Manifesta 16 Ruhr

In the page's words:

Manifesta - the European Nomadic Biennale takes place every two years at a different location in Europe. At the invitation of the host cities and regions, the biennial addresses a regional and international audience with artistic projects, urban experiments, architectural interventions and a broad educational program. Manifesta's engagement with current social, political and cultural issues in Europe is based on cooperation between local communities and international players. In this way, Manifesta acts as an incubator for sustainable social change.

Manifesta 16 Ruhr will take place from June 21 to October 4, 2026 in four cities in the Ruhr region: Bochum, Duisburg, Essen and Gelsenkirchen. Building on pre-biennial research and various forms of citizen participation, Manifesta has developed an urban concept for this polycentric, post-industrial and culturally diverse metropolitan region. As part of the biennial, twelve vacant church buildings from the post-war period will be transformed into open spaces for dialog, social cohesion and artistic innovation. The redesign and repurposing of these buildings will create new community infrastructures and meeting places for the surrounding neighborhoods.

In this way, the intergenerational and interdisciplinary artistic team of Manifesta 16 aims to have a lasting impact on the neighborhoods of the Ruhr area.