When Kunst-Werke Berlin announced Haegue Yang as the new chair of its board, it wasn’t just a change in leadership—it was a signal. A signal that Berlin’s cultural institutions, precariously balanced between budget cuts and political pressures, are doubling down on the voices of artists themselves. Yang, a South Korean sculptor and filmmaker with an international presence, now takes the reins of KW Institute for Contemporary Art and the Berlin Biennale, two of the city’s most defining cultural engines.

A Global Artist Rooted in Berlin

Yang’s appointment follows Katharina Grosse, who held the role for four years. Like her predecessor, Yang brings not only an artistic pedigree but also a sharp institutional awareness. Her practice—an ever-shifting constellation of sculptures, installations, and videos—often addresses the fraught entanglements of climate change and consumer culture.

Her career has stretched across continents. Since 2017, she has taught at the Städelschule in Frankfurt, while dividing her time between Berlin and Seoul. Her accolades include the Wolfgang Hahn Prize (2018) and the Benesse Prize at the Singapore Biennale (2022). Solo exhibitions at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo (2023), London’s Hayward Gallery (2024), and Kunsthal Rotterdam (2025) have cemented her status as one of the most visible Asian voices in global contemporary art.

Leading Amid Crisis and Change

Yang steps into leadership at a turbulent moment. Earlier this year, Berlin slashed its cultural budget by €130 million, stripping KW of nearly 12 percent of its funding. The consequences were immediate: staff reductions, suspended mediation programs, and terminated partnerships.

At the same time, Berlin’s arts community is grappling with its handling of pro-Palestinian artists and works, sparking heated debates about censorship, solidarity, and the political responsibilities of cultural institutions. Against this backdrop, Yang’s appointment feels charged—not only an institutional role but a moral and artistic one.

What Haegue Yang Represents

There is a poetry in Yang’s selection. Her work is steeped in themes of entanglement: how bodies, economies, and climates interlace in fragile ecosystems. That sensibility might be precisely what KW Berlin needs as it negotiates its place between public accountability and artistic freedom.

Yang herself described KW not as a space but as a “driving force in the artistic ecosystem.” It’s a striking choice of words, framing the institution not as a passive venue but as an organism—vital, adaptive, and necessary. Her vision suggests that Berlin’s art scene, even under strain, can reimagine itself with resilience.

The Stakes for Berlin’s Art Scene

The chairmanship of KW has always carried weight, but in this climate, Yang’s presence could prove pivotal. With Art Basel Hong Kong aligning Asian and European markets, Frieze expanding into Seoul, and Middle Eastern capitals rapidly developing their cultural infrastructures, Berlin must fight to retain its reputation as Europe’s laboratory of the avant-garde.

Yang embodies that duality: rooted in Berlin yet in dialogue with the world, deeply experimental yet institutionally savvy. Her leadership may determine whether KW continues as a crucible for risk-taking or succumbs to the cautious pragmatism that financial crises so often demand.

As Yang assumes the chair, the future of KW and the Berlin Biennale is uncertain but not bleak. If anything, it is alive with tension—the same kind of tension that fuels great art. And perhaps that is fitting: Berlin, a city defined by ruptures and reinventions, has always thrived on uncertainty.

With Haegue Yang at the helm, the story of Berlin’s art world may yet take a daring turn—toward fragility embraced as strength, and crises reframed as catalysts.