When does the exhibition take place?

Manifesta 16 Ruhr at St. Anna Church Bochum starts on 16.07.2026 at 11:00 AM.

What is the entry fee?

Entry is free. No ticket is required.

Is the exhibition barrier-free?

Access is wheelchair accessible. There is a ramp on site, but no wheelchair-accessible toilet.

What are the opening hours?

For Manifesta 16 Ruhr, the usual opening hours are Tuesday to Thursday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Friday and Saturday from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and Sunday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

What artistic formats can visitors expect?

The biennale includes installations, performances, research projects, and mediation formats among others.

Where is the exhibition located?

The exhibition takes place at St. Anna Church, Goldhammer Str. 14 A, 44793 Bochum, in the Goldhamme district.

Manifesta 16 Ruhr transforms Bochum's St. Anna Church into a space for new art

Name: Manifesta 16 Ruhr at St. Anna Church Bochum
Start: 2026-07-16T13:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-07-16T20:00:00+02:00
Location: St. Anna-Kirche

Manifesta 16 Ruhr at St. Anna Church Bochum: Art meets architectural history

With Manifesta 16 Ruhr, St. Anna Church in Bochum opens as a place for contemporary art, architectural memory, and cultural reflection. The European nomadic biennale engages here with a historic sacred space from 1929, blending exhibition atmosphere, artwork observation, and social questions into an impressive art experience.

A historic space with new significance

St. Anna Church is located in the Goldhamme district, an area whose history is closely linked to the steel industry and worker culture. This context gives the biennale a unique depth: Manifesta 16 Ruhr is dedicated to the postwar religious buildings of the Ruhr area and examines how spaces of faith, community, and urban development can be rethought today.

Curatorial idea and artistic practice

Manifesta 16 Ruhr adopts a dialogical approach. Art is created here in the exchange between international positions and local realities, between installation, performance, research, and participatory formats. The participants announced for St. Anna in Bochum are Pedro Cabrita Reis, Kateryna Lysovenko, Pınar Öğrenci, Mykola Ridnyi, Wilhelm Sasnal, and Marion Stokes. The curatorial responsibility lies with Anda Rottenberg and Krzysztof Kosciuczuk; as First Creative Mediator, Josep Bohigas shapes the urban perspective of the biennale. Thus, the exhibition becomes a place where aesthetic experience and cultural education intertwine.

Space, light, and material as part of the exhibition

The church itself is part of the artistic narrative. The expressionist building by Wilhelm Peter features clear lines, geometric rigor, and a architecture that makes structure visible. Additionally, the colored windows by Nikolaus Bette add vibrant accents with red, blue, and green. In this interplay of concrete, glass, and sacred volume, a unique artwork observation emerges: art appears not as a foreign body but as a precise response to the space.

Education, outreach, and visitor experience

Manifesta 16 Ruhr includes a comprehensive education and mediation program for various target groups, including schools, youth, and local communities. This strengthens the exhibition as a cultural venue with an educational mission and makes it attractive for visitors without traditional museum visits. Those interested in contemporary art, urbanism, church architecture, and social issues will find a multifaceted program with sustainable impact.

Conclusion

Manifesta 16 Ruhr at St. Anna Church Bochum promises a penetrating encounter of art, architecture, and urban history. Anyone wishing to experience contemporary exhibition culture in an unusual, atmospheric space should not miss this date and visit the biennale on site.