Opening: 27 November 2026, 7pm
What does it mean to engage in dialogue, to express ourselves and open up to others? How do communities take shape, whether large or small? With playfulness and humour, Colombian artist Iván Argote explores the frictions and tensions inherent to human interaction. His participatory projects, performances, video works and protests create forums for negotiating how we live together. They explore the balance between individual expression and a willingness to find common ground.
From late November 2026, a new, large-scale work by Argote will transform the Ludwig Forum’s central hall into an interactive space. From spring 2027, Argote will also introduce an Aachen version of Activissime, the series of protest workshops he has been running around the world for fifteen years. In these workshops, children aged six to ten learn to talk about the changes they would like to see in the world.
Iván Argote’s Hier Zusammen opens alongside the themed group exhibition public/public: The Relationship Between Art and the Public Sphere. Both explore what it means to be a forum and mark the start of the Ludwig Forum’s programme under its new director.
Iván Argote (b. 1983 in Bogotá) lives in Paris. He works across disciplines, using sculpture, installation, film, performance and interventions in public space. His work questions power relations in society and the parameters that shape collective memory and has been shown at international exhibitions including the Venice Biennale (2024), Lyon Biennale (2024), Cuenca Biennale (2023), BIENALSUR in Bogotá (2017), Thessaloniki Biennale (2015) and São Paulo Biennale (2012). It has also been shown at venues including Spreepark Art Space in Berlin (2026), the High Line in Manhattan (2024–26), Rudolfinum Gallery in Prague (2025), MASP in São Paulo (2025), the Centre Pompidou in Paris (2022 and 2020) and MAXXI in Rome (2018). Argotes’s work is featured in major collections, including those of MoMA and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Centre Pompidou in Paris, Reina Sofía in Madrid, LACMA in Los Angeles and the MCA in Chicago.
Curatorial: Rebekka Seubert
Curatorial participation: Esther Boehle
The exhibition is created with the kind support of the Peter and Irene Ludwig Foundation.
Sincere thanks to the Spreepark Art Space, Berlin.
Credits: Iván Argote, Activissime!, Berlin, Spreepark, 2026, in cooperation with Spreepark Art Space