Is admission to Manifesta 16 Ruhr free?

Yes, admission is free and no ticket is required.

Where does the event take place?

At the Gethsemane Church at Amtsstraße 4a in 44809 Bochum.

What are the opening hours on site?

Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Friday and Saturday from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

Is the Gethsemane Church wheelchair accessible?

Yes, the site is accessible for wheelchair users; there is a ramp. However, a barrier-free toilet is not available at this location.

Is there an educational program?

Yes, the program School, Neighborhood, and Us accompanies the exhibition with mediation offers.

How long does Manifesta 16 Ruhr run?

The Biennale takes place from 21.06.2026 to 04.10.2026.

Manifesta 16 Ruhr transforms Bochum's Gethsemane Church into a vibrant art space

Name: Manifesta 16 Ruhr at the Gethsemane Church Bochum
Start: 2026-09-30T13:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-09-30T20:00:00+02:00
Location: Gethsemane-Kirche

Manifesta 16 Ruhr: The Gethsemane Church becomes a space for contemporary art

With Manifesta 16 Ruhr, the Gethsemane Church in Bochum opens its doors for an art experience that impressively connects architecture, memory, and contemporary art. The European Biennale focuses on former and existing church spaces, transforming them into places for exchange, mediation, and aesthetic experience.

A sacred space with history and presence

The Gethsemane Church is a Protestant emergency church built between 1947 and 1950, designed by Otto Bartning. Erected on the foundations of a community center destroyed in World War II, it tells stories of reconstruction, community, and an architecture that shaped new dignity out of a crisis. This historical layering gives the place a special exhibition atmosphere.

A curated reflection on city, society, and transformation

Manifesta 16 Ruhr does not see the church as a mere backdrop, but as an active resonance space. The Biennale explores how vacant or transformed churches can be reinterpreted as spaces for togetherness. In Bochum, the creative mediators Anda Rottenberg and Krzysztof Kosciuczuk shape the project together with an international artistic team that focuses on site-specific works, dialogue, and cultural education.

Works, themes, and mediation

For the Gethsemane Church, works by Mirosław Bałka, Mehtap Baydu, Zuza Golińska, Marina Naprushkina, Mikołaj Sobczak, and Cassidy Toner are announced. The program is complemented by the educational format School, Neighborhood, and Us with contributions from Miedya Mahmod and Julia Nitschke. This connects the exhibition with participatory cultural mediation and opens perspectives on neighborhood, memory, migration, and social spaces.

Architecture as a silent player

The interior of the Gethsemane Church creates a framework with its clear structure, religious history, and barrier-free ramp, where art is not only viewed but experienced physically. In such spaces, the power of installations, sculpture, and performative forms unfolds particularly intensively: light, material, and spatial effects merge into a concentrated aesthetic experience.

A visit with perspective

The Manifesta 16 Ruhr is not a classic museum visit but an invitation to read the urban space anew. Those who come to Bochum will experience in the Gethsemane Church an exhibition that connects historical architecture, contemporary art, and cultural education into a dense, inspiring whole. A visit is essential for everyone who understands art as a living dialogue between place, history, and future.