What is Ruhr art

20 10 Europe's cultural capital, apart from Page in Hungary and Istanbul in Turkey, is the Ruhr area in Germany centered on Essen. This is the first time that a region has won the title of european capital of culture instead of a city. Since19th century, people from Holland, Belgium and Austria have come to the Ruhr area to mine coal. Subsequently, miners from East Prussia also came to this area. In the mid-20th century, Ruhr developed into a coal and steel base in Germany. Now, Ruhr has experienced economic transformation and is full of new vitality.

This is an amateur choir, composed of 20 old people over 50 from all walks of life. Every Sunday afternoon, they gather in the Prussian Center of Dü sseldorf Workers' Welfare Association to practice chorus. Apart from their great love for music, everyone has one thing in common, that is, they immigrated to Ruhr many years ago, lived and settled here, and became residents of Ruhr district. They practiced chorus in order to take part in a project called Polyphony Music, which is one of Ruhr's activities as european capital of culture 20 10. Boya Valetic, director of chorus music, said:

"There are many different contents in this project, and the concert is only part of it. But more importantly, we have seen the talents of the older generation of immigrants in Ruhr, who are over 50 years old. They bring many different levels to the image of this place, such as the economic level, through their labor, and then maybe food, but their culture is often not so easy to accept. "

Ruhr became european capital of culture on 20 10, which is the first time that the honor of "european capital of culture" was won by a metropolis with a population of 5.3 million. The 53 towns in Ruhr District are determined to work together for the "european capital of culture" project, create a unity of culture and tourism, and turn the legendary coal and iron industrial zone into a contrasting and fascinating European cultural metropolis. This "Polyphonic Music" is one of the activities specially set up for the european capital of culture project on 20 10, which can make the immigrants in Ruhr actively participate. Ashley Severindin, a Turkish-born German journalist, is one of the artistic directors of Ruhr european capital of culture 20 10;

"When people visit Ruhr, it is not difficult to find that this is a very diverse society. There are people from 17 1 different countries living here, and I guess there are religious groups all over the world. This is a pocket version of the world, so this theme (about immigration) must not be missed here. "

Ashley Severin said that some basic phenomena are usually the most easily overlooked. For example, it took people a long time to realize that Germany is actually an immigrant country, so this cultural capital activity will naturally pay attention to this aspect, and the Ruhr area, where immigrants gather and have diverse cultures, is also a particularly suitable place to explore immigrant culture. People want to know how foreign immigrants and their families adapt to the local cultural life. How to establish an effective cultural exchange center here? Who are the audiences of cultural activities in Ruhr District? To answer these questions, we need to ask people in Ruhr, including immigrants and local residents who live for a long time.

Therefore, MELEZ Festival, one of the biggest events in the 20 10 european capital of culture, will focus on the theme of "The Art of Living Together".

The event will be held on the train around Ruhr, with music, exhibitions, dances and artworks. The whole train will provide a platform to show the latest ideas, which is of excellent quality and exciting. The platform where the train stops will be transformed into a stage, concert hall or party place. This magical and colorful Meles train will also take something away from every city where it stops, and then provide some ideas to each city in exchange. As one of the artistic directors, Ashley Severin said:

"Basically, we should try to use different forms of artistic expression, whether it's drama or dance, street art, graffiti, break dancing, even national dances, movies and so on. Then these questions are discussed in these ways: In such a pluralistic society, how can people of different cultures and religions live together effectively and creatively? Are there any other new possibilities? "

MELEZ train will return to Bochum, Ruhr in June, 20 10, and then show its artistic achievements in Ruhr in the Centennial Hall there for people to visit and experience.

As diverse and international as Meles, european capital of culture in Ruhr is called a twin, which includes 53 cities or towns in Ruhr and more than 200 different twin cities formed by them in Europe. By then, there will be more than 100 activities worth looking forward to, with more than 1700 groups participating, including cultural institutions, art colleges, choirs, schools, artists and performers, plus representatives from relevant city governments and national consulates, and thousands of people will come to participate. Photography, painting, architectural design works, music, dance, drama, literary works, gardening, cooking and sports competitions will be held, and all activities need the participation of Ruhr city and twin cities in other European countries. Ashley Seffrin said:

"What is particularly exciting is that some other cities involved happen to be the original places of immigrants in Ruhr, such as cities in Greece, Poland, Italy and Turkey. Then the immigrants will have a brand-new discovery: it turns out that my connection with my hometown is not only kinship, but also the same cultural and artistic background. Therefore, this place will suddenly become not only my hometown, but also a place bearing precious culture. I think this will also give us a more complete understanding of the hometown and country of immigrants. "

In addition to large-scale projects such as MELEZ and TWINS, there are many eye-catching highlights, such as "Invisible City" in the underground modern art exhibition, "Fuguang Coral Island" showing floating art on the river, and "king of thailand" in the pioneer art experimental field.

Ruhr 20 10 european capital of culture will hold a two-day grand opening ceremony at the New Ruhr Museum in Essen on September 9th and 9th. German President Kohler will also attend, and the opening ceremony will be open to the public free of charge. 65438+ fireworks will be set off on Saturday night 10: 30 on October 9, making this industrial memorial hall a colorful cultural attraction. Then on Sunday, 10, the Ruhr Museum, the venue of the opening ceremony, will be officially opened, and citizens can go in and visit the exhibition with the theme of "Nature, Culture and History of Ruhr District" for free. Ruhr Museum, formerly a coal washing plant, was designed and rebuilt by Dutch architect Rein Kohlhaas. Now it is the former site of Zeche Zollverein in Essen, which is a monument to the industrialization history of Ruhr.

Ruhr area in history can be said to be a gray coal mining area, but now Ruhr area has become a scenic spot with parks, gardens, canals and lakes. Here, people can enjoy and experience many things, such as shopping streets, exhibition halls, museums, leisure parks, musicals, plays and concerts. Whenever night falls, Ruhr will show its unique charm. In the past, the night here was illuminated by the lights of the factory workshop that never went out day and night, but now the night is a brightly lit world carefully designed by people. Once upon a time, factories and steel mills reflected the sky; Nowadays, the night in the industrial area is illuminated by searchlights and colored lights, and the scenery is charming. Like the singer Herbert? "Come to Ruhr!" Greenmel will sing at the opening ceremony of Ruhr 20 10 european capital of culture.