International light art project “Ruhrlights: Twilight Zone“ September 3 - 26
Light art at the Bochum obervatory / Design: Yves Netzhammer
This September, 12 light artists will transform the Ruhr river, the Ruhr Metropolis‘ main artery and key east-west connection, as part of “Ruhrlights: Twilight Zone”.
The Ruhr Valley will be shown in a new light and can be experienced in an unexpected and different atmosphere in seven cities along the Ruhr from September 3 to 26 thanks to light art installations.
"Ruhrlights: Twilight Zone" is conceived as a light art festival hat takes place in seven well-known places along the Ruhr. In Bochum, Duisburg, Essen, Hagen/Dortmund, Hattingen, Mülheim an der Ruhr and Witten, 12 artists will show 19 works of light art that will transform the Ruhr valley into an exciting route of lights. The festival will kick off in Hagen where the artists' collective Modulorbeat will install a swimming and musical walkable platform on Hengsteysee lake. This interactive work of art will travel downriver and can be visited in Duisburg during the festival's closing event. Impressive locations like the Hardenstein ruins in Witten or the radome of the observatory high above the river in Bochum will be shown in a completely new light through light and sound.
Internationally renowned light artists like Peter Kogler, Yves Netzhammer, Siegrun Appelt, Modulorbeat, Andreas M. Kaufmann, Tatzu Nishi, Christoph Hildebrand, Manuel Schroeder, Mader Stubli? Wiermann, Xavier de Richemont and Klaus Obermaier will uncover places with unique atmospheres and transform them into something stunning and new.
Curated by Dr. Söke Dinkla, "Ruhrlights: Twilight Zone" is concerned with places that have developed along the Ruhr in recent years: "They are spaces of desire which people have invested immense energy in to make them their own. 'Ruhrlights: Twilight Zone' looks at these places and makes the numerous connections in one of Europe's biggest urban agglomerations visible. The cities of Duisburg, Mülheim, Essen, Hattingen, Bochum, Witten and Hagen are working together on this project so that the Ruhr - which gives the region its name - can be transformed into a state where creating something new is possible through the power of art." Initiated in 2008 at Mülheim an der Ruhr, the Light Art Festival has a special focus this year: "Twilight Zone" refers to the state of limbo that many places in the region are currently in – a state in which forces, elements, ideas and concepts are struggling with the new.
The Light Art Festival will come to a close at Duisburg's inner harbor, which will become a showcase of light art for an entire weekend. For the closing party in conjunction with another RUHR.2010 project, KulturKanal, the region’s big waterways will come together for a spectacular finissage. It will also feature the "sparkling" ideas of media artists from Lithuania that were developed at a workshop in Vilnius last year as part of the TWINS programme. Admission is free and open to the public.
Media contact:
Katharina Jarzombek
International Media Relations
RUHR.2010 GmbH
Tel.: +49 (0)201 888 2049
Email: katharina.jarzombek@ruhr2010.de