New Delhi, June 11 -- A pop-up art show featuring contemporary art, including video and audio installations, photography and traditional oil paintings, is set to open at Germany's Bellevue Palace this week before the German presidential residence closes for renovation.

At a press preview on Monday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was pleased that the mostly emptied-out Berlin residence was being opened to art and to the public.

"We need art," Steinmeier said. "A democracy without free art loses its capacity for self-criticism, and art without freedom loses its social relevance."

The former Prussian royal palace, built in the 18th century, is set to undergo extensive renovations, including a repair of the roof, a new ai...