What's going on? : RUHR.2010

Science and knowledge as an integral part of RUHR.2010: / MORE

All 'round the finale

RUHR.2010 will be taking its leave just as vigorously as it started, and that with awe-inspiring images. / MORE

Nam June Paik, Zen for Film, 1964 / Collection Centre Pompidou, Dist. RMN/image Centre Pompidou / Photo: Peter Moore

"Image by Image"

What has characterised the relationship between cinema and other arts from the second half of the 20th century to the present day? This question is addressed by the Museum Ostwall’s opening exhibition “Image by Image – film and contemporary art”, curated in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which opened in the new Museum Ostwall in the Dortmund U on December 18, 2010. / MORE

$Roy Lichtenstein, Crying Girl, Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, 1963, 45,8 cm x 61 cm, \ Offsetlithografie / © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2011 / Photo: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg$

Roy Lichtenstein, Crying Girl, Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, 1963, 45,8 cm x 61 cm, \ Offsetlithografie / © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2011 / Photo: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Pop art in the Ludwig Gallery

The Ludwig Gallery in Schloss Oberhausen is presenting the exhibition “Roy Lichtenstein – posters and more” from January 23 to May 1. Featuring all his posters, the presentation provides a complete overview of the artistic work of this unusual artist. / MORE

Beschlossene Sache: die neue Bochumer Symphonie / Foto: WAZ FotoPool/Ingo Otto

RUHR.2010 welcomes new music centre in Bochum

More good news from the European Capital of Culture as the year draws to an end: the city of Bochum has decided after lengthy wrangling to establish a new music centre in Viktoriastraße, giving the Bochum Symphony Orchestra a permanent home. "We welcome this development," said Fritz Pleitgen and Oliver Scheytt, management body of RUHR.2010, "after all, we have always been in favour of it in the name of sustainability." / MORE

Cover of the report by the European Capitals of Culture Policy Group

European Capitals of Culture Policy Group publishes study

Following its successful presentation in Brussels in July of 2010, the European Capitals of Culture Policy Group, a network interlinking the various Capitals of Culture in Europe, is now presenting the results of their work in a summary report. This report was compiled by representatives from Essen (for RUHR.2010), Liverpool, Stavanger, Turku, Marseille und Košice. / MORE

RUHR.2010 wants to thank the more than 30,000 Facebook friends and 4,000 Twitter followers. / Facebook/Twitter Icons; Overlay: RUHR.2010

More than 30,000 Facebook friends – Thanks!

RUHR.2010 wants to thank the more than 30,000 Facebook friends and 4,000 Twitter followers. / MORE

"Still-Life A40/B1" / Photo: RUHR.2010/Matthias Duschner

RUHR.2010 takes stock: What has been achieved? What has been learnt? What is to be done?

The title is moving on, but the Ruhr will remain a cultural metropolis. Even before the sold-out finale on December 18, and after 5,500 events, the feedback is positive. “The idea of a Capital of Culture is a Europe that is truly lived – for the people and thanks to them,” explained José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. “This spirit pervaded the Ruhr for one whole year.” Minister of State Bernd Neumann, Premier of the State of North Rhine - Westphalia Hannelore Kraft and the leading representatives of the towns, cities and districts also deemed the European Capital of Culture an “outstanding success”. The overall opinion: the title was good for the Ruhr; the collaborative effort involved paid off extremely well. / MORE

Photo: DWD GmbH

VfL, BVB and S04 will compete for the SuperPott 2010 trophy

To mark the close of the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010, there is another sporting highlight in store. On Sunday, December, 19, the teams of VfL Bochum, Borussia Dortmund and FC Schalke 04, who caused a sensation in Europe around 13 years ago, will come together in the rewirpowerSTADION. Players such as Dariusz Wosz, Michael Zorc, Marc Wilmots and their team-mates will now be lining up again, competing to lift the SuperPott 2010 trophy. / MORE

"Appassionatamente plus Lulu-Suite" CD cover

The Henze Project: Nominations for two CD recordings

A CD recorded in conjunction with “The Henze Project” as part of the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010 and featuring Essen Philharmonic Orchestra under its Director of Music Stefan Soltesz has just been nominated for the 2011 International Classical Music Award (ICMA). The recording comprises Alban Berg’s “Lulu” suite and Hans Werner Henze’s “Appassionatamente plus”. / MORE

Graphic: Stiftung Mercator/Ines Meyer, Gütersloh

Stiftung Mercator: By 2020, at least 20 percent of annual budget to be dedicated to the Ruhr Metropolis

The Stiftung Mercator foundation will, in the coming ten years, invest more than 20 percent of its annual budget – which currently stands at around 50 million euros – in the Ruhr region. This was announced by Stiftung Mercator during the congress entitled “Our Common Future”, which was held in Essen and constituted the academic high point of the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010. / MORE

Wild Card 2010-Winners: She She Pop und ihre Väter für "Testament" / Photo: Doro Tuch

RUHR.2010 and the theatre festival FAVORITEN 2010 award WILD CARD 2010

The award ceremony held in the DORTMUND U on Saturday, November 6, revealed that the jury (Christian Esch, Marijke Hoogenboom, Marietta Piekenbrock, Aenne Quiñones, Christian Rakow and Petra Roggel) had chosen the performance collective She She Pop And Their Fathers as the overall winners of the FAVORITEN theatre festival. / MORE

HC Berg "Eye of Light", 2000 / Photo: HC Berg

Light 21 in Unna

The exhibition project “Light 21” offers an artistic interpretation of the issue of industrial architectural space using the futuristic dimension of the medium of light. In the underground vaults of the museum – the Centre for International Light Art – in Unna, visitors are invited to examine visions of a new urban life sensation on the basis of fluctuating light-space models. / MORE

v.l.n.r. Katharina Opladen (Büro Friedenskultur Stadt Osnabrück) , Theresa Appoltshauser (Kulturreferat Regensburg), Jürgen Fischer (Programmkoordinator Ruhr 2010) , Boris Pistorius (Oberbürgermeister Stadt Osnabrück) / Photo: Jens Lintel

Osnabrück hands European City Charter to Regensburg

In the Kleine Ratskammer – the Small Council Chamber – of Osnabrück’s city hall, the late afternoon of October 25 saw Mayor Boris Pistorius ceremonially pass the European City Charter to the municipality of Regensburg. The European City Charter is a project organised under the auspices of the “National Heroes – German Cultural Cities” network, to which eleven former candidate cities that vied for the title of European Capital of Culture 2010 belong and within whose framework the City Charter travels from cultural city to cultural city for supplementation. / MORE

The Ruhr – evolving into a European metropolis?

The main annual meeting of the European network “Les Rencontres” was held in Essen from October 14 - 17, 2010. Essen was chosen as the venue for the conference because of its significance at the centre of the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010. Some 80 delegates from more

than 20 countries attended the event in the SANAA building on the Zollverein world heritage site, where they held discussions on the subject of “Metropolises and Culture”, a most fitting theme, given the concepts and planning objectives that relate to the Ruhr Metropolis. / MORE

Charles Landry / Photo: privat

Charles Landry - Creativity @ the crossroads

Creativity has become a mantra of our age and it is a world-wide phenomenon. It is in danger of being overused.Charles Landry brought up and educated in Britain, Germany and Italy - was and still is a pioneer of connecting culture, creativity and city transformation. Enjoy his column on 2010LAB.tv. / MORE

Part of Keyvisual Pilsen 2015

Both European Capitals of Culture for 2015 now named!

The decision in favour of the Belgian town of Mons was reached in February of this year. There was no competition in Belgium as only Mons submitted an application for nomination as European Capital of Culture. You can find out more about Mons 2015 by visiting the www.mons2015.eu website. / MORE

Steven Sloane and Hans Werner Henze / Photo: RUHR.2010/Ursula Kaufmann

Gisela! or: The Strange and Remarkable Ways of Fortune

A music theatre piece by Hans Werner Henze, Christian Lehnert and Michael Kerstan (World premiere) \nThis work by an old master is a brand new creation for young people and with young people. A bridge between Italy, the land of romance and home of opera culture, and the Ruhr area, decried as grey and inhospitable, but which has long since become an exciting cultural centre. / MORE

Photo: Foundation Design Den Haag

Norm=Form

From shoes and kitchen cupboards to coffee mugs and computer programs: they are all standardised. Until October 17 you can visit the exhibition 'Norm=Form' in Hall 5 at Zeche Zollverein. / MORE

ecce Logo

Cultural and Creative Economy in the Ruhr Metropolis - 2nd Annual Conference of the RUHR.2010 / european centre for creative economy

The "creative scene" will be gathering once again at the 2nd Annual Conference on the Cultural and Creative Economy, being held on September 3, 2010. This time the Ruhr Tent Festival staged on the shores of Lake Kemnade in Bochum and Witten will provide a suitable setting for "creative networking". Some four hundred attendees from a variety of creative sectors - including music and advertising, software and games, fashion and art, film and television, design and architecture, press and the media - will here be exploring opportunities for the development of individual sectors within the cultural and creative economy. Markets, opportunities and the promotion of new talents will be examined in workshops and panel discussions with renowned participants. / MORE

Front Cover of "Europe... a poem" / Klartext Verlag

2010LAB.tv introduces itself

May we introduce ourselves? 2010LAB.tv is the online laboratory of the European Capital of Culture – RUHR.2010. It is an interactive web tv, blog and audiocast network of national and international authors, bloggers, users, film makers, artists and partner institutions. On its diverse channels 2010LAB.tv presents movers, minds, locations, creative quarters and conferences of the creative scene from throughout Europe. / MORE

From coal to culture – the birth of a new metropolis

This was the title of the event held in London on 1st July 2010 at the invitation of the German Georg Boomgaarden. Many leading personalities from all walks

of life met up here to discuss the cultural features of the Ruhr Metropolis and the differences between arts policies in Germany and Great Britain. / MORE

The European Capitals of Culture 2010 present themselves at UNESCO

The trilateral cooperation not only functions very well between the Capital of Culture organisations in Essen, Istanbul and Pécs.

Each of their ambassadors also had the idea of presenting themselves and their programmes for 2010 jointly at UNESCO. / MORE

Keyvisual Loveparade 2010

The Art of Love - Loveparade brings electrifying beats to Duisburg

The Loveparade transforms Duisburg into the capital city of electronic beats: Elite international DJs take to the turntables on 24 July, including the worldfamous Tiesto and David Guetta. / MORE

"Promethiade in Athen" / Photo: Rimini Protokoll

Living intercultural relations – the PROMETHIADE international theatre festival in Essen

The PROMETHIADE international theatre festival will be taking place on the site of the most beautiful colliery in the world, the Zollverein UNESCO world Heritage site in Essen, between July 23 and August 7, 2010. / MORE

(f.l.t.r) Dr. Harald Ringler, Leiter Stadtplanungsamt; Oberbürgermeister Heinz Fenrich; Senatorin Annette Borns; Dr. Fritz Pleitgen, RUHR.2010 GmbH; Dr. Susanne Asche, Leiterin Kulturamt Karlsruhe) / Foto: Roland Fränkle, Stadt Karlsruhe\n

The European City Charter is handed over from Karlsruhe to Lubeck

Civic and cultural representatives from Karlsruhe and Lubeck met up in Karlsruhe town hall on the 295th anniversary of the city to exchange ideas and opinions on the significance of culture in future civic life. / MORE

Photo: SHS

Halle/Saale – With a tiny star

There are many reasons why May 30, 2010, will long remain in memory for many people in the town of Halle. The staff of the Halle Town Marketing Agency, for example, will certainly not soon forget the major event they launched. For one day the elevated High Street that connects the old and new towns was blocked off over a length of about four kilometres. This was a complex event that required a great deal of organisational prowess on the part of everyone involved. / MORE

Festland represents RUHR.2010 at the Fête de la Musique

June 17, 2010 For the Fête de la musique 2010 the Goethe Institute in Paris and the Hungarian Culture Institute are joining forces with RUHR.2010, air Berlin and the Central German Tourist Office to organise

a concert night in the heart of Paris on the Place Saint-Sulpice on Monday June 21, 2010 at 9 pm. The European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010 will be presenting itself with the band “festland”. / MORE

"YOLLARDA": Turkish literature visits RUHR.2010

June 17, 2010 The Goethe Institute in Istanbul has organised a literature project entitled "Yollarda - European Literature Goes to Turkey / Turkish Literature Goes to Europe". It is being played out from Mai 2009 to June 2010 in twenty-four Turkish cities and eight European cities. This tour, enjoying support

by the European Union’s "Cultural Bridges" programme, is making a stop in the Cultural Capital of Europe RUHR.2010 from June 16 to 19. Renowned writers Ayfer Tunç, Murat Uyurkulak and Elif Shafak together with musician Mercan Dede will be providing insights into contemporary Turkish culture / MORE

3rd European Cultural and Creative Industries Summit

June 11, 2010
On 22nd June 2010, the 3rd European Cultural and Creative Industries Summit, 'Living the Creative Economy in Europe' at the Albert Hall in Brussels, will bring together over 400 policymakers, academics, entrepreneurs from across Europe for a day of high level debate, which will look into what new thinking, advocacy and collaboration will be required to deliver the policy needs of a European Creative Economy in a Global World. / MORE

"Myth of the Ruhr" in Luxembourg

June 7, 2010 The exhibition entitled "Myth of the Ruhr" featuring photographs by Manfred Vollmer is moving on through Europe. After Tallinn (the future European Capital of Culture in

2011) it is making a stop in Luxembourg - in a very prominent location. The Europe House in the heart of the centre is the headquarters of the European Commission in Luxembourg. / MORE

RUHR.2010 - Košice 2013: "Kasárne" to become the European calling card for Košice's future

May 13, 2010 The future urban development of "Kasárne 2010 - 2013" marked the start of a novel cooperative effort between two of European Capitals of Culture. In November of 2009 two Capitals of Culture - RUHR.2010, represented by Fritz Pleitgen, and Košice 2013, represented by Zora Jaurová - celebrated the signing of a memorandum

of understanding in Košice. The intention is to work together over the coming three years to transfer know-how, to stage joint cultural events and in particular to work on the development of Creative.Quarters. This will be backed and promoted by VSE/RWE utility companies, who support both Capitals of Culture as major sponsors. / MORE

Photo: Press-office of the City of Münster

City of Münster to become a CULTURE REGION

April 19, 2010
The Ruhr Region is positioning itself as the new Ruhr Metropolis in Europe and in so doing is leaving the word "Region" behind it. The city of Münster was glad to adopt that legacy and, without further ado, declared itself to be the "CULTURE REGION Münster 2010". That is how Münster's mayor, Markus Lewe, explained the action during opening ceremonies. / MORE

Foto: RUHR.2010/Susanne Skipiol

17 cooperative projects joining RUHR.2010 and Pécs2010

April 16, 2010
Meeting the press and public at the Hungarian Embassy in Berlin on April 15, 2010, the European Capital of Culture - Pécs2010 - presented its cooperative projects with Germany. The list is by no means short. The Hungarian Capital of Culture is pursuing fifty-one projects with German partners. Of these, seventeen cooperative projects will be realised jointly with RUHR.2010. / MORE

Simon Wintermans / Photo: RUHR.2010/Susanne Skipiol

By bike from one European Capital of Culture to the next – 5,500 km

April 11, 2010
Covering 5,500 kilometres by bicycle, defying wind and weather, riding over hill and dale? That’s possible only with trained muscle, understanding and a heart that’s in the right place - according to Simon Wintermans' rule of thumb. Born and raised in the Netherlands, he has lived in the Hungarian town of Pécs for fourteen years now and has set down roots in the area. And in spite of that, he is leaving his new home for about two and a half months in order to join the three European Capitals of Culture 2010 with each other - by velocipede. / MORE

Balloon above Duisburg North Landscape Park / Photo: ujesko

Shaft Signs - A portrayal of change in the Ruhr Metropolis

May 14, 2010
Anyone visiting the old winding towers and redeveloped spoil tips in the Ruhr Metropolis in 2010 will be confronted by a striking scenario. From 22 to 30 May 2010 around 350 yellow balloons with long ribbons will hover up to 80 metres above the former mineshafts, the roots of the Ruhr region. They are a moving testament to the metamorphosis of the Ruhr Metropolis, identifying those places where it all began. / MORE

f.l.t.r.: Karin Reismann (Bürgermeisterin Münster), Frauke Schnell (Kulturamtsleiterin Münster), Heinz-Dieter Klink (Direktor Regionalverband Ruhr), Andrea Hanke (Kulturdezernentin Münster), Bertram Hilgen (Oberbürgermeister Kassel) / Photo: Harry Soremski

European City Charter was collected from Kassel by Münster / Photo:Harry Soremski

A piece of European Capital of Culture in Kassel’s Fridericianum Museum of Art

The European City Charter, which RUHR.2010 is writing together with eleven former German candidate cities, has started on its travels. It was collected from Görlitz on March 2 by the city of Kassel, and Kassel handed it over to Münster on March 27. / MORE

RUHR.2010 presented Sr. Barroso on the conference the newly published TWINS Programme book. The President of the European Commission had written the foreword to this publication. / Photo: Michael Kneffel

European Capital of Culture - 25 years on

March 25, 2010
On 23 and 24 March just passed, the European Commission held a conference in Brussels to mark the 25th anniversary of the European Capital of Culture movement. Numerous experts and representatives of former, current and future capitals of culture and candidate cities met in the Palais des Beaux Arts for a programme of discussions, symposia and workshops. / MORE

Photo: Florian Vollmer

Essen for the Ruhr is sending photographic exhibition around the world

Zollverein in New York, Tetrahedron in Belgium, Gasometer in Paris - all made possible by the European Capital of Culture. On March 11 an exhibition opened in Liège, Belgium, revealing the new face of the Ruhr Metropolis to its Belgian neighbours. Essen photographer Manfred Vollmer has put together a collection of 22 photographic portraits, mostly of places epitomising industrial culture. And the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010 is sending this exhibition around the world. / MORE

Untermarkt Görlitz / Photo: GörlitzZgorzelec GmbH

Hidden Places - revealed by Görlitz

March 03, 2010
Following the transfer of the European City Charter from its initiator Karlsruhe to Essen on the opening of RUHR.2010, this document has now begun its travels through Germany. The first chapter has been written by Görlitz, the city which, competing with Essen and the Ruhr, fought out the German final for the title of European Capital of Culture 2010. On March 2, Görlitz’s Mayor Dr. Michael Wieler handed over the Charter to Kassel, represented by Ruth Wagner, head of cultural development, and Henner Koch, Cultural Office, who had travelled to Görlitz to participate in the ceremony. Wieler, who originally comes from Essen, was heavily involved in the candidacy phase and can still vividly remember the atmosphere, the enthusiasm and the support that came from the city’s people. / MORE

Photo: RUHR.2010/Susanne Skipiol

25 years European Capitals of Culture

February 5, 2010
The entire affair is in fact still young, quite young indeed – just barely 25 years old. But in spite of its youth, the European Capital of Culture offers plenty of reasons for discussion. The title "European Capital of Culture" was awarded for the twenty-fifth time this year. This milestone will be celebrated in Brussels by the European Commission, which initiated the project, on March 23 and 24, 2010. But in advance of that event the Commission’s representation in Berlin turned its attention to this particular topic. / MORE