Ligia Lewis: I’m not here forrrrr…

With "I’m not here forrrrr…", Gropius Bau presents the most extensive solo exhibition by artist and choreographer Ligia Lewis to date.

Ligia Lewis, A Plot, A Scandal, Filmstill, 2023 © Ligia Lewis – Zwei Personen in prunkvoller Kleidung laufen vor einer Reihe von Zypressen.

Opening on 15 October 2025, the exhibition brings together new and existing works, displayed on the ground floor and in the atrium of Gropius Bau.

Based in Berlin since 2013, Ligia Lewis has developed a multifaceted choreographic practice that spans performance, live installation and film. For Lewis, choreography is the movement of ideas across bodies – meticulously conceived, crafted and directed. It is a political act: a form of writing against the grain of representational regimes and the (Black) erasure they perpetuate. Her work circles around themes of race, gender, violence and resistance, exploring how these dynamics haunt and shape the present. 

"I’m not here forrrrr…" also features the new commission Wayward Chant, conceived especially for the Gropius Bau’s atrium. Over the course of the exhibition, this work unfolds and evolves within the space, culminating in two evening-length performances of the same title which will premiere on 28 and 29 November as part of the Performing Arts Season. 

With her expansive interdisciplinary practice, Ligia Lewis is a central figure in redefining performance within the context of the visual arts and is an Artist in Focus of the Berliner Festspiele in 2025. 

Ligia Lewis: "I’m not here forrrrr…" is curated by Nora-Swantje Almes, Curator Live Programme and Outreach, with Alexandra Philippovskaya, Assistant Curator Live Programme and Outreach.  

Exhibition Management: Nora Bergbreiter and Elisabeth Pannrucker, Project Assistants

Runtime: Thu, 16/10/2025 to Sun, 18/01/2026

Takes place here:

• Gropius Bau