater abgewandt, stehende Frau in die Kamera blickend, vier Kinder teilweise unscharf

‘Family Matters’ is the title for the joint theme year of the cultural institutions at the Humboldt Forum. The Knoblauchhaus Museum in the Nikolai Quarter is also taking part. The exhibition of the same name provides insights into the traditional family model between 1815 and today.
The family plays a central role in human coexistence. The term ‘family’ encompasses a wide variety of forms of relationships. Family binds and separates, provides support and is subject to rules; it can open up freedom and impose constraints. What does it mean to be related? Love or burden? Tradition or trauma? Rock or surf? The family always reflects the community as a whole. Who belongs, who doesn’t? And what is it that holds us together?
About the project
‘Family Matters’ is a project involving all cultural institutions working at the Humboldt Forum. Participants include the Humboldt Forum Foundation in Berlin Palace, the Ethnological Museum and Museum of Asian Art (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation / Berlin State Museums), the Berlin City Museum Foundation and Humboldt University of Berlin. Special exhibitions and interventions in the permanent exhibitions take an in-depth look at the various forms of family life. Events in the participating museums accompany the project.

Runtime: Fri, 03/10/2025 to Sun, 12/07/2026

Price: €7.00

Reduced price: €0.00

Takes place here:

• Museum Knoblauchhaus