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American Independence Day – SPK programme highlight
Press release from 06/29/2026
Press invitation: ‘We the People’ – a programme initiative to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence
4 July 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence. To mark this occasion, the institutions of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) have developed a joint programme designed to broaden the conventional image of the USA by incorporating different perspectives and stories. The title ‘We the People’ recalls the opening words of the US Constitution.
Exhibitions, special presentations, lectures, concerts and discussions will explore various aspects of the history of the Americas. At the same time, the diverse connections between the SPK’s collections, archives and libraries and the history of the Americas will be highlighted.
Marion Ackermann, President of the SPK, emphasises: “With ‘We the People’, the SPK is marking the anniversary of American Independence Day through our collections, whilst also bringing current and pressing issues into focus. The programme demonstrates just how numerous our points of connection are – whether it be the ‘Berlin Beauties’, Greenland, the protest anthem against Pinochet or the Pride Flag – it addresses questions of democracy, identity, memory and cultural exchange, and opens up different perspectives on the United States and its relations with the world.”
We cordially invite you to a photo opportunity to mark the launch of this programme initiative
on Friday, 3 July 2026, at 11.00 am,
Neue Nationalgalerie,
Potsdamer Straße 50, 10785 Berlin
Please register by 1 July 2026 at presse(at)spk-berlin(dot)de
Short statements at Glenn Ligon’s installation ‘Double America’ (basement):
- Marion Ackermann, President of the SPK
- Klaus Biesenbach, Director of the Neue Nationalgalerie
Followed by a photo opportunity in front of the Neue Nationalgalerie with Gilbert Baker’s “Rainbow Flag”. The photo opportunity will also be attended by the directors of the institutions organising the programme, including Dagmar Hirschfelder, Director of the Gemäldegalerie, Till Fellrath, Director of the Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, and Ulrike Höroldt, Director of the Geheimes Staatsarchiv PK.
Gilbert Baker’s ‘Rainbow Flag’ (1978), on loan from the Museum of Modern Art in New York, is today one of the most significant symbols of the LGBTQ+ movement. Glenn Ligon’s installation ‘Double America’ (2012), which is also on display at the Neue Nationalgalerie, explores notions of belonging and identity in the United States.
Since 16 June, the Kupferstichkabinett has been hosting a special exhibition in the Gemäldegalerie. ‘Dorothy Iannone: The Berlin Beauties. In Dialogue with Alejandra Pombo Su’ presents the series of drawings and texts ‘The Berlin Beauties’ (1977–78), which the American artist Dorothy Iannone (1933–2022) created shortly after moving to Berlin and which is being presented here in its entirety for the first time. It is complemented by a new drawing and a performance by Alejandra Pombo Su, created especially for the exhibition, on 4 July. From 29 June, the Geheime Staatsarchiv PK will be commemorating the Prussian officer and later American general Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben in a foyer exhibition; he reached revolutionary America in 1777 aboard the frigate Flamand.
From 4 July, the Museum of European Cultures will be examining German-American relations through the lens of a CARE package. The Numismatic Cabinet will use a selection of coins and medals to shed light on the eventful history of the USA, spanning its early days, immigration and internal conflicts. The question of where the dollar gets its name from is also answered. The Ethnological Museum and Museum of Asian Art, also from 4 July, will be hosting a special exhibition exploring aspects of Greenland and the intangible heritage of the Inuit, and invites visitors to the exhibition gallery ‘America. Plains and Prairies’ to discover artefacts from indigenous groups in the region known as the Great Plains.
On 2 July, the Gemäldegalerie will honour, with an evening lecture, a reception and guided tours, Walter Farmer, a US lieutenant and one of the famous ‘Monuments Men’, who in 1945 defied the US government’s attempt to confiscate around 200 works from the Gemäldegalerie.
On 4 July itself, numerous events and performances will take place: in the Cranach Hall of the Gemäldegalerie, Alejandra Pombo Su will present the site-specific voice performance ‘Under Honey’, created especially for the exhibition ‘Dorothy Iannone: The Berlin Beauties’, site-specific voice performance ‘Under Honey’, thereby expanding her solo performance for the first time to include a collaboration with a Berlin women’s choir. On the same day, the Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart will present a concert featuring the monumental, approximately 60-minute cycle of variations ‘The People United Will Never Be Defeated!’ (1975) by Frederic Rzewski. The work is based on the song ‘El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido’, which Sergio Ortega, a close friend of Rzewski’s, had written for the socialist Unidad Popular of the democratically elected Chilean President Salvador Allende shortly before his overthrow in September 1973, which was instigated by the US administration. The song quickly became an anthem of protest against the ensuing brutal dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and against authoritarian rule worldwide. The programme is complemented by a conversation with conceptual artist Andrea Fraser as part of the ‘In Conversation’ series and a special guided tour focusing on the American works in the collection. Further events on 4 July: a curator-led tour of the special exhibition ‘The Berlin Beauties’ at the Gemäldegalerie; a lecture by the Art Library, which holds the estate of the architect Erich Mendelsohn, on his work published in 1926 *Amerika. Bilderbuch eines Architekten* (America: An Architect’s Picture Book), published in 1926, and guided tours at the Alte Nationalgalerie focusing on 19th-century artists who were active both in the USA and in Germany. On 4 July, the State Institute for Music Research will be hosting a special guided tour and a shape-note workshop at the Museum of Musical Instruments, exploring connections to the USA within its collections and presenting musical instruments and traditions within a democratic context. The Ibero-American Institute is hosting a series of lectures examining constitutional developments and debates on democracy in North and South America, with a particular focus on transnational interconnections and intra-hemispheric relations.
Full programme:
https://www.smb.museum/programminitiative-we-the-people/
Press contact for the programme initiative: presse(at)spk-berlin(dot)de
Press contacts for the individual programme events:
Neue Nationalgalerie
Markus Farr
presse.nng(at)smb.spk-berlin(dot)de, Tel.: 0151 527 53 886
Hamburger Bahnhof – National Gallery of Contemporary Art
Fiona Geuß
presse.hbf(at)smb.spk-berlin(dot)de, Tel.: 030 39783416
Gemäldegalerie, Kupferstichkabinett, Kunstbibliothek
Mechtild Kronenberg
museumsteam_kufo(at)smb.spk-berlin(dot)de, Tel.: 030 266 42 34 00
Bode Museum / Numismatic Cabinet / Old National Gallery
Timo Weißberg
presse.mui(at)smb.spk-berlin(dot)de, Tel.: 030 266 42 68 03
Museum of Ethnology and Museum of Asian Art / Museum of European Cultures
Angela Fischel
presse.dah(at)smb.spk-berlin(dot)de, Tel.: 030 266 42 20 14
Ibero-American Institute
Diana von Römer / Julia Borchert
presse(at)iai.spk-berlin(dot)de, Tel.: 030 266 45 43 11
State Institute for Music Research
Katrin Simon
simon(at)sim.spk-berlin(dot)de, Tel.: 030 254 81 12 9
Secret State Archives of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
Ramon Voges
Ramon.Voges(at)gsta.spk-berlin(dot)de, Tel.: 030 266 44 00 43
