special exhibition
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special exhibition
A temporary exhibition in a museum or gallery that is dedicated to a special topic, artist, or particular collection and is not part of the permanent collection.
Das Kunstmuseum zeigt gerade eine Sonderausstellung über die Werke von Frida Kahlo.
The art museum is currently showing a special exhibition about the works of Frida Kahlo.
This word consists of 'Sonder-' and 'Ausstellung'. The prefix 'Sonder-' means 'special' or 'extra' here and indicates that it is not the normal, permanent exhibition.
Das Museum hat eine Sonderausstellung zur Geschichte des Films eröffnet.
The museum has opened a special exhibition on the history of film.
To name the topic of the exhibition, you usually use the preposition 'über' with the accusative or 'zu' with the dative.
Ich habe eine interessante Sonderausstellung über das alte Ägypten gesehen.
I saw an interesting special exhibition about ancient Egypt.
In connection with 'Sonderausstellung' (special exhibition), the verbs 'besuchen' (to visit), 'sehen' (to see), 'besichtigen' (to view/tour), or, on the other side, 'zeigen' (to show) and 'veranstalten' (to hold/organize) are often used.
Wir wollen am Wochenende die neue Sonderausstellung im Technikmuseum besuchen.
We want to visit the new special exhibition at the technology museum this weekend.
exhibition / issuing
'die Ausstellung' and 'die Sonderausstellung' both mean a public presentation, often in a museum or gallery. 'Ausstellung' is the general term. It does not yet say whether the things on display can be seen permanently or only for a short time. 'Sonderausstellung' is more precise: it is temporary and usually has a special topic, a particular artist, or a specific collection. Learners may confuse the words because every special exhibition is also an exhibition. But if you want to emphasize that it is a special, only temporary exhibition, 'Sonderausstellung' fits better.
Ich möchte die Sonderausstellung sehen, bevor sie nächste Woche endet.
I want to see the special exhibition before it ends next week.
Am Sonntag besuchen wir eine Ausstellung über moderne Architektur.
On Sunday, we are visiting an exhibition about modern architecture.