The multiplicity of voices inherent in the Humboldt Forum’s programme is reflected in its institutional collaborations. The Humboldt Forum represents a pioneering partnership between four experienced partners from the cultural and academic field.
What we are
The Humboldt Forum is taking shape in the historical heart of Berlin as a unique place of inquiry and encounters. A place with a significant past. A place for the arts and sciences, for exchange, diversity and a multiplicity of voices. A place where differences come together.
More than a museum
The outstanding collections that have been assembled under one roof and the varied programme of exhibitions, events and educational and digital offerings inspire visitors to gain new insights into the world of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Who we are
One house, four partners – the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz with the Ethnologisches Museum and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, the Stadtmuseum Berlin together with Kulturprojekte Berlin, the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss are working together on developing this pioneering model.
Mutual understanding and Mission Statement
A joint statement by its partners defines the mutual understanding and goals of the Humboldt Forum. Developed by employees of all partners, the mission statement with its five guiding principles serves as an orientation for the joint work on this unique project.
Governance
The general director determines the overall concept and the basic curatorial orientation of the Humboldt Forum. All partners exchange views about the programme’s orientation in a permanent management conference, in which all partners are represented.
HARTMUT DORGERLOH
Director
The art historian, curator of monuments and cultural manager Prof. Dr. Hartmut Dorgerloh is general director and chief executive officer of the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss. After senior roles in the Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kultur in the state of Brandenburg and as the founding director of the Haus der Brandenburgisch-Preußischen Geschichte in Potsdam, he was general director of the Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg from 2002 to 2018. Since 2004 he has lectured as an honorary professor at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
SOPHIE PLAGEMANN
Artistic Director and Chairwoman of the Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin
Cultural manager and curator Sophie Plagemann is the Artistic Director of the Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin, which is presenting the BERLIN GLOBAL exhibition at the Humboldt Forum.
Henrietta Lidchi
Direktorin des Ethnologischen Museums und des Museums für Asiatische Kunst sowie Direktorin der Sammlungen im Humboldt Forum
Henrietta Lidchi, who holds a PhD in anthropology, has been Director of the Ethnologisches Museum and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, as well as Director of Collections at the Humboldt Forum, since May 2026. Her professional career has taken her from the British Museum in London to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh and the Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen in the Netherlands. From 2022 to 2026, she was Executive Director of the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, United States.
Julia von Blumenthal
President of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
The political scientist Prof. Dr Julia von Blumenthal has been President of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin since 2022. From 2018 to 2022, she was President of the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder). Since 2009, she has held the professorship for Domestic Politics of the Federal Republic of Germany at the Institute for Social Sciences at Humboldt-Universität.
Publications
Books and catalogs accompany the future programme of the Humboldt Forum, take up current debates and address topics such as architecture, reconstruction, the history of the site and (post)colonial questions.