TWINS

What is TWINS? TWINS involves 53 towns and cities in the Ruhr region, more than 200 of their twin towns and cities throughout Europe and beyond, 100 enthralling, forward-looking ideas and projects, and over 1,700 participating artistic ensembles, cultural associations, institutions, independent organisations, choirs, schools, agencies, artists and performers, plus the relevant municipalities and consulates, altogether comprising thousands of individuals. Photography, painting, architecture, urban planning, jazz, classical music, chansons, brass bands, folk music, ballet, hip-hop, modern dance, theatre, puppetry, improvisation, pantomime, mask-making, poetry, fiction, fantasy, writing and painting competitions, cooking, gardening, sports events, culture camps and inventions… the list of activities is endless. What they have in common, however, is the requirement that each project be a collaborative undertaking involving partners from the Ruhr region and cooperation partners from its European twin towns and cities and/or from Istanbul, Pécs and Israel.

In spring 2008 and 2009, an international jury panel nominated the 100 best TWINS ideas from just under 500 project applications. Official nomination as a TWINS project signifies inclusion in the RUHR.2010 programme and, in most cases, financial support. TWINS is designed to offer young people in particular an array of opportunities to play an active role in shaping the European Capital of Culture and to implement their own, unconventional project ideas. Over recent years, TWINS has become a compelling creative driving force for a cultural Europe of superlatives.