This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to Frankfurt
In a 2022 article, the FT’s previous Frankfurt correspondent described Germany’s financial capital as “the perfect 15-minute city”. Bewilderingly, the concept of key services being a short walk or bike ride from one’s home has morphed into a weapon in the culture wars, but whatever your stance, it’s hard to deny that Frankfurt is a byword for urban liveability — and that extends to its offerings on the arts, sports and festivals fronts. Major art retrospectives dedicated to Käthe Kollwitz, Elizabeth Catlett, the Casablanca Art School and 50 years of hip hop; music ranging from outstanding opera to gigs by jazz genius Brad Mehldau and the idiosyncratic pop-pianist Chilly Gonzales; English-language theatre; five Euro 24 matches and festivals galore: it’s all going on — and more than likely to be close at hand.
On now
Art
‘Elizabeth Catlett’, Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK)
The African American-Mexican artist and activist Elizabeth Catlett (1915-2012) powerfully expressed the female Black experience and the struggle for civil rights in her Modernist sculptures and prints. Successive US governments viewed her as such a threat that, after moving to Mexico in the 1940s and eventually taking citizenship there, she was deemed an “undesirable alien” and repeatedly refused entry back into the States, only regaining her American citizenship in 2002. This major exhibition presents her pioneering work across different eras. Until June 16; further information and tickets here
‘Bilderwelten aus dem Alltag’ (Visual Worlds of Everyday Life), Städel Museum
Displaying works by photographers Wolfgang Tillmans, Pietro Donzelli, Barbara Klemm, Nobuyoshi Araki and Jack Pierson, this fascinating show aims to represent the ebbs and flows of our daily existence. Until November 3; further information and tickets here
‘Ugo Rondinone: Sunrise. East’, Städel Museum
In a playful exploration of the language of comics and emoticons, as well as the ways in which we perceive the passing year, the Städel Museum’s garden is temporarily home to 12 giant, wondrously grotesque aluminium heads by Swiss artist Rondinone, each representing a different month and standing in a huge circle. Until June 9; further information and tickets here
‘The Culture: Hip hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century’, Schirn
To mark the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip hop, the Schirn is dedicating a major interdisciplinary exhibition to its influence on the contemporary cultural landscape. The show features over 100 paintings, photographs, sculptures, videos and fashion by contemporary artists such as Julie Mehretu, Tschabalala Self, Arthur Jafa and more. Until May 26; further information and tickets here
‘Kollwitz’, Städel Museum
The German artist Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945) was one of the most important printmakers of the 20th century. Her Expressionist-style lithographs, etchings and woodcuts, as well as her sculptures and drawings, depicting social inequality and the impact of war on the working classes remain topical today — discover more than 100 of her unforgettable works at this major retrospective. Until June 9; further information and tickets here
Performance
‘Sylvia’, The English Theatre Frankfurt at Theatre am Zoo
A quirky romantic comedy about a New York couple and a dog called Sylvia that comes between them. Until May 26; further information and tickets here
May
Performance
‘Giulio Cesare in Egitto’ (Julius Caesar in Egypt), Oper Frankfurt
A new production by stage director Nadja Loschky (whose credits include the gorgeous Alice im Wunderland for the Zürich Opera in 2022) of Handel’s opera — a masterpiece of the Baroque canon. US countertenor Lawrence Zazzo sings Caesar, while South African soprano Pretty Yende makes her Oper Frankfurt debut as Cleopatra. May 4, 8, 10 and 18; further information and tickets here
Chilly Gonzales, Alte Oper
You could be in for a very long evening here: at a 2009 gig in Paris, this Canadian, Cologne-based singer-songwriter and all-round pop polymath stayed on stage for 27 hours. Very Chilly Gonzales, that — you never know what he might do next (his long CV also includes a Grammy for his work with Daft Punk, a collab with Jarvis Cocker about LA’s Chateau Marmont hotel and membership of Berlin hip-hop “toy band” Puppetmastaz). After releasing an album of chanson last year, French Kiss, his latest single, “F*ck Wagner”, accompanies his campaign to have Cologne’s Richard-Wagner-Strasse renamed after Tina Turner (his beef is with the man, not the music). Expect to find “Gonzo” at the piano in his trademark silk dressing gown and slippers, merrily ploughing his own furrow — as ever. May 6 and 7; further information and tickets here
‘Tannhäuser’, Oper Frankfurt
Name-checked by Oscar Wilde in The Portrait of Dorian Gray, Wagner’s romantic opera traces the trials of a man torn between lust and love. In a new staging by South African director Matthew Wild of the composer’s 1875 Vienna edition, German tenor Marco Jentzsch sings the tormented Tannhäuser, Swedish soprano Christina Nilsson is Elisabeth, the object of his spiritual affections, and German mezzo-soprano Dshamilja Kaiser plays the temptress Venus. May 5, 11, 20 and 30 and June 2; further information and tickets here
Brad Mehldau Trio, Alte Oper
Brad Mehldau is a divisive figure. Some jazz fans find him too austere, too coolly intellectual; for others, the American pianist, composer and arranger’s rigour, precision and far-reaching repertoire (from the German Romantics to Radiohead, Nirvana and Nick Drake) are pure poetry. Decide for yourself at this outing with much-lauded drummer Jorge Rossy (part of Mehldau’s trio from 1994 to 2004) and young Danish double-bassist Felix Moseholm. May 12; further information and tickets here
‘Elektra’, Oper Frankfurt
Director Claus Guth’s 2023 production of Richard Strauss’s adaptation of the Sophocles tragedy returns to the Frankfurt Opera, with sopranos Aile Asszonyi and Susan Bullock singing Elektra and her mother Clytemnestra respectively. May 9, 12, 16 and 25 and June 1 and 9; further information and tickets here
Festivals
Opera Square Festival
Nine days of live music — from classical recitals to DJ sets — and food stalls by the opera house in a long-standing highlight of the Frankfurt cultural calendar. May 8 to 17; further information here
Wäldchestag (Forest Day)
The Tuesday after Whitsun is known as Wäldchestag, or “Forest Day”, in Frankfurt. Every year, locals flock to a fair in the municipal forest in a tradition dating back centuries. May 17 to 21; further information here
June
Art
‘Selma Selman: Flowers of Life’, Schirn
A major solo exhibition dedicated to the self-described “world’s most dangerous artist”, whose work has included trashing cars to use the scrap bodywork as canvases and creating sculptures with gold painstakingly extracted from defunct computer motherboards. Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and of Romani origin, Selman addresses the Balkans’ brutal past and subverts anti-Roma stereotypes. June 20 to September 15; further information and tickets here
Performance
‘The Two Popes’, The English Theatre Frankfurt
A stage adaptation of the 2019 papal succession drama that starred Anthony Hopkins as Benedict XVI and Jonathan Pryce as the future Francis I. Absorbing, surprisingly funny and moving. June 7 to July 12; further information and tickets here
Manchester Collective & Abel Selaocoe: ‘Sirocco’, VGF Gutleut Depot
Part of the Alte Oper’s Auswärtsspiel (Away Game) season will see British chamber ensemble the Manchester Collective perform alongside South African cellist/vocalist Abel Selaocoe in a historic tram depot owned by local public transport operator VGF. They promise “Viennese classics, African and European folklore and much more” — whatever the final programme is, it’s sure to be a genre-bending evening. June 9; further information and tickets here
‘Otello’, Oper Frankfurt
A revival of director Johannes Erath’s 2011 staging of Verdi’s Otello, with the titular role sung by Korean tenor Alfred Kim and Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze as Desdemona. June 22 and 30, and July 4, 7, 10 and 12; further information and tickets here
Sport
Uefa Euro 2024, Deutsche Bank Park
With Germany hosting this year’s tournament, five games will be played in Frankfurt: Belgium vs Slovakia (June 17), Denmark vs England (June 20), Switzerland vs Germany (June 23), Slovakia vs Romania (June 26) and a match in the quarter-finals-preceding Round of 16 (July 1). Further information and tickets here
July
Art
‘Casablanca Art School: A Postcolonial Avant-Garde 1962–87’, Schirn
Celebrating the intense period of cultural activity that followed Morocco’s independence, at the forefront of which was the groundbreaking Casablanca Art School, the Schirn will present 100 works ranging from large-format paintings to graphic experiments and everyday objects, by artists such as Farid Belkahia, Mohammed Chabâa, Bert Flint, Toni Maraini and Mohamed Melehi. July 12 to October 13; further information and tickets here
August
Festivals and events
CSD Frankfurt 2024
The centrepiece of Frankfurt’s annual LGBTQ+ celebration is the 250,000-strong CSD parade (Christopher Street Day, named in honour of the Stonewall riots of 1969 on that New York street) through the city centre to the Töngesgasse. It’s bookended by three days of live acts, DJs and drag in the Pride Village on Konstablerwache. August 8 to 11; further information here
Main Festival
Taking place each year on the banks of the River Main is one of Frankfurt’s oldest fairs, dating back to the mid-14th century. A highlight is the time-honoured “Fisherman’s Joust”, where participants on boats attempt to knock each other into the water using long wooden poles. Don’t miss the firework display for the finale. August 2 to 5; further information here
Frankfurt Apple Wine Festival
In August, everything at the Rossmarkt in downtown Frankfurt revolves around this popular local beverage, which is known for both its flavour and its alleged qualities as a remedy for multiple ailments. August 9 to 18; further information here
Museum Embankment Festival
This three-day event blends art, culture, music and food in a celebration that attracts thousands of visitors, offering everything from museum tours and special exhibitions to live music and theatrical performances. August 23 to 25; further information here
September
Rheingau Wine Festival
An annual celebration on Frankfurt’s Freßgass promenade of wines from Germany’s Rheingau region. Meet the makers and pair your wine of choice with the culinary delicacies on offer. August 28 to September 6; further information here
October
Performance
Deutsches Jazzfestival Frankfurt
Founded in 1953, this is Germany’s oldest jazz festival. Last year’s stellar line-up included acts such as the John Scofield Trio and Jakob Bro & Joe Lovano. October 23 to 27; further information here
Art
‘Carol Rama’, Schirn
The first major retrospective in Germany dedicated to the late Italian artist, whose category-defying oeuvre shifts between the figurative and the abstract in its explorations of female desire and personal and societal trauma. October 11 to January 19 2025; further information and tickets here
November
Art
‘Hans Haacke’, Schirn
The New York-based German conceptual artist has long dissected and challenged the workings of institutions such as art galleries, museums and major corporations. Experience his “artivism” at its most powerful via more than 70 installations, paintings, photographs and objects. November 8 to February 9; further information and tickets here
December
Festival
Frankfurt Christmas Market
Dating back to the 14th century, this is one of the largest and most popular festive markets in Germany, drawing some 3mn visitors to its 250 stalls in the city’s historic quarter. November 25 to December 22; further information here
Please tell us in the comments below about any other calendar highlights for Frankfurt that other readers might like to know about
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