Bern Gallery Weekend 2027: 16 and 17 January

The next Berner Galerien Wochenende (Bern Gallery Weekend) takes place on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 January 2027. The Verein Berner Galerien, the association of Bern's galleries, confirmed the date to us. On these two days the galleries are open at the same time, and museums and other cultural venues join in.

What is the Berner Galerien Wochenende?

The Verein Berner Galerien was founded in 1985. It brings together galleries for contemporary art in the city of Bern. The gallery weekend was first held in September 1986 and is the association's most important event. For years it has taken place in mid-January, opening the art year. It was cancelled only once, in 2021.

On this weekend every gallery shows a new exhibition, all with shared opening hours. Other cultural institutions in the city take part with their own contributions. The association's aim: to reach people who rarely go into a gallery otherwise.

Which galleries take part?

bernergalerien.ch currently lists twelve members: Galerie Art+Vision, Druckatelier Tom Blaess, Galerie Béatrice Brunner, DuflonRacz, Galerie Glaab, Galerie Henze & Ketterer, Kendra Jayne Patrick, Kornfeld, Kunstraum Oktogon, Kunstreich, Galerie da Mihi and Reflector Gallery. Several are in the Old Town, for example on Junkerngasse, Nydeggstalden and Gerechtigkeitsgasse. Galerie Henze & Ketterer is in Wichtrach.

The association's partners are the museums Kunstmuseum Bern, Kunsthalle Bern, Zentrum Paul Klee, Kunstmuseum Thun, Kunsthaus Biel Centre d’art Bienne, Kunsthaus Langenthal and Museum Franz Gertsch, plus the Stadtgalerie Bern, the Kornhausforum, videokunst.ch, _artundweise kunst- und denkraum, annex14 and Edition Benjamin Dodell. That is how the 2027 programme on bernergalerien.ch lists them. There are also free guided tours with art educators.

Opening hours and programme 2027

Opening hours, exhibitions and the programme for 2027 will be announced on bernergalerien.ch. For comparison: in 2022, 2023 and 2024 the galleries were open from 11 am to 5 pm on both days. In 2026 the gallery weekend celebrated its 40th birthday. Gallery owners and artists were there in person. There were free guided walks in German of about an hour and a half, and on Saturday a bus went to Galerie Henze & Ketterer in Wichtrach. Whether this happens again in 2027 will be in the new programme.

Planning your walk

On the map Kunst in Bern you find galleries, art spaces and museums under the filter “Galleries & museums”. More on this in the article Galleries in Bern: art without an entrance fee. The members' addresses are on bernergalerien.ch. Take time to talk: on the gallery weekend the people who made the exhibitions are often there.

Sources and thanks

Many thanks to the Verein Berner Galerien for the information and for confirming the 2027 date. The other details come from bernergalerien.ch and from reports on earlier editions: the culture agenda bka.ch (2026), Plattform J (2022 and 2023) and the Robert Walser-Zentrum (2024).