The major European traveling biennial for contemporary art is making a stop in the Ruhr region. Manifesta 16 Ruhr will take place between June 21 and October 4, 2026 in Essen, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen and Duisburg and is dedicated to the question of how places of cultural and social significance can be rethought and used, in particular vacant modernist churches from the post-war period. The starting point of the biennial is the urban vision of Catalan architect and urbanist Josep Bohigas entitled "This is not a church", which was developed in close consultation with citizens. The focus was on the question of how individual districts in the Ruhr area can be revitalized through cultural interventions, thus reclaiming public space with art. Particularly noteworthy is the choice of post-war churches as exhibition venues, which are given a new function as architecturally striking and religiously charged spaces. Manifesta thus responds directly to the challenges of structural change, the loss of social cohesion and the search for sustainable urban strategies.
Manifesta was founded in Rotterdam in 1996 and is the only major European traveling biennial for contemporary art. It takes place every two years in a different city or region and always develops its program in dialogue with local conditions, social issues and urban spaces. Previous venues have included Ljubljana, Palermo, Marseille, Prishtina and most recently Barcelona. The aim of Manifesta is to provide answers to current political, cultural and ecological challenges through artistic research and participatory formats and to promote exchange between Eastern and Western Europe.
