Cape Town/Munich. As part of Julie Mehretu’s ongoing BMW Art Car project, the African Film and Media Arts Collective (AFMAC) was launched in April 2025 by the internationally renowned painter in collaboration with Emmy-nominated film producer Mehret Mandefro and the BMW Group. The initiative brings together artists and filmmakers from across Africa and the diaspora to explore new forms of creation and cultural dialogue in workshops led by internationally renowned artists.

From January 27–31, 2026, AFMAC will host its final workshop in Cape Town, following successful sessions in Lagos, Tangier, Nairobi, and Dakar. For this closing edition, London-based The Otolith Group—founded in 2002 by Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo Eshun—will lead the workshop. Known for their interdisciplinary approach spanning film, installation, and performance, their work investigates histories of science fiction and global cultural legacies. Through research-driven art, they aim to spark public dialogue and connect theory, practice, and exhibition. Titled African Cosmotechnics: Animation, Animism, Abstraction, Automotion, Automation, Aesthetics their workshop program brings artists, writers, theorists, animators, theatre-makers, and filmmakers together to approach animation not only as technique or as genre, but as a way of rethinking the relations between images, sounds, and voices. It is not intended as a technical workshop for producing animation but for rethinking what animation could, might, or should be.

AFMAC and its local partner in Cape Town, Chimurenga, offer a public screening of Infinity Minus Infinity with an ensuing art talk with The Otolith Group on January 31, 2026, at 7.30pm. The 2019 video work is an audiovisual performance combining dance, music, spoken word, and animation to reflect on how historical racism and colonialism continue to shape today’s social and environmental crises.

Chimurenga is a platform for African ideas and cultural production, founded by Ntone Edjabe in Cape Town in 2002. The aim of Chimurenga’s activities is not just to produce new knowledge, but to express the intensities of our world, to capture those forces, and to take action. Chimurenga publishes “Chimurenga Magazine”, the quarterly broadsheet “The Chronic”, and curates the Chimurenga Library—an evolving archive reimagining African knowledge systems.

Cape Town also hosts the project’s culmination: the exhibition “Scaling Intentions” at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, from December 11, 2026 to August 15, 2027. Each AFMAC lead artist will present a film inspired by the respective workshop, shown alongside Julie Mehretu’s BMW Art Car #20, a BMW M Hybrid V8 first unveiled at the Centre Pompidou in 2024. The films are intended as an anthology of contemporary African film and media art making.

AFMAC’s mission is to foster sustainable artistic networks and strengthen creative communities across Africa. Through the workshops, participants explore cultural heritage, identity, and experimentation using archival African film and media materials. They are given the opportunity to develop their own creative approaches for new forms of media art for the future.

“The magic of bringing people together starts with us. AFMAC creates forums for conversations in small, critical masses and surfaces resources to take the next steps. We build on the work of our local cultural partners: They already created a grounded cultural infrastructure, showing that art is not just a nice-to-have but a must-have. The talent and cultural energy emerging from these cities is electric – culture cannot be gated, it will always find a way to be heard,“ says Mehret Mandefro, co-founder of AFMAC.

“At BMW Group South Africa, we see our role as more than mobility, it’s about creating space for connection, conversation and shared progress,” says Thilosh Moodally, Director of Government Affairs and Communications at BMW Group South Africa. “Through initiatives such as AFMAC, we’re proud to support creative communities that amplify African voices, encourage creative freedom and open up meaningful cultural exchange. It’s part of how we show up beyond our products, with people and art at the centre of this project, we ensure that we build more than just cars, we build communities”.

Get deeper insights into AFMAC on the website www.afmac.institute, via Instagram at @a.f.m.a.c. or tune into Julie Mehretu’s interview on CNN African Voices.

The BMW Group's Cultural Engagement, with exclusive updates and deeper insights into its global initiatives can be followed on Instagram at @BMWGroupCulture.

African Film and Media Arts Collective – Past and future stations
April 2025: Lagos, Nigeria, in partnership with Angels & Muse
Lead artist: Coco Fusco

July 2025: Tangier, Morocco, in partnership with Cinematheque de Tanger
Lead artist: Zeresenay Berhane Mehari

October 2025: Nairobi, Kenya, in partnership with Docubox
Lead artists: Jim Chuchu and Wanuri Kahiu

December 2025: Dakar, Senegal, in partnership with Fanta Sy and Raw Material Company
Lead artist: Mati Diop

January 2026: Cape Town, South Africa, in partnership with Chimurenga
Lead artist: The Otolith Group

11 December 2026 – 15 August 2027: Final exhibition at Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA), Cape Town, South Africa

Biographies of the founders and Cape Town lead artists

Julie Mehretu is a world-renowned American artist, born in Addis Ababa in 1970. Mehretu’s practice in painting, drawing and printmaking engages the viewer in a dynamic visual articulation of contemporary experience. Notable accolades include the MacArthur Award, the US Department of State Medal of Arts Award, and, in 2025, she was awarded the rank of Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. Her work has been exhibited widely at museums, biennials and galleries around the globe. Mehretu is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Design and the National Academy of Sciences in Ethiopia. She sits on the board of the Whitney Museum of American Art, is a trustee and alumna of the American Academy in Berlin, a Global Council Member at Zeitz MOCAA, and is co-founder and board member of Denniston Hill. Mehretu lives and works in New York City.

Mehret Mandefro is an Emmy-nominated producer, writer, and serial entrepreneur born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Her body of work explores hidden truths and spans documentary and fiction, film and television, art and science. She co-founded the multi-media production company Truth Aid Media and founded the research enterprise Truth Aid Impact, A51 Pictures in Ethiopia, as well as the Realness Institute in South Africa. She was formerly the Executive Producer of Kana Television in Ethiopia and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science.

The Otolith Group was founded in London in 2002 by curators and artists Anjalika Sagar, born 1968, and Kodwo Eshun, born 1967 both in London. The artist-led collective follows a research-based work that spans across moving images, audio, performance, and installations and engages with post-human discourses, building intergenerational and cross-cultural platforms.

Biographies of further lead artists

Jim Chuchu is a singer, songwriter, music producer, director, photographer, and visual artist. He helped establish the Nest Collective, a multidisciplinary art space and artists’ collective in Nairobi. His first short film “Homecoming” was featured at various film festivals from Durban to Locarno. Chuchu’s photography series “Pagans” was highlighted at Dak’Art 2014, the 11th edition of Africa’s longest running biennial of contemporary art.

Robin Coste Lewis, born in 1964 in Compton, California, is the author of “Voyage of the Sable Venus” (2015), which won the National Book Award for Poetry. The former poet laureate of Los Angeles, Lewis holds a PhD in Poetry and Visual Studies from the University of Southern California, an MFA in poetry from New York University, an MTS in Sanskrit and comparative religious literature from the Divinity School at Harvard University, and a BA from Hampshire College in post-colonial literature and creative writing. Her work has appeared in various journals and anthologies, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Paris Review, Transition, and The Massachusetts Review. Lewis has taught at Hampshire College, Hunter College, Wheaton College, and the NYU Low-Residency MFA in Paris. She is currently writer in residence at the University of Southern California.

Mati Diop is a French-Senegalese filmmaker born in Paris in 1982. With her first feature film, “Atlantics“ (2019), which won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival followed by “Dahomey“ (2024) awarded by The Golden Bear of Berlinale, (both shortlisted at the Oscars), she has established herself as one of the leading figures of international auteur cinema and a new wave in African and diasporic cinema.

Coco Fusco born in 1960 in New York City is a video and performance artist. With her multidisciplinary practice, Fusco explores the ways that intercultural dynamics affect the construction of the self and ideas about cultural otherness. Her work is in the collections of major museums worldwide and she received numerous awards.

Wanuri Kahiu is an award-winning filmmaker, speaker, and science fiction writer. Her film, “Rafiki,“ was the first Kenyan film to screen at Cannes, earning global recognition. Named one of TIME’s 100 Next in 2019, she is a cultural leader for the World Economic Forum and an advocate for freedom of expression. Through AFROBUBBLEGUM, Kahiu champions fun, fierce and frivolous African art. She directed “Washington Black” for Hulu/20th Century Fox, Netflix’s “Look Both Ways,” and is set to direct Disney’s “Once on This Island”.

Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, born in 1974, is an Ethiopian filmmaker and co-founder of A51 Pictures. He is notable as the director of the critically acclaimed films “Difret” (winner of Sundance and Berlinale Panorama Audience Awards) and “Sweetness in the Belly”. Apart from cinema, he co-founded and served as the Head of Original Content for Kana Television, the largest free-to-air, private satellite entertainment TV channel in Ethiopia.

Munich/ Paris. The BMW Art Car World Tour, a celebration of the fusion between art and automotive innovation, marked the 50th anniversary of the BMW Art Car Collection in 2025 with an extraordinary journey across five continents. Featuring over 45 stops in more than 30 countries, the tour captivated hundreds of thousands of visitors with its iconic collection of 20 BMW Art Cars, each a masterpiece created by some of the world’s most renowned artists. As the curtain falls on a remarkable year, the tour is set to continue its ambitious trajectory in 2026, beginning with a spectacular exhibition at Rétromobile in Paris.

The BMW Art Car World Tour: Reflecting on a global cultural success in 2025 
The 2025 leg of the BMW Art Car World Tour was a resounding success and reached over 2 million visitors across flagship art fairs, museums, motorsport events and cultural institutions worldwide. Some of the highlights included stops at Art Basel Hong Kong, Art Dubai, Auto Shanghai, Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, Ultrace in Poland, 24 Hours of Le Mans and Le Mans Classic, Louwman Museum in The Hague, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and The Bridge in the USA, Goodwood Revival, Contemporary Istanbul, Zoute Grand Prix in Belgium, Frieze London, and ADI Design Museum in Milan.

Each stop offered a unique opportunity for audiences to engage with the collection, which features works by renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jenny Holzer, and Julie Mehretu. During art talks and accompanying events, visitors had the opportunity to learn background information about the ‘rolling sculptures’ on display and the history of the renowned collection. The Art Cars, ranging from racing thoroughbreds to rare production vehicles, showcased the diversity of artistic expression and BMW’s unwavering commitment to cultural engagement. The initiative, which began in 1975 with Alexander Calder’s reimagined BMW 3.0 CSL, has grown into a global phenomenon, uniting art and automotive enthusiasts alike.

Becoming the first BMW in the National Historic Vehicle Register, the BMW Art Car by Andy Warhol was officially added to the National Heritage Registry of the United States in 2025, underlining the collection’s significance not only as a BMW initiative, but as a lasting contribution to global cultural history.

Opening the next chapter: Rétromobile 2026
The celebration continues in 2026, with the first stop of the BMW Art Car World Tour at Rétromobile in Paris. From 28 January to 1 February, Rétromobile at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles will host a reunion of all seven BMW Art Cars that have competed at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. This exhibition will feature iconic models, including the vivid colours of Andy Warhol’s BMW M1 and the bold statements of Jenny Holzer’s BMW V12 LMR. At the centre of the exhibition hall, BMW and Rétromobile will present a display inspired by the concept of a 'legendary garage':

• #1 I Alexander Calder, BMW 3.0 CSL (1975)
• #2 I Frank Stella, BMW 3.0 CSL (1976)
• #3 I Roy Lichtenstein, BMW 320i Turbo (1977)
• #4 I Andy Warhol, BMW M1 (1979)
• #15 I Jenny Holzer, BMW V12 LMR (1999)
• #17 I Jeff Koons, BMW M3 GT2 (2010)
• #20 I Julie Mehretu, BMW M Hybrid V8 (2024)

Rétromobile, celebrating its own 50th anniversary, provides the perfect stage for this historic gathering. Visitors will have the rare opportunity to witness the intersection of art, motorsport, and history, as the BMW Art Cars take centre stage in one of the world’s most prestigious automotive events. The exhibition promises to be a visual feast, offering deeper insights into the creative processes of the artists and the cultural significance of the collection.

Rétromobile, often described as 'the world's most beautiful temporary garage', has been a gathering place for enthusiasts of exceptional vehicles since 1976. This international event, held in Paris, is the first show of the season for classic car lovers. For half a century, the show has attracted those who appreciate cars for their history and heritage rather than their performance. For its 50th edition, and for the first time in its history, Rétromobile is honoured to receive the high patronage of the French Ministry of Culture. This distinction confirms the major role played by the show in promoting a unique automotive heritage, a true cultural asset for France, recognised both nationally and internationally.

Display of Alexander Calder’s BMW Art Car in the centre of Paris
As part of the anniversary of Rétromobile and the BMW Art Car Collection, the BMW Art Car #1 by Alexander Calder is on display free of charge in the courtyard of the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris from 16 to 26 January. The Hôtel de la Marine, an 18th-century gem located on Place de la Concorde in Paris, opened to the public in June 2021 after a restoration campaign led by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux.

2026 is also a significant anniversary for the artist Alexander Calder: In 1926, Calder came to Paris and created his iconic Cirque. To celebrate the centenary of Calder’s arrival in France, the Fondation Louis Vuitton is holding a major retrospective in his honour this year. Furthermore, the Whitney Museum in New York has been devoting the exhibition “High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100“ to his legendary work (since October 2025).

“After a year of waiting and preparations, the 50th edition of the Rétromobile show will open its doors in a few days, on 28 January. More than ever, we are eager to unveil the exhibition of the seven BMW Art Cars that participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which will be stopping in France for the first time. In the meantime, fans of the brand and the show can already admire Alexander Calder's BMW Art Car / 3.0 CSL in the courtyard of the Hôtel de la Marine, Place de la Concorde, until 26 January,“ says Romain Grabowski, Director of Rétromobile.

“Celebrating 50 years of the BMW Art Cars collection is above all a tribute to a visionary audacity that began half a century ago, when art and motor racing came together for the first time. This exceptional exhibition at Rétromobile marks a unique moment where creativity, innovation and heritage meet. The BMW Art Cars embody the very essence of our brand: a passion for design, performance and creative freedom. Bringing these rolling works of art together and sharing them with the public illustrates how art and mobility are shaping the future together,“ says Vincent Salimon, CEO BMW Group France.

Practical information 
BMW Art Car exhibition at Rétromobile
From 28 January to 1 February 2026
Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, 1 Pl. de la Prte de Versailles, 75015 Paris
For access to Rétromobile, please register here: PRESS ACCREDITATION

Exhibition of Alexander Calder's BMW Art Car at Hôtel de la Marine
From 16 to 26 January 2026, 8 am to midnight
Free admission
Courtyard of the Hôtel de la Marine, 2 place de la Concorde, 75008 Paris

Upcoming BMW Art Car World Tour 2026
Next stop of the BMW Art Car World Tour after Rétromobileinclude a presentation of Ernst Fuchs‘ and Jeff Koons‘ ‘rolling sculptures’ at RETRO CLASSICS in Stuttgart (February) as well as displays at Art Basel (Doha & Hong Kong), Turkey, Romania, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, and Germany. Furthermore, an exhibition of the BMW Art Cars is planned at the BMW Welt in Munich in summer 2026.

The BMW Art Car Collection
The BMW Art Car initiative, born from the vision of French racing driver and art dealer Hervé Poulain and BMW Head of Motorsport Jochen Neerpasch, has become a cornerstone of BMW’s cultural engagement. Over the decades, the collection has grown to include works by Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, Esther Mahlangu, David Hockney, Jeff Koons, and many others, each contributing their unique artistic perspective.

BMW’s commitment to culture extends far beyond the BMW Art Car Collection, encompassing more than a hundred initiatives across contemporary art, music, film, and design. The company’s dedication to fostering creativity and innovation continues to resonate globally, as evidenced by the success of the Art Car World Tour.

The BMW Group's Cultural Engagement, with exclusive updates and deeper insights into its global initiatives can be followed on Instagram at @BMWGroupCulture.

London/Munich. From October 15 to 19, Frieze London and Frieze Masters will return to London’s Regent’s Park. As one of Frieze’s long-standing global partners since 2004, BMW honours the artistic work of David Hockney as part of the BMW Art Car World Tour and provides VIP shuttle service. Frieze London takes its place on the global stage as part of the ever-expanding BMW Art Car World Tour, a journey that will span continents and continue well into 2026. Marking the 50th anniversary of this iconic series, the tour brings together a constellation of exhibitions across five continents, enriched by a vibrant array of events.

The iconic Art Car #14, designed by David Hockney 30 years ago, will be on display in The Lobby of The Peninsula London from October 14 to November 3. During the “Peninsula Classic Car Afternoon Tea” which runs through November 18 there will be a special opportunity to engage with Hockney’s Art Car: BMW representatives will dive deep into the origins and lead through the journey of Hockney’s Art Car design on October 14 and 15. Sculptural culinary delights will be served to bring together the British tea tradition and the BMW Art Cars’ golden jubilee. The final days of the exhibition coincide with RM Sotheby’s Classic Car auction presented in partnership with the Royal Automobile Club which brings a selection of significant automobiles– from historic treasures to modern collectibles – to The Peninsula.

David Hockney’s BMW 850CSi puts a new spin on the traditional idea of a car’s paintwork by effectively turning the car inside out. “I thought it would be a good idea to show the car as if one could see inside,” he said. Like an X-ray, Hockney’s design reveals the anatomy of the car and its occupants: the door sports an outline of the driver, and Hockney’s loyal dachshund, Stanley, can be seen sitting on the back seat, referencing the artist’s love of his dogs. Stylised engine components are depicted on the bonnet, while expanses of green sweep across the body – a visual metaphor for the passing scenery, movement, and time. Hockney’s visual language melds the car’s interior and the outside world to create a new and unusual perspective on motoring.

Born in Bradford, England, in 1937, David Hockney has been one of the most flamboyant and influential protagonists on the international art scene since the early 1960s. He graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1962 and soon joined the exclusive circles of Swinging Sixties London. He established his style as his very own form of international Pop Art and achieved great popularity with it. His works – among them iconic images depicting swimming pools and Californian landscapes – illustrate his lifelong fascination with light, colour, and the relationship between perspective and movement. David Hockney’s Art Car was intended solely as an exhibition piece and has never been driven on the road or in a race.

The BMW Art Car World Tour charts an ambitious course, with stops at prestigious destinations such as Art Basel Hong Kong, the Le Mans Classic in France, Belgium’s Zoute Grand Prix, the Shanghai Motor Show in China, and Italy’s Concorso d’Eleganza, among others. Showcasing the collection of 20 iconic BMW Art Cars, the tour serves as a testament to the company’s deep-rooted commitment to global cultural engagement – spanning more than a hundred initiatives across contemporary art, music, film, and design. Follow the journey here.

BMW Art Car #14 by David Hockney
October 14-November 3
The Peninsula London,
1 Grosvenor Pl,
London SW1X 7HJ,
United Kingdom

The Peninsula London Classic Car Afternoon Tea is offered daily until November 18 from 1.00 – 6.30pm reservations can be made here.

Dedicated media slots on October 14 and 15 from 1.00 – 3.00pm can be requested here. Capacity is limited, first come first served.

Frieze London Dates
Wednesday, October 15: 11am - 7pm (invitation only)
Thursday, October 16: 11am – 1pm (Members and Invitation only preview) 1pm – 5pm General admission tickets
Friday, October 17: 11am - 7pm 
Saturday, October 18: 11am - 7pm
Sunday, October 19: 11am – 6pm

Media Accreditation

The BMW Group's Cultural Engagement, with exclusive updates and deeper insights into its global initiatives can be followed on Instagram at @BMWGroupCulture.

Istanbul/Munich. Contemporary Istanbul, Türkiye’s leading international art fair, will celebrate its 20th edition from 24–28 September 2025 at Tersane Istanbul. The 2025 edition reflects two decades of growth for the fair, which has become a vital meeting point for collectors, artists, and institutions from across the region and beyond. This year’s fair programme includes a curated selection of galleries from around the world and landmark institutional collaborations. As part of the BMW Art Car World Tour, the very first BMW Art Car, designed by Alexander Calder, and the latest addition to the collection by Julie Mehretu #20 will be exhibited on the ground.

Contemporary Istanbul takes its place on the global stage as part of the ever-expanding BMW Art Car World Tour, a journey that will span continents and continue well into 2026. Marking the 50th anniversary of this iconic series, the tour brings together a constellation of exhibitions across five continents, enriched by a vibrant array of events. With Istanbul now joining the ranks of world capitals and premier cultural gatherings, the city cements its status as a vital hub in the international art landscape. The exhibited Art Cars will be shown side by side for the first time in Türkiye at the BMW Lounge in the partner section of Contemporary Istanbul and reflect the breadth and diversity of the BMW Art Car Collection. A dedicated BMW Art Talk as part of the fair’s CIF Dialogues featuring Head of BMW Group Cultural Engagement Thomas Girst will dive deep into the history and individual anecdotes of the 20 rolling sculptures.

Alexander Calder’s BMW 3.0 CSL laid the foundation for the iconic series when French racing driver and art dealer Hervé Poulain, together with then BMW Head of Motorsport Jochen Neerpasch, asked his artist friend Calder to paint a car. The completely reimagined 3.0 CSL patterned in red, yellow, blue, and white went on to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1975 and became a crowd favorite. Alexander Calder (1898-1976) was an American sculptor and artist and is regarded as one of the most influential exponents of Classical Modernism. He began his career as an engineer before turning to art. His most famous works are his mobiles – light, free-moving sculptures that are set in motion by air currents or electric motors – and his static, often-monumental metal sculptures known as "stabiles".

The Ethiopian born, New York based abstract painter Julie Mehretu created the latest and 20th car in the collection from a BMW M Hybrid V8 in 2024 where it premiered at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and hit the racetrack at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Space, movement, and energy have always been central motifs in Mehretu's work. For her Art Car design she transformed a two-dimensional image into a three-dimensional representation, with which she succeeded in bringing dynamism into form. Mehretu used the color and form vocabulary of her monumental painting “Everywhen” (2021-2023) as a starting point for her design. Its abstract visual form results from digitally altered photographs, which are superimposed in several layers of dot grids, neon-colored veils, and the black markings characteristic of Mehretu's work.

The BMW Art Car World Tour charts an ambitious course, with stops at prestigious destinations such as Art Basel Hong Kong, Le Mans Classic in France, Belgium’s Zoute Grand Prix, the Shanghai Motor Show in China, and Italy’s Concorso d’Eleganza, among others. Showcasing the collection of 20 iconic BMW Art Cars, the tour serves as a testament to the company’s deep-rooted commitment to global cultural engagement—spanning more than a hundred initiatives across contemporary art, music, film, and design.

Contemporary Istanbul 2025 highlights and institutional collaborations
Contemporary Istanbul’s 20th fair edition also deepens its engagement with leading museums and art organisations worldwide. Special presentations will include contributions from the UBS Digital Art Museum (Hamburg), Sigg Art Foundation (Le Castellet), and others, underlining the fair’s commitment to international dialogue.

CI 20 focus: America
The fair’s curated Focus Section this year will spotlight the contemporary art scene in the United States, with a particular emphasis on New York. Titled Focus America, the programme will explore the country’s role in shaping global cultural narratives and foster new connections among artists, curators, and collectors. Institutional leaders from major US museums will take part in a series of panels, exhibitions, and networking events.

CIF Dialogues: “Dispersing Coordinates”
CIF’s annual conference, “Dialogues”, returns this year under the theme “Dispersing Coordinates: Istanbul and the Shifting Map of Art.” The programme will reflect on global cultural shifts and Istanbul’s evolving position in the art world. Confirmed speakers include Jennifer Stockman (Honorary President, Guggenheim Museum), and Anne Pasternak (Director, Brooklyn Museum).

For more information and press accreditation:
www.contemporaryistanbul.com

Contemporary Istanbul Dates
24 September: Preview
25 – 28 September: General Admission
BMW Lounge presence at Rixos Tersane Partner Section
BMW Art Talk at CIF Dialogues, 24 September at 3:30pm

The BMW Group's Cultural Engagement, with exclusive updates and deeper insights into its global initiatives can be followed on Instagram at @BMWGroupCulture.

Bratislava. Marking a decade of collaboration between BMW Slovakia and the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, the BMW Art Car World Tour 2025 has arrived in Bratislava with a compelling exhibition. From May 27 to June 1, 2025, the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum will host "The Private Collection by BMW", offering a rare opportunity to explore the intersection of artistic vision and engineering excellence through three iconic BMW Art Cars.

BMW Art Cars on display in Bratislava:

• Frank Stella’s BMW 3.0 CSL (1976).
• Michael Jagamara Nelson’s BMW M3 Group A (1989).
• Matazo Kayama’s BMW 535i (1990).

The partnership between BMW Slovakia and the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum has brought numerous cultural and artistic highlights to the Slovak capital.

Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum is one of Europe’s most striking contemporary art venues. Situated on the banks of the Danube River, the museum’s architectural beauty and serene surroundings provide the perfect setting to showcase the Art Cars and their captivating stories.

The exhibition features works by talented students from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava (VŠVU) in collaboration with the MINI brand and inspired by the MINI Aceman model, and young artists from the "Children and Architecture" project. These initiatives aim to inspire future generations to explore the intersections of art, design, and innovation.

The BMW Art Car World Tour: A Global Celebration

The Bratislava exhibition is part of the BMW Art Car World Tour 2025, the largest exhibition project in the history of the collection, spanning all five continents. Since the tour’s kick-off, events have been held in 12 different markets at an incredible pace, sharing the legacy of the Art Cars with audiences around the globe.

The BMW Group's Cultural Engagement, with exclusive updates and deeper insights into its global initiatives can be followed on Instagram at @BMWGroupCulture.

Dubai/ Munich. The 2025 edition of Art Dubai is set to take place at Madinat Jumeirah from 18 to 20 April, with VIP guests welcomed for preview days on 16 and 17 April. As a long-term supporter of the fair, BMW will showcase the iconic 4th BMW Art Car, painted by Andy Warhol in just 28 minutes in 1979, on the fairground. The display of Warhol’s BMW M1 at Art Dubai is part of the BMW Art Car World Tour, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the legendary BMW Art Car Collection this year.

Founded in 2007, Art Dubai has established itself as the most significant global art gathering in the Middle East, playing a pivotal role in the rapid growth of the region’s art scene and creative economy. Each year, the fair features around 120 contemporary, modern, and digital galleries from over 40 countries, showcasing a diverse range of artistic talent and positions. The gallery programme is complemented by artist commissions, an ambitious education initiative, and the most extensive talks and conference programming of any international art fair, including the renowned Global Art Forum and the annual Digital Summit. Art Dubai continues to champion galleries and artists from less-represented geographies, serving as a vital gateway for discovery, learning, and cultural exchange.

As part of the fair’s talk series, BMW will host the exclusive Art Talk “Driven by Art: Are Commissions and Co-creations the Future?” on 17th April at the Auditorium of Art Dubai. The international panalists Azu Nwagbogu (Founder and Director African Artists' Foundation and LagosPhoto Festival), Hans Ulrich Obrist (Artistic Director SERPENTINE) and Dr Stephanie Rosenthal (Director Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project) will explore the rise of co-creation as cultural phenomenon. Taking the iconic BMW Art Car Initiative as a point of departure, the panelists will reflect on decades of artistic collaborations they themselves initiated through their curatorial practice and institutions, moderated by Prof Dr Thomas Girst (Global Head of BMW Group Cultural Engagement).

The BMW Art Car World Tour and its stop in Dubai
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the BMW Art Car Collection – an unprecedented mix of technology, art, and design that began in 1975 when French racing driver Hervé Poulain invited artist Alexander Calder to paint a BMW 3.0 CSL. Since then, the project has brought together visionary artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Esther Mahlangu, Jeff Koons, and Julie Mehretu, each transforming a BMW vehicle into a “rolling sculpture“. To celebrate this milestone, BMW has launched a global BMW Art Car World Tour to showcase the collection at cultural institutions, museums and platforms on all five continents.

In 1979, Andy Warhol transformed the BMW M1 into a radical canvas - a car that blurred the lines between art, performance and design. The exhibition of Warhol's BMW Art Car at this year's edition of Art Dubai underlines BMW's ongoing support for the arts and its commitment to fostering artistic dialogue and cultural exchange in the region. As part of the BMW Art Car World Tour 2025, Dubai joins this historic celebration of the series on tour.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Ilya Baryshev
BMW Group Corporate and Governmental Affairs
BMW Art Car World Tour
Email: Ilya.Baryshev@bmwgroup.com

Munich. "I wondered how I could make the Art Car a symbol and vocal archive for the immense artistic creativity of the African continent," says Julie Mehretu, describing her ambition for designing the 20th BMW Art Car of the iconic collection. The American abstract painter, born in Ethiopia in 1970, first presented her artistically designed BMW M Hybrid V8 to the public at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in May 2024. After its race deployment in Le Mans a month later, this year marks the next chapter of the project in cooperation with the BMW Group: the African Film and Media Arts Collective (AFMAC).

The idea for the pan-African artist network was developed by Julie Mehretu together with her longtime friend, Mehret Mandefro, an Emmy-nominated film producer—also born in Ethiopia and living in the USA—and co-founder of the Realness Institute for the training of African filmmakers. Under the guidance of a group of African and international artists, including French-Senegalese filmmaker and 2024 Berlinale winner Mati Diop, American poet Robin Coste Lewis, and Kenyan performance artist Jim Chuchu, workshops will be held in Lagos, Dakar, Tangier, Nairobi, and Cape Town for around 50 artists. AFMAC will connect with local host cultural institutions on site and workshop participants will be selected through open calls with the partners. The kickoff will take place from April 15–19 in Lagos with the cultural non-profit organization "Angels & Muse".

“BMW is working for the first time in the 50-year history of the BMW Art Car Collection with an artist to develop the idea far beyond the car as a pure art object. This collaboration is particularly close to my heart. It expands BMW’s long-term global commitment in the film sector with an outstanding initiative that stands for exchange, creativity, and cultural diversity—values that we, as a company, also embody,” says Ilka Horstmeier, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Human Resources, and Real Estate.

Each workshop results in a new film production. Once completed, the films will form an anthology of contemporary African filmmaking, which will complement exhibitions of Mehretu’s 20th BMW Art Car. In 2026, the anthology will debut in a major exhibition dedicated to AFMAC along with the 20th Art Car at Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town. The curator will be its Executive Director Koyo Kouoh, the designated curator of the 2026 Venice Biennale. The BMW Group has been a partner of the museum for many years, contributing its extensive network of cultural professionals and charitable institutions in Africa to establish AFMAC on a long-term and sustainable basis.

International collaboration and access to African film history
Social engagement and engaging with peers in collectives have always shaped Mehretu's work. In 2004, she founded the artist residency Denniston Hill in North New York with artist Paul Pfeiffer and architectural historian Lawrence Chua. Meant as a place for exchange, reflection, and retreat, artists of various disciplines and backgrounds further develop their practice there. Workshop methods conceived at Denniston Hill form the foundation for AFMAC’s workshops, where artists from various African countries and the global diaspora come together to engage with questions of cultural, political, and historical identity. The forms of experimentation that a translocal collective enables, how cultural and political heritage can be negotiated, and the role different media play in the attribution of identity forms are examined.

Using archival material of African film and media works, participants are given the opportunity to develop their own creative approaches and create new forms of media art. Accordingly, a key component of the workshops is the screening of hard-to-access African films to expand historical and cultural perspectives. The goal is to create sustainable infrastructures that last beyond the workshops and strengthen the artistic community in Africa. A central point of approach is the provision of an online film archive that African artists can continuously work with in the future.

Artist talks and public presentations of AFMAC will also take place outside of Africa in 2025 and 2026. An event calendar and further detailed information, including photo and film material, are available at www.afmac.institute, a digital platform documenting the project and archive for African cinema, created by New York-based creative agency Pacific.

African Film and Media Arts Collective – stations
April 15–19, 2025: Lagos, Nigeria, in partnership with Angels & Muse 
Lead artist: Coco Fusco

June 2–6, 2025: Dakar, Senegal, in partnership with Fanta Sy and Raw Material Company 
Lead artist: Mati Diop

July 2025: Tangier, Morocco, in partnership with Cinematheque de Tanger
Lead artist: Zeresenay Berhane Mehari

October 2025: Nairobi, Kenya, community partner to be determined 
Lead artists: Jim Chuchu and Wanuri Kahiu

December 2025: Cape Town, South Africa, in partnership with Realness Institute 
Lead artist: The Otolith Group

Biographies of the founders and lead artists
Julie Mehretu is a world-renowned American artist, born in Addis Ababa in 1970. Mehretu’s practice in painting, drawing and printmaking engage the viewer in a dynamic visual articulation of contemporary experience. Notable accolades include The MacArthur Award, The US Department of State Medal of Arts Award, and in 2025, was awarded the rank of Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. Her work has been exhibited widely at museums, biennials and galleries around the globe. Mehretu is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, The National Academy of Design and the National Academy of Sciences in Ethiopia. She sits on the board of the Whitney Museum of American Art, is a trustee and alumna of the American Academy in Berlin, a Global Council Member at Zeitz MOCAA, and is co-founder and board member of Denniston Hill. Mehretu lives and works in New York City.

Mehret Mandefro is an Emmy-nominated producer, writer, and serial entrepreneur born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Her body of work explores hidden truths and spans documentary and fiction, film and television, art and science. She co-founded the multi-media production company Truth Aid Media and founded the research enterprise Truth Aid Impact, A51 Pictures in Ethiopia as well as the Realness Institute in South Africa. She was formerly Executive Producer of Kana Television in Ethiopia and is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science.

Jim Chuchu is a singer, songwriter, music producer, director, photographer, and visual artist. He helped establish the Nest Collective, a multidisciplinary art space and artists’ collective in Nairobi. His first short film “Homecoming” was featured at various film festivals from Durban to Locarno. Chuchu’s photography series “Pagans” was highlighted at Dak’Art 2014, the 11th edition of Africa’s longest running biennial of contemporary art.

Robin Coste Lewis born in 1964 in Compton, California is the author of “Voyage of the Sable Venus” (2015), the winner of National Book Award for Poetry. The former poet laureate of Los Angeles, Lewis holds a PhD in Poetry and Visual Studies from the University of Southern California, an MFA in poetry from New York University, an MTS in Sanskrit and comparative religious literature from the Divinity School at Harvard University, and a BA from Hampshire College in post-colonial literature and creative writing. Her work has appeared in various journals and anthologies, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Paris Review, Transition, and The Massachusetts Review. Lewis has taught at Hampshire College, Hunter College, Wheaton College, and the NYU Low-Residency MFA in Paris. She is currently writer in residence at the University of Southern California.

Mati Diop, is a French-Senegalese filmmaker born in Paris in 1982. With her first feature film “Atlantics“ (2019), winner of the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival followed by “Dahomey“ (2024) awarded by The Golden Bear of Berlinale, (both short listed at the Oscars), she has established herself as one of the leading figures of international auteur cinema and a new wave in African and diasporic cinema.

Coco Fusco born in 1960 in New York City is a video and performance artist. With her multidisciplinary practice, Fusco explores the ways that intercultural dynamics affect the construction of the self and ideas about cultural otherness. Her work is in the collections of major museums worldwide and she received numerous awards.

Wanuri Kahiu is an award-winning filmmaker, speaker, and science fiction writer. Her film “Rafiki“ was the first Kenyan film to screen at Cannes, earning global recognition. Named one of TIME’s 100 Next in 2019, she is a cultural leader for the World Economic Forum and an advocate for freedom of expression. Through AFROBUBBLEGUM, Kahiu champions fun, fierce and frivolous African art. She directed “Washington Black” for Hulu/20th Century Fox, Netflix’s “Look Both Ways”, and is set to direct Disney’s “Once on This Island”.

Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, born 1974, is an Ethiopian filmmaker and co-founder of A51 Pictures. He is notable as the director of critically acclaimed films “Difret” (Sundance and Berlinale Panorama Audience Award) and “Sweetness in the Belly”. Apart from cinema, he was the co-founder and Head of Original Content for Kana Television, the largest free-to-air, private satellite entertainment TV channel in Ethiopia.

The Otolith Group was founded in London in 2002 by curators and artists Anjalika Sagar, born 1968, and Kodwo Eshun, born 1967 both in London. Their research-based work spans across moving image, audio, performance and installations and engages with post-human discourses building intergenerational and cross-cultural platforms.

Vienna. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the BMW Art Car Collection, the BMW Art Car World Tour is taking place on all five continents with numerous accompanying activities and kicks off in Europe and Asia. The official start of the world tour was celebrated yesterday as part of the “(R) EVOLUTION OF ART” event at the BMW Group Niederlassung Wien. A total of five BMW Art Cars will be shown in Vienna at the Museum of Applied Arts and at the SPARK Art Fair from March 20-23: the cars by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney and Jeff Koons. The latest and 20th BMW Art Car – the BMW M Hybrid V8 by renowned American painter Julie Mehretu – will embark on an Asian tour and be displayed at Art Basel in Hong Kong on March 28-30.

“We are honored to be able to host the start of the BMW Art Car World Tour in Vienna,” says Dr. Josef Reiter, Managing Director of BMW Group Niederlassung Wien. “As the BMW Group in Austria, we see it as our responsibility to promote art and culture. The (R) EVOLUTION OF ART event is part of our commitment to provide creative impulses and inspire dialogue between artists, their works of art and audiences. We believe that innovation and creativity are inextricably linked — just as in the development of our cars. Art appeals to emotions — just like a BMW. The moment in which a vehicle triggers enthusiasm, wonder or wonder is comparable to experiencing an impressive work of art. Designers and engineers are working to create not only functionality, but also an emotional bond — whether through iconic shapes, an unmistakable driving experience or the combination of technology and aesthetics,” says Reiter.

Design accelerates change: The BMW Vision Neue Klasse X and BMW Vision Neue Klasse together in Vienna for the first time.
As part of the event, an insight into the Neue Klasse vision vehicles was also given. With the Neue Klasse, the BMW Group is making the mobility of the future a reality as early as this year. Vehicle dynamics, drive, battery technology, operating concept, digitization: Each of these aspects has been significantly further developed and, as with design, has sometimes skipped over a generation.

With the BMW Vision Neue Klasse, the BMW Group is giving a glimpse of what the next generation of vehicles from the core BMW brand will look like. The vision vehicle shows the BMW brand's new design language, which will be reflected in many other models from the brand. The new design language is clear, elegant and timeless. The new, all-electric vehicle architecture offers new interior design options.

In the BMW Vision Neue Klasse X, the aesthetics, technology and philosophy of the Neue Klasse are transferred to the sports activity vehicle sector. The vision vehicle offers a glimpse of the BMW iX3, which will go into series production at the Debrecen plant (Hungary) in 2025.

Born from passion: a brief history of the BMW Art Car Collection.
On 14 June 1975, the BMW 3.0 CSL designed by American sculptor Alexander Calder took to the track at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The project was initially intended as a one-time collaboration between the artist and BMW. The audience cheered for the colourful racing car and children rejoiced. BMW decided this had to continue! It all began with the passion for art and motorsport of French auctioneer and racing driver Hervé Poulain. In 1975, Poulain found a visionary ally in Jochen Neerpasch, founder and Head of BMW Motorsport, for his plan to enter a BMW designed by an artist in the legendary Le Mans endurance race. Even though the first BMW Art Car retired from the race after seven hours, it became a true crowd favourite, laying the foundations for the collection.

The BMW Group's Cultural Engagement.
With over 100 projects worldwide, the BMW Group's international cultural funding has been an essential part of corporate communication for almost 50 years. The BMW Group's long-term commitment focuses on contemporary art, music and film, and design.

In addition to its own formats, such as the BMW Art Cars, and the “Opera for All” concerts, the company supports leading museums and art fairs as well as orchestras and opera houses around the world. BMW Group's commitment to culture is always based on mutual curiosity and appreciation. Despite all its cultural commitments, the company takes absolute freedom of creative potential for granted — because it guarantees groundbreaking works in art just as much as it is for innovations in a commercial enterprise. The BMW Group in Austria is involved in various cultural projects in Austria and has maintained a long-standing partnership with the Albertina Art Museum. In the area of contemporary art, BMW in Austria accompanies the music festival in Steyr and the Lido Sounds in Linz.

Munich. Calder, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Holzer, Hockney, Koons, Rauschenberg, Mahlangu, Eliasson, Baldessari, Cao Fei, Mehretu. For the past 50 years, the BMW Art Car series has provided artists fascinated by automobiles with a perfect playground for art and design, technology and innovation, motorsport and engineering. The collection of 20 BMW Art Cars embodies the essence of global cultural engagement with over one hundred initiatives across contemporary art, music and film, as well as design. The "rolling sculptures" – from Alexander Calder’s first-ever Art Car to Julie Mehretu’s latest – offer a cross-section of art history over the past five decades: minimalism, pop art, magical realism, abstraction, conceptual art and digital art are all represented.

“I love that car. It has turned out better than the artwork.”
Andy Warhol, BMW Art Car #4, 1979

The artists are selected by international juries of museum directors. In close collaboration with the BMW Group’s engineering and design teams, they freely develop their concepts and inspire everyone involved. To mark the 50th anniversary, the BMW Art Car World Tour features an exhibition programme spanning all five continents and including numerous accompanying events.

“The car should not only race in a physical way but also in the heart.”
Cao Fei, BMW Art Car #18, 2016

An anniversary around the world.

"The BMW Art Car Collection celebrates 50 years of artistic freedom and visionary design. The 20 vehicles have become international icons, telling stories of society, technology and performance. Our commitment to art and culture is long-term. We are continuously developing the collection and bringing art and automotive culture together in a unique way," says Ilka Horstmeier, Board Member for Human Resources and Real Estate at BMW Group.

The BMW Art Car World Tour kicks off in Europe and Asia. On 20-21 March, the BMW Art Cars created by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney and Jeff Koons will be on display at the Museum of Applied Arts and the SPARK Art Fair in Vienna for the BMW Group Niederlassung Wien event “(R)Evolution of Art”. The latest and 20th BMW Art Car – the BMW M Hybrid V8 by renowned American painter Julie Mehretu – will embark on an Asian tour and be displayed at Art Basel in Hong Kong on 28-30 March.

Mehretu is developing her Art Car project far beyond the vehicle as an object and will host workshops for young film and media artists across five African countries in 2025, together with film producer Mehret Mandefro and the BMW Group. The results of the African Film and Media Arts Collective (AFMAC) will be presented in 2026 alongside Mehretu's Art Car in an exhibition at the Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, curated by its Executive Director, Koyo Kouoh, the designated curator of the Venice Biennale 2026.

“The whole BMW Art Car project is about invention, about imagination, about pushing limits of what can be possible.”
Julie Mehretu, BMW Art Car #20, 2024

Important museums and platforms for classic automobiles are also celebrating the milestone anniversary of the BMW Art Cars. The 13th Art Car by Sandro Chia will be showcased at the classic car festival Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como in May. In July and August, the Louwman Museum in The Hague will present eight BMW Art Cars in a special exhibition.

“I also thought it would be nice if women could participate other than standing around in bikinis.”
Jenny Holzer, BMW Art Car #15, 1999

The BMW Museum, the home of the BMW Art Cars when they are not travelling the world, is also honouring the collection by combining two anniversaries in a special exhibition. The BMW 3 Series is also celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025, and starting 16 June, the museum will showcase a historical overview of all BMW 3 Series models as well as the BMW M3 Art Cars by Sandro Chia, Michael Jagamara Nelson, and Ken Done.                     

“I think mobile museums would be a good idea. This car is the fulfilment of my dream. I would like to do ten more.”
Robert Rauschenberg, BMW Art Car #6, 1986

New Art Car book, new Art Car model, new Art Car fashion collection.

In addition to the exhibition programme, BMW is releasing various new art and lifestyle products in celebration of the anniversary. The 1:18-scale miniature of the 20th Art Car by Julie Mehretu is available for purchase across BMW Lifestyle Shops, with a 1:43 version to follow later in the year. Together with publisher Hatje Cantz, BMW is presenting the third edition of the "BMW Art Cars" catalogue. Interviews with the founders of the collection and essays on each of the 20 Art Cars highlight the art historical relevance and diversity of the works. The cover design of the new edition is by Julie Mehretu. Following the popular Alexander Calder and Roy Lichtenstein fashion collections, the third collaboration with Puma based on the BMW Art Cars will be announced later this year.

“So you can say, the BMW Art Car is definitely a typical Baldessari and the fastest artwork I ever created!”
John Baldessari, BMW Art Car #19, 2016

Born from passion: a brief history of the BMW Art Car Collection.

On 14 June 1975, the BMW 3.0 CSL designed by American sculptor Alexander Calder took to the track at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The project was initially intended as a one-time collaboration between the artist and BMW. The audience cheered for the colourful racing car and children rejoiced. BMW decided this had to continue! It all began with the passion for art and motorsport of French auctioneer and racing driver Hervé Poulain. In 1975, Poulain found a visionary ally in Jochen Neerpasch, founder and Head of BMW Motorsport, for his plan to enter a BMW designed by an artist in the legendary Le Mans endurance race. Even though the first BMW Art Car retired from the race after seven hours, it became a true crowd favourite, laying the foundations for the collection.

“Hervé, win! But drive carefully!”
Alexander Calder, BMW Art Car #1, 1975

In close collaboration with legendary New York gallerist Leo Castelli, BMW Art Cars by American artists such as Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol followed – and all were raced by Hervé Poulain and the BMW team at Le Mans. From 1982 to 1992, the BMW Art Car Collection opened up to the world, with artists transforming various standard production models: Ernst Fuchs, Robert Rauschenberg, Michael Jagamara Nelson, Ken Done, Matazo Kayama, César Manrique, A. R. Penck, Esther Mahlangu, Sandro Chia and David Hockney. In 1999, BMW returned to motorsport with the BMW V12 LMR prototype and American conceptual artist Jenny Holzer. Eight years later, Olafur Eliasson designed "Your mobile expectations: BMW H₂R Project" based on a record-breaking hydrogen race car. Jeff Koons, John Baldessari, Cao Fei, and Julie Mehretu have added dynamic race cars over the past 15 years. Since its invention nearly 140 years ago, artists worldwide have engaged with the automobile both critically and enthusiastically. And over the last 50 years, the BMW Art Car series has contributed significantly to this inspiring dialogue.

“These race cars are like life, they are bursting with power and have enormous energy. My ideas are meant to merge with this power – it's all about fully embracing it.”
Jeff Koons, BMW Art Car #17, 2010

BMW Art Car World Tour 2025 (selection)

until 16 April 2025: Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa
BMW Art Car #12 Esther Mahlangu

20-21 March 2025: SPARK Art Fair and MAK Museum Vienna, Austria
Event “(R)Evolution of Art” of the BMW Niederlassung Wien
BMW Art Cars #3 Roy Lichtenstein, #4 Andy Warhol, #6 Robert Rauschenberg, #14 David Hockney, #16 Jeff Koons

28-30 March 2025: Art Basel in Hong Kong
BMW Art Car #20 Julie Mehretu

23 April-2 May 2025: Shanghai Auto Show, China
BMW Art Car #20 Julie Mehretu

18-20 April 2025: Art Dubai, United Arab Emirates
BMW Art Car # TBA

May 2025: 50 Years of BMW Switzerland, Zurich, Switzerland
BMW Art Cars #5 Ernst Fuchs, #8 Ken Done, #11 A. R. Penck, #14 David Hockney, #15 Jenny Holzer, #19 John Baldessari

9-11 May 2025: Taipei Dangdai, Taiwan
BMW Art Car # TBA

27 May–1 June 2025: Bratislava, Slovakia
BMW Art Cars #2 Frank Stella, #7 Michael Jagamara Nelson, #9 Matazo Kayama

15-18 May 2025: Market Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden
BMW Art Cars #1 Alexander Calder, #3 Roy Lichtenstein, #4 Andy Warhol, #17 Jeff Koons

23-25 May 2025: Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, Lake Como, Italy
BMW Art Car #13 Sandro Chia

16 June 2025-1 January 2026: BMW Museum, Munich
BMW Art Cars #7 Michael Jagamara Nelson, #8 Ken Done, #13 Sandro Chia

16 June 2025-31 August 2025: BMW Welt, Munich
BMW Art Cars #15 Jenny Holzer, #20 Julie Mehretu

27-29 June 2025: The Aurora, Båstad, Sweden
BMW Art Cars #1 Alexander Calder, #3 Roy Lichtenstein, #4 Andy Warhol, #17 Jeff Koons

3 July-31August, 2025: Louwman Museum, The Hague, Netherlands
BMW Art Cars #1 Alexander Calder, #2 Frank Stella, #3 Roy Lichtenstein, #4 Andy Warhol, #10 César Manrique, #12 Esther Mahlangu, #14 David Hockney, #17 Jeff Koons

24-28 September 2025: Contemporary Istanbul, Turkey
BMW Art Cars #1 Alexander Calder, #20 Julie Mehretu

The Art Car World Tour schedule is still evolving and will continue through most of 2026. Further stops and venues are planned, including Australia, Belgium (Brussels, Zoute), China (Macau), Germany (Berlin, Munich, Düsseldorf), Kazakhstan, Latin America, Morocco (Marrakech), South Africa, Spain, Switzerland (Basel) and USA.

BMW Art Cars

1. Alexander Calder / BMW 3.0 CSL / 1975
2. Frank Stella / BMW 3.0 CSL / 1976
3. Roy Lichtenstein / BMW 320 Group 5 / 1977
4. Andy Warhol / BMW M1 Group 4 / 1979
5. Ernst Fuchs / BMW 635 CSi / 1982
6. Robert Rauschenberg / BMW 635 CSi / 1986
7. Michael Jagamara Nelson / BMW M3 Group A / 1989
8. Ken Done / BMW M3 Group A / 1989
9. Matazo Kayama / BMW 535i / 1990
10. César Manrique / BMW 730i / 1990
11. A.R. Penck / BMW Z1 / 1991
12. Esther Mahlangu / BMW 525i / 1991
13. Sandro Chia / BMW M3 GTR / 1992
14. David Hockney / BMW 850 CSi / 1995
15. Jenny Holzer / BMW V12 LMR / 1999
16. Olafur Eliasson / BMW H₂R / 2007
17. Jeff Koons / BMW M3 GT2 / 2010
18. Cao Fei / BMW M6 GT3 / 2016
19. John Baldessari / BMW M6 GTLM / 2016
20. Julie Mehretu / BMW M Hybrid V8 / 2024

Further information on the BMW Art Car Collection can be found here.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Ilya Baryshev
BMW Group Corporate and Governmental Affairs
BMW Art Car World Tour
Phone: +49 151 601 544 36
Email: Ilya.Baryshev@bmwgroup.com  

Paris/Munich. The 20th BMW Art Car is being presented to the public for the first time today at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Designed by renowned New York-based contemporary artist Julie Mehretu, the project transforms the BMW M Hybrid V8 race car into a performative work of art, continuing a longstanding tradition of BMW Art Cars and competitive racing. Just a few weeks after its World Premiere in the French capital, the newest edition in the storied BMW Art Car collection will compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“The whole BMW Art Car project is about invention, about imagination, about pushing limits of what can be possible. I don’t think of this car as something you would exhibit. I am thinking of it as something that will race in Le Mans. It’s a performative painting. My BMW Art Car was created in close collaboration with motorsport and engineering teams,” says Julie Mehretu. “The BMW Art Car is only completed once the race is over.”

The collaboration between BMW and Julie Mehretu also includes a joint commitment to a series of PanAfrican Translocal Media Workshops for filmmakers, which will tour various African cities in 2025 and 2026, and will culminate in a major exhibition at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town.

“The BMW Art Cars are an essential part of our global cultural commitment. For almost 50 years, we have been cooperating with artists who are just as fascinated by mobility and design as they are by technology and motorsports. Julie Mehretu's vision for a racing car is an extraordinarily strong contribution to our BMW Art Cars series,” said Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. “Julie Mehretu has created more than an amazing Art Car. Her ideas provided the impetus for us to expand the cultural commitment of our Art Cars to promote the creativity of young artists in Africa.”

A Performative Painting is Created.
Space, movement and energy have always been central motifs in Julie Mehretu's work. For the design of the 20th BMW Art Car, she transformed a two-dimensional image into a three-dimensional representation for the first time, with which she succeeded in bringing dynamism into form. Julie Mehretu used the colour and form vocabulary of her monumental painting “Everywhen” (2021 - 2023) as a starting point for her design. The work is currently on view at the artist’s major retrospective at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice and will subsequently become part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, to which it has been gifted.

Its abstract visual form results from digitally altered photographs, which are superimposed in several layers of dot grids, neon-coloured veils and the black markings characteristic of Mehretu's work. “In the studio where I had the model of the BMW M Hybrid V8 I was just sitting in front of the painting and I thought: What would happen if this car seemed to go through that painting and becomes affected by it,” Julie Mehretu says. “The idea was to make a remix, a mash-up of the painting. I kept seeing that painting kind of dripping into the car. Even the kidneys of the car inhaled the painting.”

BMW Art Cars with Le Mans history come together at the Concorso d’Eleganza.
The fusion of image and vehicle was realised with the help of 3D mapping, with which the motif was transferred to the contours of the vehicle. The elaborate foiling allows for the fully designed BMW M Hybrid V8 to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. BMW Motorsport drivers Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), Robin Frijns (NED) and René Rast (GER) will enter the 20th BMW Art Car with starting number 20 at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 15 June. Like them, Julie Mehretu is also eagerly awaiting the race: “I went to see the BMW M Hybrid V8 race in Daytona, and this experience was overwhelming. Designers, engineers, aerodynamicists and so many other creative minds are working on taking this vehicle to its extreme. When it goes out on the racetrack now, so many dreams will be fulfilled.”

Leading up to race day, Julie Mehretu's BMW Art Car will make an appearance at the Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este in Lake Como on its way to Le Mans. As part of the exhibition for historic vehicles organised by the BMW Group and the Grand Hotel Villa d'Este, Julie Mehretu herself will present the 20th edition of the BMW Art Car Collection. It will be featured on the grounds of the Villa Erba together with the BMW Art Cars by Alexander Calder (1975), Frank Stella (1976), Roy Lichtenstein (1977), Andy Warhol (1979), Jenny Holzer (1999) and Jeff Koons (2010), which also made their race debut at Le Mans. Julie Mehretu will discuss the creation of the 20th BMW Art Car in an artist talk with Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design, on Sunday, 26 May 2024.

Inspiration for Young Artists: PanAfrican Translocal Media Workshops.
The collaboration between BMW and Julie Mehretu was conceived from the beginning beyond the automobile. It will culminate after the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a project for emerging artists on the African continent: The PanAfrican Translocal Media Workshops. Together, the partners are focussing on the creative potential across the African continent, where the BMW Group has been making a contribution to social responsibility with educational projects for over 50 years.

Julie Mehretu and Mehret Mandefro, Emmy-nominated producer, writer and co-founder of the Realness Institute, which works to strengthen the media ecosystem in Africa, will organise workshops in various African cities and regions throughout 2025. The goal of the project is to provide a space for artists and filmmakers to collaborate and exchange ideas. These meetings will offer a forum for artists to develop new pathways towards a just civic future in their respective communities.

The PanAfrican Translocal Workshop series will visit the cities of Dakar (Senegal), Marrakech (Morocco), Kigali (Rwanda), Lagos (Nigeria) and Cape Town (South Africa). The results of the workshops will be presented together with the 20th BMW Art Car at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town in the first half of 2026.

The BMW Group is thus consistently continuing its decades-long support for film and creative talent: from the short film series ‘The Hire’ and the partnership with the Cannes International Film Festival to the acquisition of works by students from art academies in the neighbourhoods of the company’s plants worldwide.

The Artist.
Julie Mehretu is a world-renowned American painter. She was born in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, in 1970. Together with her family she moved to the U.S. at the age of seven. She lives and works in New York City and Berlin.

Mehretu’s practice in painting, drawing and printmaking engage the viewer in a dynamic visual articulation of contemporary experience, a depiction of social behavior and the psychogeography of space by exploring palimpsests of history, from geological time to a modern-day phenomenology of the social.

Mehretu received her Bachelor’s Degree from the Kalamazoo College in Michigan, spent a year abroad at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, and completed her Master's degree of Fine Art with honors from The Rhode Island School of Design in 1997. Mehretu has received numerous awards, including the The MacArthur Award (2005), The Berlin Prize: Guna S. Mundheim Fellowship at The American Academy in Berlin (2007) and the U.S. Department of State Medal of Arts Award (2015). A mid-career survey of Mehretu's work recently toured at LACMA (Los Angeles), High Museum (Atlanta) The Whitney Museum of American Art (New York) and The Walker Museum of Art (Minneapolis) from 2019 to 2023. Her largest European solo exhibition to date entitled “Ensemble” opened March 17, 2024 at Palazzo Grassi in Venice.

Mehretu is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and The National Academy of Design. Her global representative is Marian Goodman Gallery. She also exhibits with White Cube, London, and Carlier Gebauer, Berlin.

Statement from the Jury for the 20th BMW Art Car.
Julie Mehretu was unanimously selected in 2018 by a jury of high-ranking representatives of the international art world to design the 20th BMW Art Car. The panel includes renowned curators and museum directors from various countries, including Koyo Kouoh, Executive Director and Chief Curator, Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town; Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries, London; and Cecilia Alemani, Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director and Chief Curator, High Line Art, New York.

On the occasion of the World Premiere of the BMW Art Car designed by Julie Mehretu in Paris, the jury members published the following statement: "We are thrilled with Julie's BMW Art Car! Okwui Enwezor had already coined the phrase ‘Dynamism in Form’ during our jury session and nothing applies better to her BMW M Hybrid V8 race car. Julie’s first three-dimensional work combines her aesthetics and formal language with the idea of the glitch and the blur, turning speed into a visceral experience. This energetic space is as fierce and competitive in racing as it is ambitious as a creative playground of the imagination. It not only pays homage to the art cars of Jenny Holzer and Frank Stella, but also spins a visual web from Mad Max to graffiti and street art that is unique within the series of BMW Art Cars."

The BMW M Hybrid V8.
The canvas for the 20th BMW Art Car is the BMW M Hybrid V8. The new race car from BMW M GmbH features a hybrid electric drivetrain system with approximately 640 hp, powered by a 4.0-litre V8 engine supported by an electric motor (top speed: up to 345 km/h or 215 mph, depending on the race track layout).

During this year’s official FIA World Endurance Championship races, the BMW M Hybrid V8 will take on high-calibre competition in the Hypercars category. The car will also compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the first BMW M Motorsport prototype to do so since the BMW V12 LMR, which won the classic race in 1999.

The BMW Art Car Collection.
Renowned artists from all over the world have participated in the BMW Art Car program since 1975. The initiative came from the French racing driver and art lover Hervé Poulain, who, together with the then BMW Head of Motorsport Jochen Neerpasch, asked his artist friend Alexander Calder to paint a car. The result was a BMW 3.0 CSL, which competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1975 and became a crowd favourite.

This was the birth of the BMW Art Car Collection. In the years that followed, renowned artists such as Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Esther Mahlangu, David Hockney, Jenny Holzer, Ólafur Elíasson and Jeff Koons enriched the collection with further BMW Art Cars, each in their own individual style. Most recently, the Chinese multimedia artist Cao Fei and American conceptual artist John Baldessari each presented a BMW Art Car based on the BMW M6 GT3 and GTLM respectively in 2016 and 2017. The BMW Art Cars are not only shown at their home, the BMW Museum in Munich, but are also on tour around the world as part of international exhibitions.

Munich. “I love this car. It’s more successful than the artwork,” was the opinion of Andy Warhol after his sweeping brush strokes had transformed the BMW M1. It took him less than half an hour to create the fourth exhibit in the BMW Art Car Collection. 40 years later, enthusiasm for the mid-engined sports car remains unabated. Already world-famous at that time, the US icon of Pop Art shared the same passion with many automobile fans of that bygone era. And the fascination of the unique special created by Warhol has indeed increased. Many fans regard his Art Car as the highlight of the entire collection. It’s therefore hardly surprising that Munich-based automobile photographer Stephan Bauer spontaneously opted for the BMW M1 finished in the Warhol design when he was selecting his dream subject on four wheels. Last year, Bauer (29) emerged as the victor in the Social Media Contest “Shootout 2018” organised by BMW Group Classic and he was given the opportunity for an exclusive photo shoot with BMW Art Car Number Four. A series of photos was created to mark the 40th birthday of the BMW M1 designed by Andy Warhol. They provide a completely new perspective on one of the most legendary vehicles from the history of BMW.

Five photographic artists entered their best shots from the world of BMW classic cars in the “Shootout 2018” competition held on the Instagram social media platform. BMW Group Classic joined forces with BMW Culture, BMW Motorsport, BMW M GmbH and BMW subsidiary companies in several international markets for the joint project. It focused the attention of young target groups on the numerous motor-sport successes and record chases with vehicles and engines from BMW over the past 100 years. The prize for the winner was an enthralling photo shoot with a vehicle of their choice from the comprehensive collection of BMW Group Classic. The choice of the winner fell on the BMW M1 in the powerful 470 hp racing version produced in conformity with Group 4 regulations. 40 years ago, this automobile both celebrated its sporting debut in the Procar Series and entered the annals of Pop Art history.

Against the backdrop of an old factory building in Cologne, Stephan Butler choreographed a spectacular contrast between the brightly coloured Art Car and the dour grey of the abandoned industrial structure. At a subsequent outdoor session, laser search lights shrouded the BMW M1 in a positively mystical atmosphere. In both settings, the Art Car kept emerging from a completely new perspective – and always to perfection. The results of the photo shoot are posted on the Facebook page of BMW Group Classic and on the Instagram Account of BMW Group Classic.

Andy Warhol’s Art Car proved to be a dream subject for the recent photo shoot in Cologne. The artist himself made things much more difficult for the photographers. 40 years ago, the cameras had hardly been set up when Warhol had already finished painting the bodywork in all the colours of the rainbow. As the artist explained later, his speed was a reflection of the statement made by his work of art: “I attempted to show speed as a visual image. When an automobile is really travelling fast, all the lines and colours are transformed into a blur.”

Very soon after the last brush stroke had been applied, the BMW M1 styled by Warhol demonstrated just how fast an artwork can be. In June 1979, the BMW M1 emblazoned with start number 76 competed in the 24 Hour Race of Le Mans. German driver Manfred Winkelhock, and Frenchmen Hervé Poulain and Marcel Mignot drove the Art Car to second place in its class and achieved a ranking of six in the overall standings.