“Access Kafka” examines the access to spaces—whether imaginary, virtual, or physical. One hundred years after Franz Kafka’s death, the Jewish Museum Berlin presents an exhibition juxtaposing manuscripts and drawings from Kafka’s estate with contemporary artistic perspectives. Curated by Shelley Harten, “Access Kafka”’s focus is on the question of access. While access, belonging and admission are central themes in Kafka’s works, they remain profoundly relevant today, in politics and society, with issues such as digitization, artificial intelligence, privacy, and public life. Finally, the exhibition examines the nature of artistic identity and its accessibility.

Our graphic design features bold black-and-white contrasts and large-scale typography. The campaign’s key visual is a detail from Mary Flanagan’s work [borders: chichen itza], visible as if through a narrow opening—evoking themes of access or, possibly, its limitations. This visual is paired with a quote from Kafka, “Anyone who wants to become an artist, step forward!” Visitors are greeted by this message on posters throughout the city and in the stairwell of the Jewish Museum. Within the museum, smaller format quotes by Kafka guide visitors toward the exhibition, where contemporary artistic perspectives engage with Kafka’s manuscripts in a dialogue. Large-scale exhibition titles introduce the exhibition’s key themes—“access denied,” “word,” “body,” “law,” “space,” and “Judaism.”

Keeping the focus solely on the exhibited artworks, our design avoids unnecessary text within the space. For this reason, the accompanying booklet plays a significant role in providing deeper insights—access—into the exhibition’s topics. The exhibition catalog offers additional perspectives by combining “Access Kafka”’s visual elements with texts by curator Shelley Harten and Kafka scholars Carolin Duttlinger, Reiner Stach, and Vivian Liska. Visitors are invited to take home selected Kafka texts, adding a personal layer to their engagement with the exhibition. Original manuscripts and drawings are displayed in dark display cases, emphasizing their significance. Right next to them, detailed charts provide deeper insights into the life and work of one of the most renowned German-language writers of the 20th century.

With artworks by Cory Arcangel, Yuval Barel, Yael Bartana, Guy Ben-Ner, Marcel Broodthaers, Marcel Duchamp, Maria Eichhorn, Mary Flanagan, Ceal Floyer, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Tehching Hsieh, Anne Imhof, Fatoş İrwen, Franz Kafka, Uri Katzenstein, Lina Kim, Martin Kippenberger, Maria Lassnig, Michal Naaman, Trevor Paglen, Alona Rodeh, Roee Rosen, Gregor Schneider, Hito Steyerl

SERVICES
Campaign, Exhibition Graphics, Catalog, Booklet

TEAM VSA
Julia Volkmar, Moritz Kreul, Kristin Krause

CAMPAIGN IN COLLABORATION WITH
Studio Bens

CLIENT
Jewish Museum Berlin

DIRECTOR
Hetty Berg

MANAGEMENT
Lars Bahners (Managing Director), Julia Friedrich (Director of Collections and Exhibitions), Barbara Thiele (Director of Education and Digital Engagement)

MANAGEMENT ASSISTANTS 
Milena Fernando, Mathias Groß, Vera von Lehsten, Eva Weinreich

CURATOR
Shelley Harten

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Gelia Eisert (Exhibition Management), Susanne Wagner

PROJECT ASSISTANT
Sofya Chernykh

COLUNTEERS
Samantha Tokaryk, August Went

HEAD OF EXHIBITIONS
Nina Schallenberg

EXHIBITION ARCHITECTURE AND PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
Thomas Doetsch

GRAPHICS PRODUCTION 
Heerlein Werbetechnik GmbH & CO. KG

PRINTED MATERIALS
Buch- und Offsetdruckerei H. HEENEMANN GmbH & Co. KG

CATALOG
Marie Naumann, Katharina Wulffius, Helena Lutz

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION
Sandra Hollmann (Head), Ha Van Dinh, Melanie Franke, Julia Jürgens, Margret Karsch, Amelie Neumayr, Judith Westphal, Petra Wiege, Sylvia Winkler

KEY VISUAL
© Mary Flanagan | Detail from [borders: chichen itza], 2010 | Courtesy of the artist / Design: VISUAL SPACE AGENCY & STUDIO BENS