Culture tips

Ruhr Museum: New for 2010, the Ruhr Museum is housed in the old coal-wash plant in Essen's Zeche Zollverein World Heritage Site. Starting in the present and then digging deeper into the past, visitors are invited to explore the identity of Europe's largest urban agglomeration.

"Odyssey Europe," opens February 27: A one-off theatrical event which will see audience members entrusted into the care of local “hosts” while they travel between theater performances in six different Ruhr cities.

2010lab.tv, spring 2010: This innovate Web-TV platform aims to link art, culture and creativity with a Web 2.0 community and to shed light on the contribution culture makes to social change. On the portal, global players like Nelson Madela, Quentin Tarantino, David Bowe and the Dalai Lama answer the question, "Are you creative?"

Herbert Groenemeyer, "Komm zur Ruhr": Locally-born pop sensation Herbert Groenemeyer has released a stirring new anthem for the Ruhr2010 celebrations. It's called “Come to the Ruhr,” which, in German, is a play on a phrase meaning roughly "Come to peace."

2-3 Strassen: For the project “2-3 Streets,” artist Jochen Gerz has invited new residents into ordinary Ruhr city streets. The idea is to shake up the lives of the established residents and see what creative projects develop out of the new mix.

Shaft Signs, opens May 22: Hundreds of gigantic balloons will hover 80 meters above the ground for one week. Each balloon will mark the location of a former coalmine shaft.

Biennale for International Light Art 2010, March 28 - May 27: At the world's first light art biennale, works by 60 renowned artists will go on display in private homes, thus intimately linking the art to the Ruhr region and personalizing the viewing experience.

!SING - DAY OF SONG, June 4 - 5: Thousands of singers will transform the Ruhr region into a metropolis of choirs - and everyone is invited to join in and sing along.

Still Life A40, July 18: For one day only, the Ruhr's main traffic artery, the A40 freeway, will come to a halt. Instead of cars, there will be a 60-kilometer banqueting table where visitors will be invited to stage their own performance or party.

The Henze Projekt: Internationally recognized composer Hans Werner Henze has composed especially for Ruhr2010 a new musical for and with youth. Staged in cooperation with the Dresden State Opera, it premieres in September. As part of the Henze Projekt, numerous other works by the composer will be featured throughout the year.

Click on the www-link below for the complete Ruhr2010 program.

Author: Kate Laycock

Editor: Kate Bowen