Manifesta 16 took place in four cities across the Ruhr Area. In Bochum, Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen and Essen, former churches were transformed into cultural community hubs. The artistic programme included events, performances, workshops, interventions and exhibitions, all showcasing how these churches could be transformed into something new that was shaped by and for its surrounding community.

Art, city and community. During the Warm-Up Programme for Manifesta 16 Ruhr, places for exchange and encounter emerged even before the biennial began. Many activities took place in the square around the former St Josef Church, the headquarter of Manifesta 16 Ruhr in Gelsenkirchen-Ückendorf, on Bochumer Straße and inside St Anna Church in Schalke-Nord.

The Manifesta 16 + programme presented projects from local, grassroots initiatives selected via an Open Call. During Manifesta 16 Ruhr they transformed vacant church buildings in ten cities across the Ruhr Area into spaces for gathering, exchange and collective practice. 16 projects took place in Dortmund, Herne, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Marl, Bottrop, Essen, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, Duisburg and Oberhausen.

The Education and Mediation Programme was a central part of Manifesta 16 Ruhr. While the Mediation Programme offered public walks for groups, individuals and schools with specially trained mediators, the Communities & Education Programme offered many different projects for people of the Ruhr Area in cooperation with artists and community associations.

Workshops and other activities to take part in! Manifesta 16 Ruhr offered a wide range of free participatory activities both before and during the biennial.