The project What the Flag?! began in 2016 through the network Very Contemporary and has since developed into a growing collection of flags created by a wide range of artists — both established and emerging, local and international.
To highlight this ongoing initiative, Kunsthaus NRW presents a selection of 14 flags from previous editions of What the Flag?!, originally shown across the Meuse-Rhine Euregio. The selection was made by Kunsthaus NRW director Marcel Schumacher, curator Elke Kania, and WtF?! initiator Wouter Huis.
Alongside the 2025 edition, the selected flags are on view from 18 May to 1 June 2025 in the historic cloister garden of Kunsthaus NRW, creating a vibrant dialogue between earlier contributions and this year’s theme: How can we connect?
Participating artists in the WtF?! collection exhibition
Rachel Bacon, Tom Bogaert, Francis Feidler, Alexis Gautier, Dorothy Hendriks, Lars den Hertog, Claude Horstmann, Joséphine Kaeppelin, Mikail Koçak, Rem Koolhaas, Vera Molnár, Anne Neukamp, Silke Schatz, Monty von Richthofen.
2025 – What the Flag?! – How can we connect?
At a time when physical and mental borders are increasingly questioned, the 2025 edition explores how art can create connections between people, institutions, and regions. The exhibition opens on International Museum Day, 18 May 2025, at Kunsthaus NRW and will be presented in the Kunsthaus Salon until 1 June 2025. From 2 June onward, the newly commissioned flags will travel throughout the Meuse-Rhine Euregio and be hosted by the participating institutions of the Very Contemporary network.
Participating artists 2025
Kaya Erdinç, Helena, Katharina Jahnke, Alicia Kremser, Sophie Langohr, Cristiana Cott Negoescu, Anthony Ngoya, Lola Reynaerts, Dean Sameshima, Mikołaj Sobczak, Huize You.
Kick-off: What the Flag?! 2025
Join us for the opening presentation on 18 May, including a Walk & Talk tour at 12:15 with initiator Wouter Huis, Elke Kania, and participating artists.
What the Flag?! 2025 is part of the Very Contemporary program Reading the Region.
Further information about the exhibition project can be found here:
What the Flag?!
