Culture Canal
Events designed to make waves
ExtraShift / Photo: Marie Köhler
From major coal transportation link to "Culture Canal": effective 20 March 2010, the Rhine-Herne Canal will be undergoing an impressive transformation. A water spectacular in the newly designed city port in Recklinghausen will herald a series of shows and events designed to place the waterway in a completely new light - over a length of 70 kilometres from Duisburg via Oberhausen, Essen, Bottrop, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Recklinghausen, Castrop-Rauxel and Waltrop all the way to Datteln.
"KanalGlühen: Non Stop City" will, from April, offer exciting illuminated tours with the canal being artistically transformed into an urban space full of glowing vitality. Projections of drawings and texts will render previously invisible information and works of fiction visible across the canal - creating both a surreal and Utopian impression of the metropolis. From May, the canal will be provided with an integrating ribbon of hoardings forming a permanent open-air exhibition. Artists from throughout North Rhine-Westphalia will be interpreting the Ruhr Metropolis on large tableaux at 15 locations along the river bank as part of an artistic signage system.
Culture with a rustic Ruhr panorama can be experienced while cruising on the "Culture Ship". And, on 5 June, the entire metropolis will be giving voice to the cultural capital project !SING - DAY OF SONG. Three convoys of water craft with singing crews will also be raising anchor in order to join with the choirs on the river banks in the creation of a "Canal Choir".
Incidentally, such experiences will not be restricted to the waterways, for there will also be plenty to do on land. For example, the network of cycle paths along the riverbank will be accompanied by a new cultural guide listing all the new attractions.
The "Culture Canal" is also to be provided with exciting attractions during the second half of the year - such as an open-air cinema, art camps for children, gigantic ship horns and even dancing concrete pumps. The culmination of the CultureCanal festival will take place on 26 September in Duisburg’s inland port with the spectacular waterside setting being provided by walk-on illuminated architectural structures in front of the river bank promenade of Norman Foster’s "Eurogate" complex, and multi-media performances accompanied by music from the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
March 14 - September 26, 2010
Culture Canal opening festival on March 20, 2010
KanalGlühen (Glowing Canal): NON STOP CITY April 23 and 24, May 7 and 8 and June 11 und 12, 2010
!SING Canal Choir: June 5, 2010, all day
Partners: City of Herne in collaboration with the riparian towns, General German Cycling Club (NRW), Emscher Association, LWL Museum of Industrial Technology: Henrichenburg Boat Lift, Museum of Electricity and Life, Regionalverband Ruhr, Ruhr Tourismus GmbH, Unperfekthaus Essen, the Office of Water and Navigation Duisburg-Meiderich, Filmstiftung NRW
You can find further information (in German) at:
www.kulturkanal.net
Related topics:
Emscher Art 2010
!SING - DAY OF SONG