Discovering Images
UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein Coking Plant Essen / Photo: Manfred Vollmer
Pictures are shaped perceptions of the world that in turn influence how we ourselves see the world. It's therefore no wonder people say "a picture is worth a thousand words". Organised by the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010, the "Discovering Images" exhibition programme offers the public a series of individual presentations based on different themes and motifs.
The presentations span a wide range of areas from the creation of a new architecturally elegant group of museums in the Ruhr Metropolis through to exhibitions conceived specifically for its year as European Capital of Culture. The "Discovering Images" project casts a backward glance at the unique Folkwang Collection and its history, showcases a special exhibition of a private collection from the Capital of Culture Istanbul 2010, displays a metropolis and its views in the second half of the 19th century, explores the extraordinary history of garden art during the process of industrialisation, presents outstanding works from corporate collections, and addresses the interface between art and society with 15 individual perspectives from the RuhrArtMuseums.
Aside from offering insights into museums and specially created spaces, the visual arts are likewise on show beyond the "Discovering Images" programme: they are also part of "Re-designing the Metropolis" involving local, national and international artists. Interior and exterior spaces are reinterpreted through artistic interventions in existing relationships, thereby reflecting conditions in the Ruhr Metropolis.
The "Discovering Images" programme consists of three different themes:
RuhrArtMuseums
The networking of 20 art museums in the Ruhr begins a collaboration that is set to continue far beyond 2010 and will remain as a cultural model for Europe. This will provide the public for the first time with an integrated experience of a prestigious group of museums focusing on the art of the 20th and 21st centuries. The RuhrArtMuseums have joined together to create the ambitious "Collection Tours" education project. A further development is the networked "Mapping the Region" exhibition project, which comprises a number of different exhibitions that together display the mosaic of a region in change.
Jump to the theme: RuhrartMuseums
Photography
In addition, various photographic projects explore the internal and external condition of the metropolis. The tense juxtaposition between photography and painting shows how photography can reflect the upheavals and developments in society more effectively than any other medium. The range of subjects embraces historical as well as contemporary viewpoints and methods. The internationally renowned photographers who have been invited offer new perspectives on ostensibly familiar motifs and infuse familiar places with new, artistic meaning. RUHR.2010 raises the following questions: What image of the Ruhr Metropolis are we creating? With what image do we identify ourselves? Different approaches will be used during the year as European Capital of Culture to show the forms in which contemporary photography is developing and the standpoints they occupy. Photography can take the form of a shimmering object, space installation, artist interpretation, documentary record or mass product.
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Exhibitions
Outstanding art exhibitions will also be on the schedule of the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010. The first highlight will be the Museum Folkwang’s big special exhibition "The world’s most beautiful museum" where the famous Folkwang collection and its fascinating history will be displayed in the new museum building.
Up next: The "Images of a Metropolis" exhibition that takes visitors on a tour of Paris during the Impressionist era. Further exhibitions will offer exciting insights into Istanbul’s modern arts scene while visitors will also be able to see art owned by Ruhr companies in a specially curated show. The cultural year will be rounded off by "Out of this World", a journey through space at the Gasometer Oberhausen that lets visitors experience spectacular images of our solar system.
Jump to the theme: Exhibitions