Poly 2021

Adobe Stock: © Vasyl
Intro One single city? No, lots of towns
and cities. The Ruhrgebiet is often
called “the city of cities”. “Poly” will tell you
how different they are and what they have in
common. But most of all we want to show you
one thing: a constantly changing cultural scene
and its transformative influence on the environment.
For this is the motor behind new developments
and radical changes.
Culture for ever!
Where ever!
www.kulturinfo.ruhr
WANT TO
DISCOVER MORE?
→ POLY-
MAGAZIN.DE
→ STORM-
ILLUSTRATION.DE
→ THOMAS-
BOECKER.NET
BRIAN STORM © PETER GWIAZDA
We have also been on the
road in search of them. The result is
the booklet you are holding. It shows
places in the process of transformation,
like the suburb of Ückendorf in
Gelsenkirchen. In addition we paid a
visit to Dortmund harbour, where the
first Academy for Theatre and Digitality
is being built amidst a quarter
for start-ups. But we have also kept
an eye out for events, people and
places that are keeping the cultural
scene on the move in 2021 and far beyond. Everything from the Chorwerk
Ruhr to Joseph Beuys, designers, authors, musicians and artists.
Brian Storm also went in search of the unexpected for his
“Poly” illustrations. It’s only too apt that his favourite spot in the area is
a rather unattractive one: Duisburg Central Station when the sunshine
pierces the crazy patchwork of windows. Then it becomes clear that
he is also interested in discovering beauty in the most unexpected
places. The same goes for Thomas Böcker. When he was looking for
an image for our cover he came across the construction of an art
installation at a service area on the A40 motorway. In other words, he
discovered art in a place where art doesn’t really belong. And that fits
the area exactly!
So have fun exploring the Ruhrgebiet!
With very best wishes
from your “Poly” Team
INSTAGRAM.COM/DELLPLATZ_LIEBE/
POLY MAG 2021
INTRO
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20
21
04 You are here
Facts and figures from NRW
P r e t t y
26 Get in touch
Two women in the WKR Design
Studio who work with illustrations
using paper, modelling clay and
peanut flips.
30 Crazy signs and
a grinning cat
Prinzträger’s spatial installations and
Retro-graphics by Dirk Uhlenbrock
54 Out of the
Roundhouse
The “Kainkollectiv” and “Anna Kpok”
offer fresh perspectives on theatre in
the Ringlokschuppen in Mülheim.
60 The People’s
Theatre
The Ruhrfestspiele is one of the
largest theatre festivals in Europe.
64 The “Ruhrgebiet”
in shorts!
Ariel Magnus, the 2021 “Ruhr author”
travels through the region.
T a s t y
86 Just like
Granny’s
A culinary trip through the region.
90 For consc(ient)
ious Foodies
Restaurant tips, markets and
people – a quick tour of the “green”
Ruhrgebiet.
B u s y
34 …and away we go
Artistic events in 2021
66 Pick up a book!
Tips, dates and themes
94 Up and away!
On the road through the Ruhrgebiet
08 T(w)ogether
96 Imprint
Wolfgang Fröhling’s photos of colliery
housing estates.
12 Culture, Cowboys
and Co
How the rundown district of Ückendorf
in Gelsenkirchen has been
turned into a trendy creative area.
20 Dortmund Ahoy
One of the largest trans-shipment
centres in Europe is being transformed
into a centre for art and the
creative economy.
22 “We want to expand
the stage”
Marcus Lobbes on the new Dortmund
Academy of Theatre and digital
approaches.
A r t y
42 Back to Nature
The “Urbane Künste Ruhr” take art
into public spaces – in the most
unlikely places.
46 The man with
a hat
What links Joseph Beuys to the
Ruhrgebiet? A survey and some
exhibitions in his anniversary year.
50 What is
urbanana?
Tales of people and places
N o i s y
70 Luminous Walls
The Church of Christ in Bochum
is a place of art and a concert room.
74 After dark
Poly’s tips for clubs
76 International
Coolness
The Düsterboys sing of hearts and
love – to leave you yearning for more.
80 Global travellers
Chorwerk Ruhr: a choir specialising in
contrasts.
PLEASE NOTE!
Because of Corona changes
are possible at any time
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1 huge polycentric city
5.1 million residents
53 towns and cities
70 kilometres of the A40 motorway
between Duisburg and Dortmund
120 theatres
200 museums
441 metres high. That's the hight
of the Wengeberg in Breckerfeld.
You won't find a much
higher spot in the Ruhrgebiet
880 LED lamps light up the
Duisburg helter-skelter
landmark “Tiger and Turtle”
by night
2010 The year when it was the
cultural capital of Europe
4435 cubic kilometres in size
7000 tonnes. That's how much
the world's largest lump
of coal weighs. It was
brought to the surface in
2016 at the Prosper
Haniel mine in Bottrop, and
is now exhibited in the
permanent exhibition at
the Ruhr Museum in Essen.
5 Soul foods you
need to try
CURRYWURST + FRENCH FRIES
An absolute classic dish, even it was supposedly
invented in Berlin. This fried sausage is
only stylish with French fries, and a dollop of
ketchup and mayonnaise.
DORTMUNDER SALZKUCHEN
Although it looks like a bagel this is a genuine
Westphalian product. The round bun has a
depression in the middle, is sprinkled with caraway
seeds and salt, and can be covered with
a hearty topping like minced pork and freshly
chopped onions. The “Fischer am Rathaus”
bakery in Dortmund city centre was founded
in 1848 and is still worth a visit today. It’s a
jewel of 50s design.
PILSENER BEER
It goes without saying that people in the
Ruhrgebiet enjoy their beer, preferably in the
Czech style. Dortmund in particular was once
considered a major producer of beer. Today
the “U” is a centre for art and creativity. It
was one of the first high-rise buildings in the
city and was used by the “Union” brewery for
fermenting and storing its beer. In addition to
the large traditional brands like “Union” and
“Stauder”, smaller breweries like “Bergmann
Bräu” are also being set up.
BUTTERBROT
This is a sandwich of thickly sliced grey
bread with a crispy crust, spread with butter,
served with gherkins and generously topped
with cold meats or cheese. It’s also known as
“Knifte” or “Bütterken”.
BUNTE TÜTE
For afters, there’s got to be something sweet.
Best of all from the nearest kiosk, where you
can get an inexpensive paper bag packed with
wine gums and liquorice sticks.
5 most
beautiful suburban
names
ESSEN-KUPFERDREH
When they hear this name children think
it’s something to do with a farm containing
a cow, a horse and a deer. Instead,
the name refers to an old industrial copper
hammer works.
BOTTROP-BOY
The easternmost, but not the most
masculine district of Bottrop. The name
refers to the “Boye”, the second largest
tributary of the River Emscher, which
flows through the town. Bottrop is neither
a boy nor a girl.
MÜLHEIM-HEIMATERDE
Picturesque, romantic, beautiful. The
name derives from a Krupp settlement
built in the 1920s on the lines of an English
garden city. Whether they live there or
not, anyone who sees the sign on the A40
motorway today certainly gets a feeling
they’ve arrived back home.
DUISBURG-RUHRORT
This was where the legendary television
detective Horst Schimanski began his investigations
in 1981. The very first episode
bore the title of the district. The Rhine is
close to Ruhrort. Then the inner harbour
there was dominated by the steel and
coal industries.
BULMKE-HÜLLEN
From a village to probably the most linguistically
attractive part of the Ruhrgebiet.
With the onset of industrialisation,
the “Alma” colliery and the “Schalker
Verein” steelworks also came to Gelsenkirchen.
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Working class: From steel to Start up –
how the Ruhr Area works
bu sy
The Ruhrgebiet is still very much
an area of work and solidarity. But
never before has work been so different.
Wolfgang Fröhling has photographed
semi-detached houses in workers’ housing
estates in the district. (→ p. 08) The people
in the suburb of Ückendorf in Gelsenkirchen
are slowly turning it into a city of
colourful walls. When the coal industry
came to an end the suburb fell into
disrepair. Now it’s being revived by artists.
(→ p. 12) Dortmund ahoy! (→ p. 20) One of
the largest transshipment centres in
Europe is also being redeveloped: a huge
area packed with start-ups, catering establishments
and the new Academy for
Theatre and Digitality. (→ p. 22)
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t(w)o
gether
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Wolfgang Fröhling
photographs colliery-workers’
settlements. In Bottrop, Essen
and Gelsenkirchen he not only
traces his own memories. But
also changing trends and tastes.
PIXELPROJEKT
RUHRGEBIET
presents regular exhibitions
in the Gelsenkirchen Science
Park | Munscheidstr. 14
→ PIXELPROJEKT-
RUHRGEBIET.DE
→ MEDIAARTE.DE
TEXT
Annika Wind
PHOTOS
Wolfgang Fröhling
It’s a wonderful feeling to have a home of
your own. Heinrich Klotz, the founding director
of the German Museum of Architecture
in Frankfurt, once wrote the following
about semi-detached houses: “Central
Europeans take their first step towards
independence by seeking security under a
gabled roof”. Was he thinking of the mining
settlements in the Ruhrgebiet? One thing’s
for sure: to this day, terraced houses stand
for a piece of regional culture that people
were once keen to own, to eventually pass
on to their children – or to get rid of as
quickly as possible. Wolfgang Fröhling grew
up in a similar house in Bottrop and later
moved to a low-energy building with a flat
roof. Was this an act of liberation? Today he
recalls: “Back then, children in every street
had their own football team, but no one had
a comfortable bathroom.”
The sense of
belonging to a community
was great
back then: but so
was the sense of
constriction.
Those who “went down the mine”
were ideally allocated a dwelling in the company-owned
housing estate. With the decline
of the coal industry, the old semi-detached
houses were privatised – and changed.
“Only recently have people started to
be increasingly proud of their houses again”,
says Fröhling, who teaches photography
at the Düsseldorf Media Design University
and is part of the Gelsenkirchen-based
“Pixelprojekt-Ruhrgebiet”, a network of
photographers. This was founded in 2002 by
Peter Liedtke to create a permanent exhibition
space on the Internet for photo series
and their creators. The digital archive has
now grown to 100,000 pictures of the towns
and cities, the people and landscapes in the
Ruhrgebiet. There are also regular exhibitions
in the Gelsenkirchen Science Park.
Fröhling’s photos tell us a lot about
the changes in the region, about changing
needs and trends that separated once identical
buildings. They show how extensions,
enlargements and conversions, a sense
of order, the obsession with decoration
and renovation, horrific front gardens and
tiny green oases are changing the housing
estates. Another series took him into the
inner precincts on workers’ housing estates.
A Schalke 04 logo still has a place of honour
above a former outdoor toilet shed. Wire
mesh deer prance in front of garage doors,
and garden gnomes loll about in front gardens.
Self-painted sailing boats make their
rounds on brick walls. A piece of backyard
culture. Snapshots of (changing) tastes.
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Culture,
Cowboys
and Co
The suburb of Ückendorf in Gelsenkirchen
was once a splendid part of town. When the
coal industry came to an end it fell into a crisis.
The city reacted and has now turned it into
a creative quarter. Studios, galleries, festivals
and alternative housing projects are giving
the district a new life.
TEXT
Thomas Frank
PHOTOS
Markus J. Feger
It’s only three minutes by tram from Gelsenkirchen
central station to the Bochumer
Straße in Ückendorf. The street is one of the
main arteries in the south-east of the city,
and here the head of the cultural department,
Andrea Lamest, took me past houses
that had been built around the end of the
19th century when the industrial revolution
in German began to flourish. Many of these
buildings are now house studios, bars,
co-working areas and even a virtual reality
space. Scattered amongst them are “Jugendstil”
buildings with scaffolding and banners
advertising new living spaces. An urban district
is in the process of being redeveloped.
Although the district is still teeming
with empty shops and dilapidated buildings,
it now feels like things are on the upturn.
Just ten years ago this would have been
unthinkable because it seemed impossible
for Ückendorf to escape from its downward
spiral. One vacancy followed another in a
succession of dilapidated buildings. To make
things worse, this once magnificent district,
which slid into a crisis with the demise of the
coal mining industry, hit the headlines nationwide
as a no-go area: a ghetto.
And then the city reacted. In 2013
Ückendorf was made a part of the “Kreativ.
Quartiere Ruhr”, with the aim of attracting
artists to settle in the district. From then
until 2018 the state funded the creative
quarter with development aid to the tune
of 170,000 €. In addition, an urban renewal
company, “SEG”, was set up to transform
deprived areas into residential, cultural and
leisure areas. To this end it now collaborates
with the city’s cultural department,
and representatives from the arts and the
creative scene.
Andrea Lamest has already run
several artists’ houses. She is a cultural
manager, but has also studied liberal arts,
which is evident in her plans for Ückendorf:
“For me it was important to make artistic
activities in Gelsenkirchen, with all their
potential, more visible to the outside world.
This mean that the city has to publicise it
more.” She introduces me to SEG’s managing
director Helga Sander, whose office
is in the heart of the quarter in a building
at Bochumer Strasse 140/142, above the
co-working space “c/o – Raum für Kooperation”
(Room for Cooperation).
WORKING CLASS
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Helga Sander and her team have
already bought up 30 rundown properties,
renovated them, or handed them over for
temporary use. The investment capital comes
from a building plot in Buer, in the north of
Gelsenkirchen, which the city has handed
over to SEG. New flats are being built on the
former hospital site, and the proceeds from
the sale of the land is being used to purchase
rundown properties in Ückendorf. “It’s really
something new for a city to intervene so
actively in the property market”, says Helga
Sander. Her vision for Ückendorf is: “An urban
quarter with shops, bars, restaurants and
student flats.” For example, she arranged for
the operator of “c/o – Raum für Kooperation”,
a communication consultant by the name
of Simon Schlenke, to set up his co-working
space in the same building – after purchase
and renovation. He recalls: “We were in contact
with one another very early on. Once it
was clear that this building was going to be
renovated, we teamed up with SEG to see
how we could make good use of the space.”
In 2019, he and two freelancers moved in to
make the office with its hall, stage space and
kitchen usable for temporary workplaces,
meetings and workshops. Schlenke originally
comes from Ückendorf and still lives here.
Like his colleagues, it was important to him
to establish a co-working location in the
neighbourhood. In 2015, they also founded
the association “Insane Urban Cowboys &
Girls” (IUC), a network of creative entrepreneurs
and cultural workers.
Roman Pilgrim, an artist and one of the
founders, takes me from “c/o” to his studio at
Bochumer Strasse 162. “Cowboys don’t need
much, just a few rooms, they can deal with
any situation”, he says and adds: “As creative
people we wanted to build a network to
promote artistic activities in the district.” In
autumn 2019, he and a fellow artist Alexander
Stratmann renovated and expanded the
studio space in the red-brick house with its
white, stucco entrance, which also belongs
Above: Artist Roman Pilgrim.
Right: c/o – Coworking space
Below: Cultural manager Andrea Lamest
TOM’S CORNER
This Vintage Store sells furniture
from the 1920s to 1970s.
Bochumer Straße 99
→ TOMS-CORNER.DE
1NULL7 – DAS ZUHAUSE
The Upcycling Shop offers fashion,
designs, and art objects,
for example made from old
skateboards. Operator Maik
Rokitta also uses it as a workshop,
gala and event room for
concerts, readings and parties.
Bochumer Straße 107
→ 1NULL7.DE
EXPERIENCE MINING
www.bergbaumuseum.de
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DEUTSCHES
BERGBAU-MUSEUM
BOCHUM

to SEG. Now Roman Pilgrim also uses his
studio as a gallery and event space, where
abstract acrylic paintings hang between a
couch and painting utensils.
Just a few days previously the Cologne
indie pop band “Fortuna Ehrenfeld”
had given a free concert in the backyard.
Pilgrim had invited them, along with the
city’s cultural department and some “culture
cowboys”, who enjoy reacting sardonically
to Ückendorf’s reputation as a gangland and
ghetto. “We held a hip-hop party with the
slogan: ‘No-Go-Area – you’re not wanted
here!’ And the police promptly showed up
because they suspected some criminal or
other was on the run here.”
Back then the party started in the
“Exodos” at Bochumer Straße 134. In its time
it has been a cinema, a municipal theatre,
a boxing arena and a disco, but it’s now a
space that the “cowboys” often use for projects
like “Places”, Germany’s first and largest
virtual reality (VR) festival, which Roman
Pilgrim also co-initiated in 2018. The aim was
to open up this immersive medium to everyone.
Accordingly the VR festival – it was all
for free – took place at around 20 locations
along Bochumer Straße, including the SEG
office, the “c/o” space, studios, open spaces
and empty houses from the turn of the 20th
century. With the help of VR glasses and
controllers, visitors were able to enter the last
working colliery in the region, “Prosper Haniel”
in Bottrop. VR creators and users met up
in the neighbourhood for talks, discussions
and workshops. In 2019 “Tourismus NRW”
awarded the “Places” team the urbanana
Prize for out-of-the-ordinary concepts in
city tourism. The festival is now an important
brand for the city of Gelsenkirchen. In the
same year, “Creative.NRW, the competence
centre for culture and creative industries”,
honoured the “Cowboys and Girls” with its
“Creative.Spaces Award”. The award-winners
intend to re-invest the prize money of 5000 €
in new projects.
8.–29.5.21
stuecke.de
Veranstalter
Gefördert von
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Foto: Christian Huhn
I was a
church*
Artist Christoph Lammert on his piano.
It’s a five-minute walk along Heidelberger
Straße from Pilgrim’s workshop to
a former parish hall which once belonged
to the Church of the Holy Cross. The large
red-brick hall is six metres high and covers
400 square metres. Here the artist Christoph
Lammert and his wife Hiltrud are bringing
to life an unusual living and working project
called “HeidelbÜrger”, along with a few “cronies"
– two families living in their own flats,
but who also share some communal spaces.
Christoph Lammert and his wife moved from
Bochum to Ückendorf at the end of 2015.
He is currently setting up his studio on the
ground floor, while his abstract landscape
paintings and a red piano are on stage next
door. Soon he wants to host salons and
concerts and initiate grass-roots cooperative
living spaces, focussing on local cooperation.
He smiles a lot, and seems satisfied, even
proud. The subversive painter has already
worked on several cultural projects in the
district. One of these – in collaboration with
the city’s cultural department – was the
“Szeniale”, a fringe festival featuring plays,
readings, exhibitions and concerts, in studios,
galleries and backyards.
About two kilometres away from Heidelberger
Straße, is a peaceful alternative
world: the “Halfmannshof” artists’ settlement
which has existed since 1931. It’s a square
enclosure of former farmhouses set in the
midst of meadows and fields. The buildings
are white, oblong, angular, partly half-timbered,
and partly with slate facades. In the
1960s and 1970s the settlement became
an avant-garde hotspot when Günther
Uecker and Otto Piene from the ZERO
group stopped by. Today it’s inhabited
by a bookbinding couple, a costume and
stage designer, a woman pianist and a film
producer. The media artist Gabi Rottes is
project manager at Halfmannshof. Along
with her partner, René Sikkes (who’s also an
artist), she has re-shaped the community
for co-living and co-working, containing
studios cum living spaces, shared working
areas and team rooms. It’s also used for
workshops and summer academies. Tongue
in cheek, Rottes calls herself the “hostel
mum”. She organises exhibitions, takes care
of the rentals and sees to the press work.
Will Ückendorf soon be shining once again?
It certainly looks like it.
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*The former St. Mary’s Church now serves as a foyer for two concert halls at the
“Anneliese Brost Musikforum Ruhr” in Bochum.
Baukultur Nordrhein-Westfalen has committed itself to the conversion of empty sacred
buildings in NRW with a project entitled “Zukunft – Kirchen – Räume”. The result is urban
spaces for culture, leisure, art and education. Apart from dealing with existing buildings,
Baukultur Nordrhein-Westfalen is concerned with the future of housing, the design of our
cities and regions and the connection between art and architecture. It focuses on the search
for new qualities to make our living environment more attractive. baukultur.nrw

Dortmund,
ahoy!
The planned campus on the north of Speicherstraße
One of the largest transhipment
centres in Europe is being redeveloped:
A huge area with start-ups, catering establishments
and the new Academy for
Theatre and Digitality is being created on
Dortmund’s Speicherstraße.
COBE ARCHITEKTEN/KOPENHAGEN
TEXT
Volker K. Belghaus
Dortmund has been connected to the
North Sea for many years. Kaiser Wilhelm II
opened the Dortmund-Ems Canal on 11th
August 1899. From then on, the Westphalian
mining metropolis was connected to the
sea. As early as 1946 operations continued
undeterred by the destruction caused by the
Second World War, because the construction
industry needed supplies for rebuilding
the country. Today the port contains 161
companies and is one of the largest transhipment
centres in Europe. And now the city
and its economic development agency want
to redevelop an area of 13.5 hectares with
start-ups, co-working spaces, catering and
the Academy for Theatre and Digitality. Dortmund’s
biggest planning project has a goal:
5000 new jobs.
The area along the north and south
of Speicherstraße had not been properly
used for ages, and grass grew wildly over
romantic old industrial paving. Young people
from the nearby north of the city like to
meet here at the edge of the harbour and
nothing will change in this respect. The same
applies to the club ship “Herr Walter”, and
the “Umschlagplatz” container café. Apart
from that the area is to be redeveloped. At
the entrance to the area there are plans for
a prominent office building. In the storage
buildings next to it, the “Lensing Media Port”
is being built behind historical facades. Here
the newspaper company is aiming to bundle
its digital services. Next door will be an
innovation campus for digital start-ups. In the
second row of buildings, some distance
from the water, construction work on the
Academy for Theatre and Digitality had
already begun in 2020, under the direction
of Kay Voges, the former director of Theater
Dortmund. His productions had caused a
sensation because they were full of digital
streaming and virtual reality. Now the
academy is intending to function as an
interface for further education and training
for all types of theatrical activities. The
Dortmund architectural office “.dlx” has
designed a cubic building with a natural
stone façade, and this is scheduled for
completion in autumn 2022. The proximity
between the academy and the start-up
campus is deliberate. Where possible, networks
between the performing arts and the
start-ups are to be created here. The digital
technologies for the Theatre Academy
could then be developed right next door.
A little further north, the harbour
basin makes a bend to the left. This part
of Speicherstraße is also being converted.
The Danish architectural firm “COBE” is
responsible for the airy overall design. Nor
are there any plans for brutal demolition
here. The striking “Raiffeisen” silo tower will
be retained and turned into a huge screen
designed by artists. The central nave of
the industrial hall below will remain and
be opened up to leave a huge roof, below
which containers with greenery can be
placed in a flexible fashion. A space for
events is being planned along a promenade
that links the northern and southern areas.
The flat roof of a multi-storey car park is
to become a sports and leisure area, and a
vocational college will bring more life to the
neighbourhood. To ensure that the old harmonises
with the new, a colour catalogue
has been created, and the cobblestones of
Speicherstraße have been stored away. A
harbour is reinventing itself but construction
work has only just begun.
→ D-PORT21.COM
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“We want
to extend the
traditional
stage.”
Rethinking the theatre stage in a new and
digital manner. Marcus Lobbes is artistic director
of the “Academy for Theatre and Digitality”
in Dortmund. Here he talks about virtual reality
and avatars in the auditorium.
INTERVIEWER
Volker K. Belghaus
SUSANNE DIESNER
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When and why did Dortmund start to realise that
the city needed an “Academy for Theatre and
Digitality”?
Kay Voges, who was the artistic director of
“Theater Dortmund” from 2010 to 2020, noticed
that very few theatres in the German-speaking
world used digital technologies, because this
requires not only more time, but also more money
and space. Kay Voges then consulted colleagues
from the audiovisual and IT sectors and they
jointly developed the vision of an academy before
applying to politicians for funding to integrate it
into an artistic enterprise like the theatre. In the
summer of 2019, the Academy was launched by
the city as the sixth department in the theatre.
What’s your task in the Academy?
Digitisation strategies exist today in all sectors of
society. My core concern and main field of work
is to examine how these can also be applied to
the performing arts.
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Has there been a lack of understanding of
digital technologies on the stage to date?
Yes, that has a lot to do with traditional
structures. In the theatre, for example,
video has been used for ages, but most of
the costs are set apart for directing, staging
and costumes. Apart from that there’s
nothing. Video workers always make things
difficult. At the same time, however, these
people are highly qualified professionals
and would earn more in the open market
working on programming for as long as they
liked. We need more awareness here. Some
theatres already appreciate their value.
Elsewhere the cliché still prevails that you
are just throwing some content or other
onto any old screen.
What does a digital theatre evening look like?
As an academy we do not conduct
research ourselves, but invite artists and
technicians to combine ideas from the
performing arts with the potentials of
technology. This begins with the audience,
which is not even aware of many digitalisation
processes, like stage technology,
which has long been networked. What we
are trying to do here ranges from audio
events (which can be spatially positioned
in a completely different way), to editing
video productions with live cameras, to
coding for virtual presentations. We work
with artificial intelligence and chat bots.
Holography-like projections are a major
issue, as are virtual and augmented reality
technologies. The exciting question, especially
in the age of Covid 19, is how to use
these technologies to create a shared environment
for the audience with a display
or VR glasses.
Wouldn’t a simple streaming be sufficient?
Thanks to Covid 19, we have been able
to follow how theatre on the net has
changed. The first streaming attempts
developed into formats that were intended
to achieve a greater sense of being in
a theatre. For example, there might be a
virtual foyer where people can meet, or
a chat room where they can talk about
POLY
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the show. Research is being conducted
into how such interactive formats could
work. We have created a project here in
which people take part in a performance
with their own avatar. This is an important
issue. What kind of additional space is
being established in relation to analogue
theatre? The academy never wanted
to abolish analogue theatre, but rather
expand it, just as technology has always
expanded our ideas. It started when people
began to construct buildings around
open-air theatres, and later added artificial
lighting to them. Today we take this
for granted. If we can now develop formats
for digital space, all the better. But
they will always be just a part of theatre,
nothing more. Theatres will not disappear,
not even because of Covid 19.
Who comes to you in the Academy and
what sort of work do people do there?
We see ourselves as a curatorial institution.
Hence we advertise our scholarships
internationally and allow people who are
close to the topic to present projects that
they are currently researching. A nationwide
jury, of which we are also a member,
decides which project is eligible. There
are only two requirements for scholarship
holders. They must spend two thirds of
their time in Dortmund and document
their work.
Are there no theatrical shows staged in the
Academy?
We are not in the business of performance.
Instead, there are the regular formats
“OpenHouse” and “OpenLabs”, which are
open to the public. These are not classic
theatre shows. You have to think of them
more as a marketplace where you can
wander around between the offerings. You
can talk to the scholarship holders, experiment
with technological prototypes and
see how things might work when they are
used in certain contexts.
→ THEATER.DIGITAL
→ MARCUSLOBBES.DE
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Wow! That's beautiful!
Design in the
Ruhr Area
pr
etty
One of the typical features of the
Ruhr Area is the surprise of coming
across beautiful objects where you otherwise
might not expect them. We shall
be presenting some designers with unconventional
ideas. Get in touch: Andrea
Weber and Damoun Tamir do not restrict
themselves to paper and papier-mâché
in “WRK”, their Dortmund design studio.
They also enjoy using modelling clay and
peanut flips (→ p. 26). Crazy signs: In Bochum,
Larissa Prinz and Marie Träger stage outsize
exhibitions in concert locations, and
sometimes in whole streets. (→ p. 30) Cream
pastries and a grinning cat: In Essen, Dirk
Uhlenbrock's company “Erste Liga” creates
objects with a slightly nostalgic
character. (→ p. 32) …and away we go! Poly’s
cultural tips for 2021. (→ p. 34)
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Get
in touch
Andrea Weber and Damoun Tamir do
not confine themselves to using paper and
papier-mâché in their Dortmund design studio
“WRK”, but also like using modelling clay and
peanut flips. They told me about meaty faces,
and bath slippers made of shrivelled slices
of eggplant.
TEXT
Volker K. Belghaus
PHOTOS
WRK Design
You have to have a bit of luck. And people who push
you in the right direction. Just like Andrea Weber, Damoun
Tamir and Eva Klein, who studied communication design
at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts
and repeatedly ended up with one and the same professor:
Johannes Graf, who taught graphic design, concept
and design. Instead of working with layout programmes
like their colleagues, the three of them preferred to
fiddle around with designs made of cardboard and papiermâché.
Finally, with the support of their professor, they
founded their own graphic design office. It would be
a pity, Graf had told them, if at some point they were
to disappear behind the computers in an advertising
agency.
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This is how the WRK Studio in Dortmund
came into being in 2014. For the past four years
Andrea Weber and Damoun Tamir have been
jointly developing projects for magazines or
institutions there: things like detailed editorial
designs, the appearance of a new Google Doodle,
or elaborate Wimmel posters for the FIFA
Football Museum in Zurich. Most of their work
is created in analogue form. When a new order
comes in, materials are selected and the initial
sketches are drawn on paper in a pleasantly
old-fashioned way.
also likes using peanut flips to model a brain, or
shaping cauliflower into cigarette smoke, and pine
needles into long eyelashes.
For German Railways’ magazine they
created a series with popcorn. Their aim was to
create typical film motifs. But just how to do this
proved difficult. In the end the material shrank
in a rather unattractive manner. In projects like
this things have to be done quickly, but if you’re
thinking up bath slippers made from slices of
aubergine you also have to be able to deal with
the fact that vegetables change colour. That’s
“The fact that you can quickly delete,
copy or move things on the computer
bores me. I prefer to have a piece of
paper in front of me.”
Damoun Tamir
The designers then set up a mood board
to give the client a first impression. Afterwards,
they quickly get to work. Their stock of materials
is chock-full of different papers, glue, colours and
plasticine. Of course, they don’t build everything
on a one-to-one scale. For the bigger you build,
the less you can see of the structure and surface
character of the paper later on. Once the object
is completed, it is photographed, and later sent to
the computer for digital reworking; for example to
bring the colours into line.
In this way, over the past few years,they
have created impressive works in paper and
papier-mâché. In their student days, for example,
they made a poster for a Charles Bukowski
reading featuring spilled canned beer, flies and
a full ashtray. Everything was made of paper,
even the cigarette ends. Then there was a rosy
papier-mâché chicken for the magazine “Business-Punk”,
and a bottle of “Union” beer for the
Dortmund “Heimatdesign” magazine. That said,
Damoun Tamir started off with meat, which she
absolutely wanted to work with at some point
during her studies - and almost failed. She’s a
vegetarian. So not only the processing, but also
the procurement of chicken hearts and a sheep’s
head proved to be something of a problem. Nowadays
she prefers to work with alternatives. WRK
how you gain experience. And in the best case,
how you can pass on the knowledge gained.
Since 2017, Damoun Tamir has been teaching in
the design department at Dortmund University
of Applied Sciences and Arts. In her seminars
she demonstrates how this can be done with
tactile-illustrative designs...and how to best push
talented people in the right direction.
→ WRK-DESIGN.DE
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Crazy signs
In Bochum Larissa
Prinz and Marie Träger
stage exhibitions,
concert locations and
sometimes whole
streets.
TEXT
Volker K. Belghaus
series of events, they created a “cultural landscape”
consisting of pallets with carpets, colourful parasols,
fairy lights and upholstery made of industrial foam.
The stage was an outsized ocean container.
Next came the “Christuskirche” in Bochum.
Working with the designer Franziska Clauberg, they
developed a temporary event-cube for a series of
events entitled “Urban Urtyp”. The striking church
building was to become a concert venue. The
result was a room-within-a-room concept using
240 square metres of transparent PVC slats and
coloured light. The 600 square metre area in Dortmund’s
industrial museum, the “Zollern Colliery”,
was somewhat larger. This is where they created
their own item of exhibition architecture for the
“Reviergestalten” project.
STEFAN TUSCHY
Not everyone gets such an idea as a signpost
made of carpets, decorated with bright red
triangles. In 2012, during the “Mengenleere”
music and culture festival, the “Neon Persians”
designed by Larissa Prinz and Marie Träger
were located in the city centre of Bochum as a
homage to the down-to-earth domestic carpet.
The unusual guidance system was one of their
first projects. The communication designers,
both of whom were born in 1985, met whilst
studying object and room design at the University
of Applied Sciences and Arts in Dortmund.
Their friendship and common ideas about what
constitutes good design led them to set up their
design studio, “Prinzträger,” in Bochum, specialising
in spatial staging and scenography.
The “Neon-Persians” were unusual, rough
and snotty indie-designs. Nothing off the rack.
The same went for their guidance system for the
“Rundlauf” culture festival through “Speckschweiz”
in the Bochum suburb of Hamme. Here, seemingly
abstract pink and black installations made of foam
panels pointed the way through the district. In Witten’s
“Wiesenviertel” they gave a fresh meaning to
Christmas lighting. Instead of kitschy angels, the two
designers from “Prinzträger” hung warmly-lit lampshades
from bygone living rooms on the trees in
the streets. In 2014 they turned the forecourt of the
Dortmunder U into a temporary living room to be
used on mild evenings. For the “Summer at the U”
Now the designers have two permanent employees.
Their projects have become even more
elaborate, but still carry the urban charm of their
earlier works. The simple and beautiful sandwich
board outside the organic baker “Back Bord” is
just as much their responsibility as their design
for the start-up catering service “Pottsalat” in
Dortmund and Essen. Kick-off workshops with
customers mark the start of every collaborative
venture. No matter what this may be, the important
thing is to come up with some ideas together.
This has worked excellently so far, whether it be
for small, urban interventions or large contracts
like the interior design of “Signals Open Studios”,
an innovation hub belonging to the Berlin-based
“Signal-Iduna” insurance company. Although the
“Neon Persians” have been around for a while,
the pair have not forgotten the art of combining a
relaxed approach with an eye for detail.
→ PRINZTRAEGER.DE
NIKITA TERYOSHIN
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LETTERJAZZ
Cream pastries
and a grinning cat
In Essen, Dirk Uhlenbrock's
company
“Erste Liga”, creates
things with a slightly
nostalgic character.
TEXT
Volker K. Belghaus
When anyone asks Dirk Uhlenbrock whether he’s
annoyed to be called a “retro designer”, he replies
with a laugh: “Not at all, I’m an old-timer myself!”
Not because he pines for the good old days, but
because he is interested in things that are worth
preserving, be it a tape dispenser or a vintage
stamp. His design studio, “Erste Liga”, in the Essen
suburb of Werden, is filled with fine specimens:
posters, advertising signs, toys and model cars.
The retro influence is unmistakable in
Uhlenbrock’s graphic works and illustrations:
curved typefaces in the style of the 50s and 60s,
a matching, matt colour palette, and seemingly
worn surfaces. Uhlenbrock was born in Essen
in 1964 and became interested in typography at
an early age. He was particularly fascinated by
the “Letraset” typeface catalogues belonging to
his great-uncle. While studying communication
design in Wuppertal, he focused on typography
and illustrations. At that time – the early 90s – the
digitalisation of the industry began. He designed
and programmed his own first fonts on a computer
using software like “Fontographer”.
In 2009 he co-founded the “Erste Liga”
design office with the bookseller Thomas Schmitz,
who supplies the local residents of Werden with
reading matter. Uhlenbrock had previously worked
on the visual communication in the bookshop,
so this was a logical step. Together, they created
things like the customer magazine “schmitzkatze”
using cleverly differing covers for each edition.
Sometimes a cat is depicted in the style of Flemish
Old Masters, at other times it’s nothing more than
GRAPHIC WORKS
→ DIRKUHLENBROCK.COM
→ ERSTELIGA.WORK
→ KILIFUE.DE
→ LETTERJAZZ.COM
SCHMITZ. DIE BUCHHANDLUNG
Grafenstr. 4 | 45239 Essen
→ SCHMITZBUCH.DE
a red ball of wool. Once a year they publish a children’s
literature guide, “Kilifü”, for customers, kindergartens,
schools and other interested persons.
The guide provides information on 300 new books
for children and teenagers. Thanks to years of
collaborative work, Uhlenbrock has gradually given
this tranquil district on the River Ruhr a special
visual language. His stylishly designed recipe book
“Sol-Ei & Sahneschnitte” (Pickled Eggs & Cream
Pastries) need not fear the competition from
books in design stores. Its illustrations of buildings
in Werden even make half-timbered houses look
cool.
ERSTE LIGA
Uhlenbrock is equally happy working with
the Essen-based print shop “Letterjazz”, which
prints, embosses and folds material on vintage
machines dating back to the 1950s. Their joint
projects, like specially embossed magazine
covers and lovingly designed, haptically beautiful
New Year’s cards, give them the creative and
technical freedom they need. And when Dirk
Uhlenbrock has some spare time in between, he
rummages through the beautiful items in his drawers,
finds an old stamp with adjustable rubber letters
and decides to digitalise it into a new font to
save it for posterity. 2021 will see the publication
of a new recipe book – for soups. The successor
to the pickled eggs. Tasty. And beautiful.
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…and
away we
go!
Subterranean light installations,
fragile treasures in a gasometer
and electric sounds in the park –
Poly’s cultural tips for 2021.
FRANK VINKEN, ZENTRUM FÜR INTERNATIONALE LICHTKUNST UNNA
Art
THE FOLKWANG MUSEUM:
MARTIN KIPPENBERGER
Essen is home to one of the most important
art museums in Germany: the Folkwang Museum
has recently been enlarged, not only by
the top British architect David Chipperfield.
Its growing collection of 65,000 photographs
alone – including works by Otto Steinert,
August Sander and others – is legendary. In
spring 2021 there will be a great show in the
literal sense of the word: a huge installation
by Martin Kippenberger, featuring a green
field with rows of tables, chairs and shelves
reminiscent of an open-plan office. At the
same time, the Villa Hügel will be exhibiting
Kippenberger’s artist books and posters.
ESSEN | Museumsplatz 1 | 7th February to 2nd May
→ MUSEUM-FOLKWANG.DE
A NEW EXTENSION TO THE
KÜPPERSMÜHLE MUSEUM
In Duisburg’s bustling inner harbour you can
find one of the most important collections of
post-war German art at the Küppersmühle
Museum. In the 1990s, the Swiss architects
Herzog & de Meuron converted it from a 19th
century warehouse building – with six-metre
high walls, grey basalt flooring, narrow window
slits and an interior staircase made of terracotta-coloured
concrete. Its coiling walkways are
at times reminiscent of a snail shell, at other
times of an abstract sculpture. The collection
of more than 2000 works, including those by
Gerhard Richter and Anselm Kiefer, is now
so extensive that more space is needed to
accommodate it. A tripartite extension is being
prepared to provide more space from March
2021. There will then be an exhibition terrace
attached to the old mill silos, and the granary
will be opened to visitors for the first time.
DUISBURG | Philosophenweg 55 | From March
→ MUSEUM-KUEPPERSMUEHLE.DE
THE CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL
LIGHT ART WILL BE 20
In the east of the Ruhrgebiet there is a
place where you can find light at the end
of the tunnel. The town of Unna is home to
the Centre for International Light Art, which
celebrates its 20th anniversary in May
2021. Light installations by Olafur Eliasson,
Rebecca Horn and James Turrell shine out
in the tunnel-like rooms and passageways
of the former Linden brewery.
UNNA | Lindenplatz 1 | From May
→ LICHTKUNST-UNNA.DE
A “U” FOR DORTMUND
People associate Dortmund with football,
mining, steel... and a single letter, “U”, lit up on
the roof of the old Union Brewery building near
the central station. It signals the way to one of
the region’s most exciting cultural institutions.
A centre for art and creative activities can
now be found in a place where people once
brewed beer. Here the Ostwall Museum offers
contemporary art, and the Hartware Medien-
KunstVerein presents videos and experimental
works. Around the façade and crowning the
roof, the film director Adolf Winkelmann has set
up an installation entitled “Flying Pictures” –
now also complete with a Corona hygiene
concept. Every second seat between his projected
city pigeons will remain unoccupied.
DORTMUND | Leonie-Reygers-Terrasse
→ DORTMUNDER-U.DE
THE PHOTO/MEDIA ART AND
THE C.A.R. TRADE FAIRS
The Photo/Media Art Trade Fair is specifically
devoted to media art. The event in spring
features international galleries, art schools
and artists with presentations of photos, installations,
videos, animations and light art. In
autumn the art scene meets up at the C.A.R.
(Contemporary Art Ruhr) trade fair. Here
galleries and artists will be presenting their
works in five halls. Not simply exhibitions but
also workshops and performances.
ESSEN | Zollverein | 12th to 14th March, and
29th to 31st October
→ CONTEMPORARYARTRUHR.DE
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Photography
Film
Tip
Theatre
F² FESTIVAL
Where do I come from? Who do I belong to?
Where do I want to go? The f² photo festival
revolves around such fundamental questions.
Contemporary photos from all over the world
on the theme of identity – often political,
mostly critical – will be on show. If you are
planning to visit the festival you can kill two
birds with one stone. Because the exhibitions
will be on show in various corners of the city,
you can take the City Trip free of charge.
DORTMUND | 17th to 27th June
→ F2FOTOFESTIVAL.DE
THE RUHRGEBIET IN PICTURES
Two great exhibitions will be marking the
100th anniversary of the Ruhr Regional Association,
which has played a decisive role in
shaping and planning the region. “100 Years
in the Ruhrgebiet” in the Ruhr Museum will be
using more than 1000 exhibits to depict the
historical development of the area. “Looking
to the Future” in the Peter Behrens Building
in Oberhausen will present a collection of
photos from the Association’s huge picture
archive covering the subjects of mobility,
living, working, leisure and culture.
ESSEN | Ruhr Museum | Zollverein | until 9 May 2021
→ RUHRMUSEUM.DE
OBERHAUSEN | LVR Industrial Museum
Peter-Behrens-Bau | until 30 May 2021
→ INDUSTRIEMUSEUM.LVR.DE
THE INTERNATIONAL
WOMEN'S FILM FESTIVAL
This is where women directors, camerawomen
and other film artists have the chance to
show their current work.
DORTMUND | 20th to 25th April
→ FRAUENFILMFESTIVAL.EU
THE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
Tireless film fans will find it well worth
their while to take a trip to the west of the
Ruhrgebiet for the International Short Film
Festival in Oberhausen, where everything
revolves around compact formats. Here,
short feature films, music videos, documentaries,
cartoons, animations and political
essays flicker across the screens of the
“Lichtburg Filmpalast” and the cinema
in the Roller Warehouse. The children’s
and young people’s film competition will
be presenting a programme suitable for
three-year olds and upwards. In addition,
international and German online competitions,
and a contest for international music
videos will be celebrating their premieres in
Oberhausen for the first time on the net.
OBERHAUSEN | 1st to 10th March
→ KURZFILMTAGE.DE
THE BLICKE FILM FESTIVAL
In 2021 the festival will be featuring films all
about the Ruhrgebiet.
BOCHUM | November
→ BLICKE.ORG
THE FILM WEEK
The 45th edition of the festival will be
devoted to first-class documentaries from
Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
DUISBURG | 8th to 14th November
→ DUISBURGER-FILMWOCHE.DE
THE RUHRTRIENNALE
PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL
It’s not only one of the largest, but also one
of the most unconventional arts festivals
in the Ruhrgebiet. The Ruhrtriennale takes
place every year in and around the region’s
monumental industrial monuments: places
like the “Jahrhunderthalle” in Bochum, the
engine room in the Carl Colliery in Essen,
and on the Haniel spoil tip in Bottrop. The
multidisciplinary programme is easily as varied
as its challenging backdrops. It features many
world premieres and new productions from
the worlds of music theatre, drama, dance
and performance, and the visual arts. At times
provocative and often surprising! In order
to avoid retreading old ground, the festival is
given a new director every three years.
Between 2021 and 2023 this will be the Swiss
director Barbara Frey.
ESSEN, BOTTROP, OBERHAUSEN
August to September
→ RUHRTRIENNALE.DE
SCENE FROM THE IMPULSE FESTIVAL. PHOTO: NICOLE WYTYCZAK
BAROQUE
In her world premiere production, Belgian
director Lies Pauwels addresses some existential
questions.
SCHAUSPIELHAUS BOCHUM | Königsalle 15
February
→ SCHAUSPIELHAUSBOCHUM.DE
NEBRASKA
The tale of two teenagers in the form of a
tense road-movie thriller.
THEATER OBERHAUSEN | Will-Quadflieg-Platz 1
From 15th May
→ THEATER-OBERHAUSEN.DE
STÜCKE (LIT: PLAYS)
This traditional theatre festival will be celebrating
its 45th birthday with a plethora of
premieres.
THEATER AN DER RUHR MÜLHEIM | 8th to 29th May
→ STUECKE.DE
SOUNDTRAM 21
This sound project will be travelling all over
Dortmund – trams and buses included! –
with musicians, performers and audiences.
Feel free to participate!
DORTMUND | Theaterkarree 1-3 | June
→ THEATERDO.DE
THE IMPULSE THEATRE FESTIVAL
At the fringe theatre get-together the Berlin-based
artists’ group “Club Real” plans to
develop a public project space in Mülheim,
amongst others.
MÜLHEIM | June
→ IMPULSEFESTIVAL.DE
PRIZE-WINNING PUPPETRY
The Fritz Wortelmann Prize is the oldest
artistic award given by the city of Bochum –
and a special one at that! All the competition
entries are performed live in front of an
audience. Everything from marionettes
to glove puppets.
BOCHUM | 16th to 19th September
→ FIDENA.DE
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Industrial
Heritage
THE GASOMETER
This is one of the most spectacular exhibition
spaces in the Ruhrgebiet – not only because
of its enormous size, which even inspired the
“packaging” artist Christo to create some
work there. After a phase of reconstruction,
the Gasometer will be reopened in spring
2021 with an exhibition entitled “The Fragile
Paradise”, dealing with both the beauty and
the destruction of the natural world. To this
end, recent satellite images will be projected
onto a monumental sculpture of the earth.
OBERHAUSEN | Arenastraße 11 | Early 2021
→ GASOMETER.DE
EXTRASCHICHT (LIT: EXTRA SHIFT)
It’s possible to travel the whole area in a
single night – thanks to the “ExtraSchicht”.
The 20th anniversary celebratory programme
will be taking place from 6 pm. to 2 am.
and offering tours to installations, theatrical
improvisations, illuminations and digital art.
Hologram shows, augmented reality experiences
and a virtual bicycle tour through the
night are also being planned. All including a
new location: the training colliery in Recklinghausen.
RECKLINGHAUSEN | 26 June 2021
→ EXTRASCHICHT.DE
THE GERMAN MINING MUSEUM
In 1929 operations ended at the Germania
colliery in the Dortmund suburb of Marten. In
1973 its winding tower was moved to Bochum.
A new building designed by the Zollverein architect
Fritz Schupp had been erected here
in 1935, and the Dortmund tower was added
much later. The illusion of a mine has been
perfect ever since. Even the depth is a fake:
instead of plunging thousands of metres into
the earth, visitors descend about 20 metres
in a lift. To arrive in the cellar.
→ BERGBAUMUSEUM.DE
Music
THE MOERS FESTIVAL
The Moers Festival will be turning 50 and
celebrating half a century of musical improvisation
and experiments in the festival hall and
other venues throughout the town.
MOERS | 21st to 24th May
→ MOERS-FESTIVAL.DE
KLAVIERFESTIVAL RUHR
Top-class international pianists will be
performing in numerous towns and cities in
the Ruhrgebiet.
MOERS TO GELSENKIRCHEN | Summer
→ KLAVIERFESTIVAL.DE
THE TRAUMZEIT (DREAMTIME) FESTIVAL
Three days, four stages and 40 bands! Pop,
folk and indie music against the backdrop of
a dreamlike industrial setting.
DUISBURG | North Landscape Park | 18th to 20th June
→ TRAUMZEIT-FESTIVAL.DE
PALUMA OPEN AIR
A major festival for Deephouse and Techno.
BOCHUM | Westpark Bochum | 29th May
→ PALUMA-FESTIVAL.DE
PARKSOUNDS
A series of electronic music concerts for
visitors to enjoy whilst lounging in the park.
Entrance free
ESSEN | Stadtgarten | 28th June to 2nd July
→ THEATER-ESSEN.DE
BOCHUM TOTAL
A rock and pop festival with a long tradition.
Entrance free
BOCHUM | The Bermuda Triangle | 1st to 4th July
→ BOCHUMTOTAL.DE
JUICY BEATS
Every year as many as 50,000 music fans
flock to the former site of the National
Garden Show to hear hip-hop, electro,
alternative and worldbeat music.
DORTMUND | Westfalen Park | 23rd and 24th July
→ JUICYBEATS.NET
Dance
TANZ NRW
Every two years the festival brings together
companies, choreographers and ensembles
from all over the country.
ESSEN | PACT Zollverein and MÜLHEIM | Ringlok-
schuppen Ruhr | 28th April to 9th May
→ TANZ-NRW-AKTUELL.DE
MUSIKTHEATER IM REVIER
The Dance Company dares to take a look
into the future in “Shoot me into the Green
Screen 2”.
GELSENKIRCHEN | Kennedyplatz
From 21st March to June
→ MUSIKTHEATER-IM-REVIER.DE
MIR DANCE COMPANY: SHOOT ME INTO THE GREEN SCREEN, VALERIA REBECK
History
HALLELUJA!
The Icon Museum Recklinghausen in the
middle of the Ruhrgebiet explores the
history of religion and the veneration of
saints. The museum opened in 1956 and its
collection of around 3500 icon paintings,
which has made it famous throughout
the world, is housed in what was once a
school. In addition to portraits of saints,
the museum also displays fine gold embroidery,
precious miniatures, carved wooden
crosses and liturgical objects from Russia,
Greece and Ethiopia. For a journey back in
time to ancient Egypt, you have to go upstairs
to the second floor. Here you will find
portraits of mummies, grave reliefs, textiles
and architectural fragments. A time travel
into the first millennium AD!
RECKLINGHAUSEN | Kirchplatz 2a
→ IKONEN-MUSEUM.COM
DINOSAURS IN ESSEN
You can find out what the Ruhr looked like
300,000,000 years ago and the changes
the region has undergone to this day in
the Ruhr Museum on the Zollverein UN-
ESCO World Heritage Site in Essen. The
exhibition “Nature, Culture and History of
the Ruhr Area” features more than 6000
exhibits, from skeletons of dinosaurs to
working clothes. And all this in the imposing
architecture of the former coal washing
plant. Even the entrance is a visual treat.
A long bright outdoor orange escalator
designed by the top international architect
Rem Koolhaas, takes visitors up into the
building.
ESSEN | Gelsenkirchener Str. 181
→ RUHRMUSEUM.DE
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOCHUM!
The city will be celebrating its 700th
anniversary from 8th to 13th June, with a
week-long festival of picnics, festivities and
duels between the various districts. "Time
Tunnel" tours through the city’s history are
also on offer.
PRETTY
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Urban Arts
in the Ruhr Area
arty
All the Ruhr's a stage! And we shall
be showing you where. The Ruhr Urban
Arts programme uses exhibitions, discussion
groups, residencies and public space
projects to anchor contemporary art in
the area. (→ p. 42) The man with the hat: who
else but Joseph Beuys! 2021 marks the
100th birthday of the artist, shaman and
activist. (→ p. 46) What is urbanana? An attitude
to travel. (→ p. 50) The “Ringlokschuppen”
in Mülheim is one of the most innovative
fringe theatre centres. This is the home of
the “Kainkollektiv” and “Anna Kpok”. (→ p. 54)
The people’s theatre: that's the “Ruhrfestspielhaus”
in Recklinghausen. We shall be
telling you all about its history. (→ p. 60) The
Ruhrgebiet's industrial heritage can be
explored in many different ways. (→ p. 62) The
Ruhrgebiet in shorts! The Author Ariel
Magnus is discovering the Ruhrgebiet
literally. (→ p. 64) In addition we shall be giving
you a few book tips. (→ p. 66)
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Back to
nature
HEINRICH HOLTGREVE, URBAN ARTS RUHR 2020
TEXT
Stefanie Stadel
POLY MAG 2021
The Ruhr Urban Arts programme
uses exhibitions, discussion
groups, residencies and public
space projects to anchor contemporary
art in the district. A central
feature in its varied programme
is an exhibition entitled “Ruhr Ding”,
which has a different theme every
year. Currently it’s all about the
climate: some 20 international artists
between Haltern and Herne
have been asked to express their
views on the topic by using guided
audio walks on sandy beaches
and installing man-made landscapes
in disused collieries.
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43

Deborah Ligorio intends to plant three trees in the
sandy landscape at the Silver Lake in Haltern: a
place where the sun is at its most intense in summer
and where shade is a gift. Her idea is for them
to provide a reliable protection against the heat
and dangerous UV rays. At the same time they
will also mark the start of a walk along the shore.
For this the artist has developed a guided audio
walk that will draw our attention to the natural
phenomena in the newly-created ecosystem in
the man-made watery landscape. While workers
from the quartz quarries continue to dig furiously
for the coveted fine-grain sand all around, some
areas have already been restored to their natural
peaceful state and others have been transformed
into a highly popular beautiful beach.
When the bathing season starts in Haltern,
the “Ruhr Ding” will also begin. Some 20
artists will be setting up their works at various
locations in a radius extending from the beach
in Haltern and McDonalds in the pedestrian precinct
in Herne, to the General Blumenthal colliery
in Recklinghausen. All the works will deal with
the theme of the climate in some way or other.
This might mean global warming, but it could also
mean social co-existence.
“It is vitally important that the themes for
‘Ruhr Ding’ have a lot to do with the region”, says
Britta Peters. She has been able to gather a wealth
of experience from similar art projects - for example
when she was part of the curatorial team for the
Münster Sculpture Projects in 2017. As the head of
Urban Arts Ruhr she launched a new decentralised
exhibition format known as “Ruhr Ding” in 2019
and dedicated the first instalment (with the motto
“Territories”), to regional and national demarcation
movements. In doing so, she was thinking both of
the petty disputes among the Ruhrgebiet cities and
of the growing right-wing populism.
However, due to Corona the second instalment
of “Ruhr Ding” got caught in the starting
blocks in spring 2020. Before the lockdown
arrived, much had already been commissioned
or even finished. One of these was Michel de
Broin’s gigantic replica of a grain of quartz sand
in Haltern, which is now being installed in the
lake there. If you want to take a closer look at
the highly polished stainless steel structure, you
will have to enter the water! Perhaps this will
make you aware of the value of the coveted
raw material. The fine, bleached sand is in huge
demand from foundries and glassworks, mechanical
engineers and the automotive industry.
Its success story began in the 19th century and
has resulted in an entire silver lake in Haltern.
Britta Peters was on the road with “Territories”
in 2019 in Bochum, Dortmund, Essen and
Oberhausen. There is a reason why she is now
looking for locations further north in the Ruhgebiet
for the “Klima Ding” project.
“From an environmental
point of view,
this area is still
suffering from the
worst effects of
industrialisation.”
Britta Peters
She adds that the South abandoned coal
and steel production much earlier, and is now
recovering better from the damage caused. The
North has not yet reached that point.
Maybe Hayden Fowler will help it on its return
to nature. The artist wants to create a kind of
artificial landscape in the former miners’ washroom
in the Blumenthal colliery in Recklinghausen, by
cultivating all kinds of plants that were once native
to the area. These have long since been made extinct
because other species have displaced them
or because industrialisation destroyed them. Now
everything here is meant to blossom anew as it will
be nurtured and enlivened by an artistic irrigation
system. In addition to Fowler’s plant-growing
project, Monira Al Qadiris (who was born in Kuwait
and now lives in Berlin), is planning an installation
of strikingly painted, iridescent, rotating oil well
heads. Her aim is to conjure up a touch of science
fiction in the old colliery.
After stops in Haltern and Recklinghausen,
the “Ruhr Ding” tour will be stopping in Herne.
Motorists are not the only ones who can visit the
“Unser Fritz” local history museum to see how
the sprawling Ruhrgebiet has been straightened
out and concreted over since the 1960s to make
it fit for the future. In Herne too, town planners
followed the idea of adapting a town to the
needs of motorists. And look how the unwelcome
result still defines us today! The show will
also be exploring such questions. If you arrive
by train you will pass through the Old Station
Waiting Room. There, Ana Alenso will be looking
far beyond the end of her nose. The work of the
artist (who grew up in Venezuela and has long
lived in Berlin), will take us to the Amazon. Here
illegal gold-diggers are cutting deep swathes into
the rainforest, with devastating consequences
for plants, animals and the climate.
And what would happen if everything
had a say? Like thistles, edible snails and
Blackcap warblers… The artists’ group “Club
Real”, which is based in Vienna and Berlin, is
not only serious about this: it is taking a close
look at everything that creeps and flees, grows
and flourishes there. Take Gelsenkirchen, for
example. All the residents in a defined habitat
are given a voice in the “Parliament of Organisms”,
whose members discuss the interests of
all living creatures and plants and try to find
solutions.
Many advocates would surely welcome
Natalie Bookchin’s contribution to “Ruhr Ding”.
Britta Peters has had an eye on the US media
artist for quite some time, but has always
hesitated to suggest a collaboration because
of the long distances involved. The more so
because the “Ruhr Ding” is about specific
site-related works that need a longer stay in
the Ruhrgebiet. But now the Corona pandemic
and the new significance which digital art has
taken on as a way to meet and exchange ideas
has led her to reconsider.
Bookchin has simply planned her project
from New York. She asked people in quarantine
to use their cell phones to record short videos
of their own bodies and the things they see or
hear in their immediate surroundings. The result
is a large video and sound installation that will
find its way into the Ruhrgebiet without damaging
the climate from long-distance flights.
HEINRICH HOLTGREVE, URBAN ARTS RUHR 2020
THE “RUHR DING:
CLIMATE” PROJECT
will be running from 8th may
to 27th june at different locations
in Haltern, Recklinghausen,
Herne
and Gelsenkirchen
→ URBANEKUENSTE
RUHR.DE
The doors of the disused Blumenthal colliery in
Recklinghausen will be open again from May for
the “Ruhr Ding”.
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The
Man
Artist, shaman and activist – 2021
marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of
Joseph Beuys. Essen, Dortmund and Duisburg
will be showing the things that still connect
him to the area today and how relevant his
ideas remain.
with
the Hat
CAROLINE TISDAL
TEXT
Stefanie Stadel
Joseph Beuys (1921-1986), came from the Lower Rhine and
worked mainly in Düsseldorf as an artist and teacher. But a
number of important roots in his art extend into the Ruhr
area – in particular his political spirit has had a lasting effect
here. So when North Rhine-Westphalia celebrates the 100th
anniversary of his birth it will have plenty to say about the
draughtsman, sculptor, action and installation artist, teacher,
politician and activist.
In Duisburg, for example, people still recall a memorable
event in January 1986, when the man with the hat came
to the lectern to present the Wilhelm Lehmbruck Prize. Although
he had never met the sculptor, who was 40 years older
than him, let alone been his pupil, Beuys began his lecture
with the words: “I would like to thank my teacher Wilhelm
Lehmbruck.” Beuys was rather more addressing a “basic experience”
that he had had with regard to a work by Lehmbruck.
It was only a picture, but this had been enough to awaken in
him the desire to become a sculptor. The anniversary exhibition
in Duisburg will trace this special relationship. It aims to
reveal points of contact by interacting and juxtaposing works
by the two artists. If we look at Lehmbruck’s “The Fallen”,
“A Seated Young Man” or the “Head of a Thinker”, for example,
it quickly becomes clear that the sculptor penetrated deeply
inside himself to give human suffering a three-dimensional
expression. This impulse in particular was probably what
interested and inspired Beuys.
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LEHMBRUCK MUSEUM | DUISBURG
“Lehmbruck – Beuys. Everything is
Sculpture”
26. June to 17. October 2021
ZECHE ZOLLVEREIN | ESSEN
“Invisible Sculpture. The Expanded
Concept of Art after Joseph Beuys”
10. May to 26. September 2021
ruhrkunstmuseen.com
HARTWARE MEDIENKUNSTVEREIN
(HMKV) | DORTMUND
“Technoschamanism”
23. October 2021 to 20. March 2022
→ BEUYS2021.DE
Another side of Beuys’ work is revealed in Essen. The
exhibition at the Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site will
adopt a more cultural-historical approach, focusing in particular
on Beuys’ commitment to democracy, ecology and his
new understanding of creativity. One of the curators, Carla
Zimmermann explains:
“What moves us is that the ideas Beuys had
on these three areas were incredibly
innovative at the time and are still extremely
central and important today.”
Beuys’ thoughts on capital and the idea of money
reappear in the current debates on an unconditional basic
income. And his fight for a responsible approach to nature
is continued in the “Fridays for Future” movement. The extremely
active Gelsenkirchen branch of his Free International
University (FIU), was an important anchor for Beuys in the
Ruhrgebiet. Various demonstrations were organised here - for
example, the one against Beuys’ dismissal as an academy
professor and another in favour of the Green Party which
was taking shape at the time. In Gelsenkirchen, his “extended
concept of art” was thus taken directly onto the streets. This
will also be one of the themes in Essen.
Dortmund will also be building a bridge into the 21st
century. The show by the Hartware Medienkunstverein
(HMKV) will seek its starting point in his role as a shaman,
something which Beuys so loved to adopt and which he cultivated
throughout his life. The exhibition will reveal something
comparable in the “Technoshamanism” of contemporary
artists, who have updated Beuys’ strategies to fit the present
(digital) age.
21 Museums. 11 Stages.
1 Cultural Area.
Experience art and culture
in the Ruhr area. You will love it!
Ministry of Economic Affairs,
Innovation, Digitalization and Energy of the
State of North Rhine-Westphalia
James Turrell „Floater 99“, © Frank Vinken
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What is
ur banana?
“urbanana” is not simply a destination.
It’s a travel attitude. Curiosity drives
travellers to explore this often overlooked
mega metropolitan region of ten million
people. The constantly transforming Ruhr
Area, artsy Düsseldorf and eclectic Cologne
make the perfect urban trio for your
next expedition!
Take a look at the map and you’ll
see the urban heart of North Rhine-Westphalia
spread out in the shape of a banana.
That’s how this extraordinary project,
which gives voice to the creative artists
in this vibrant conurbation, got its name.
But what exactly is urbanana?
Whether you come as a tourist or
come to stay – or come as a tourist and
end up staying – the singular and diverse
identity of urbanana will inspire you. Let us
introduce you to three locals and visitors
from urbanana, who are here to tell their
story. Who could explain it better than
them?
WANT TO KNOW
MORE
ABOUT URBANANA?
CHECK US OUT
→ URBANANA.DE
→ @GOINGURBANANA
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Stefan Huber,
36, Social Worker
and Backliner
living in Essen
It was at a festival in Hungary, where Stefan
met his future wife. He left his gentle, contemplative
home in the Austrian Alps to move
to the Ruhr Area.
“Living in Salzburger Land, I was simply
a tradesman. After coming here, I quickly realized
that I wanted to do something else. I became
a bit of a jack of all trades. These days, I
work with people in all kinds of different social
projects. And the Ruhr Area became my
home.” Stefan exchanged the mountains for
slag heaps and his sledge for a bike.
with more than a million people, you’re never
really very far from nature. And there’s the
incredible industrial culture, of course. All this
ongoing transformation still fascinates me.”
In urbanana, Stefan began to work
as a backline engineer at concerts and festivals.
“It’s exciting, because it takes me to
places all over Europe. But very often I’m
actually able to return home for the night
to sleep. I love it that I never have to go far,
there is so much going on in urbanana, and
I’m at the centre of it all.”
Veronika Borisenok,
24, a tourist from
Moscow, visited
urbanana twice in
2019
I could speak to anyone. It fascinated me
that I saw so many activities people organized
themselves. I travel a lot, but I’ve never
felt like I wanted to stay anywhere for a very
long time. But the experience that I got in
urbanana made me think, that this is the way
I want to live.”
Even though the cities in urbanana are
so well-connected, she finds them all unique
in their own way. In Düsseldorf, Nika liked the
cool buildings at the Media Harbour and the
way modern architecture connects with older
styles. “Things look so balanced there.” And
there are so many spots left in urbanana still
waiting to be explored. “I love Wim Wenders’
movies. I’ve seen the documentary film, Pina,
so now I want to visit Wuppertal and ride its
famous suspension railway. Next time!”
It was out of a sense of opportunity
that Baldeep (who prefers to use a gender-neutral
pronoun) took the chance
presented by their university in Mumbai,
to come to Düsseldorf as an international
student. It wasn’t all glam and glitter, but
the authenticity of the place touched them
deeply. Baldeep decided to stay.
“The library nearby offered so many
great books to read. I’d sit for hours in the
cafés around and just soak up the creative
atmosphere.” Baldeep loved walking the
city, too, and came to appreciate the freedom
the region offers. “The quality of life
in urbanana is very high. Like being able to
take a late run at 1 am (which I could never
do in Mumbai), and seeing the campus and
city so quiet but safe at night.”
It’s this melting pot of creativity and
the wide spectrum of leisure activities,
which make Stefan so enthusiastic about
urbanana. “I live in Essen, which is pretty
much at the heart of the Ruhr Area. Going
from here in any direction, you sometimes
don’t even realize you’re passing through
city limits. I have two hobbies that I travel
around a lot for. I’ve been the guitarist of
many different bands over the past years.
I also play ice hockey and travel around
for matches. Everything is very close in
urbanana. Despite living in an urban jungle
Veronika, known as Nika by all her
friends, had a two-day layover in urbanana
while on her way to her honeymoon in
Spain. It left such a remarkable impression;
the professional photographer from Moscow
came back just a couple of weeks later.
“When I travel, I like to find interesting,
unique and authentic places. Even if the
place is famous, like Cologne’s cathedral, I
try to show it in an unusual way. But this city
is so much more; its streets, its cool bars
and cafés and the people who live here.
Cologne has stolen my heart.”
The short stopover became one of
the most inspiring trips in Nika’s life. “I believe
that I fell in love with urbanana not just
because of its beauty and architecture, but
because I felt as part of a community, and
Baldeep Grewal,
26, an international
student from
Punjab, India, spent
a semester at
Heinrich-Heine University,
Düsseldorf
There was so much to explore within
the city. Like the time Baldeep visited
Japan Day in Düsseldorf. “Just when I
thought I had Düsseldorf figured out, I was
overwhelmed by the energy of this festival.
I didn’t even know about this facet of
the city. Seeing all these people putting
so much effort into their costumes – so
authentic, so into the details. The creative
vibe was wonderful.”
Baldeep made use of the wide train
network and visited other nearby cities in
the urban jungle of urbanana, too. “Probably
the nicest day I had, was when I visited
the Gasometer in Oberhausen. I remember
climbing up to the rooftop and having
this great view over Oberhausen and the
surrounding cities. Maybe it was then that I
knew I was going to stay.”
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TEXTE
Sascha Westphal
It goes without saying that
there are a huge number of theatres
in the Rhine/Ruhr area. That said, two
out-of-the-ordinary ensembles are
interpreting the good old art of theatre
in their own particular way. The “kainkollektiv”
takes its audience into
stories about art and colonial history.
And anyone who wants to leave a
show by “Anna Kpok” must first solve
a few riddles. The headquarters of
both these groups is the Ringlokschuppen
Ruhr, a disused railway roundhouse
in Mülheim, which has developed
into one of the most innovative fringe
theatre platforms in the Germanlanguage
world.
RINGLOKSCHUPPEN RUHR
Am Schloß Broich 38
45479 Mülheim an der Ruhr
→ RINGLOKSCHUPPEN.RUHR
BJÖRN STORK
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RINGLOCKSCHUPPEN
“Anna Kpok” is a collective whose name
is made up of the surnames of its initial
members. That was in 2009.
“From the very beginning, we had a
keen interest in the exchange between artists
and audience”, says founding member
Klaas Werner. With its show “Anna Kpok
and the Last Zombie”, the group brought
jump’n’run adventures into analogue game
situations. As in Super Mario Bros., the audience
guided an avatar (or actor) through an
obstacle course where vicious enemies had
to be eliminated. To do this, however, they
only had pairs of commands at their disposal,
like “Left / Right” or “Duck / Jump”.
In the meantime the
group has moved
away from such typical
game patterns.
“We believe in feedback channels”,
says Klaas Werner, “even if they have recently
come into disrepute on the Internet
because of the comments”. Here he means
that the audience should be given more
opportunities to intervene during a game.
But it’s also about the feedback at the end
of each show, from which Anna Kpok draws
its inspiration for later work. The feedback
is also regarded as a kind of democratic
forum in which the audience can discuss the
themes in the productions in more detail.
In this sense, from November 2021
onwards a show called “Surrounded by
Things” will bring the members of the
audience even more into focus. They will
work their way through an installation in five
rooms. The tour deals with the meaning
and history of serially produced every-dayobjects
– and involves the experiences and
decisions of each individual spectator.
→ANNAKPOK.DE
Theatre
with an Avatar
The Anna Kpok
collective is
transforming the
stage into a
huge gaming
platform.
The place looks like a 1950s science fiction
movie. Mushrooms made of strips of fabric
hang from the ceiling, papier-mâché rocks
lit from within lie on the floor, and hose
pipes protrude from a light grey column
of wooden boards. This is the Andromeda
Rescue Station. The audience is stranded
on a spaceship voyage after an emergency
landing. An Android awaits the audience
in “Shell Game – Lost in Paranoialand”. And
if they want to return to earth they must first
solve the riddles on this bizarre planet. With
its help.
Anyone who visits a show by Anna
Kpok faces a personal challenge – in the
truest sense of the word. Because for
years now this unusual group’s programme
has been known as “Game Theatre”. It not
only permeates the boundaries between
the audience and actor but completely
dissolves them.
That said, the lady with the peculiar
surname is not one person, but many. For
THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE RUHR AREA
URBAN ARTS
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www.ruhrmuseum.de/en

STEPHAN GLAGLA
“It is no longer possible to play a
piece X according to method Y for an
audience Z”, says Fabian Lettow, who runs
the kainkollektiv with Mirjam Schmuck.
Since 2004 they have been working with
artists and collectives from Eastern Europe
and West Africa, France and Madagascar,
Syria and Croatia. Their productions
are not restricted to the history of
colonialism and the current postcolonial
situation. They are also constantly on the
look-out for an international dialogue that
focuses on the history of Europe and its
colonies – on the way to a shared future.
To this end, they mix genres and combine
drama with dance, opera with installations,
live performances and video art.
In 2016 a show entitled “Fin de
Machine” dissected the links between
the creation of a baroque opera and the
slave trade in 1607, when Monteverdi’s
“Orfeo” was first performed in Mantua.
At the same time slave ships were setting
out for the New World off the coast of
Cameroon. The birth of European high
culture (the production ironically used a
quote from a deliberately stiff choreography
based on Handel’s “Water Music”),
was thus contrasted with the suffering of
the oppressed. In February 2021 the focus
may well become more optimistic, with
the help of a futuristic African vision. The
production “Est-ce un humain / Is this a
human being?” has been developed with
the “Zora Snake” company from Cameroon
and the choreographer Njara Rasolomanana
from Madagascar. It contrasts the
present day, which is marked by all kinds
of exploitation, with a (self-made) future
in which humans and animals, plants and
machines live in harmony with each other
in a brave new world.
Dialogue
with the past
The “kainkollektiv”
transcends
borders between
countries,
people and different
eras.
Prospero, the Duke of Milan, has lost his
empire through an intrigue. Now he lives
on a small island off the coast of North
Africa, whose inhabitants he has subjugated
by magic. William Shakespeare’s “The
Tempest” is often referred to as a romantic
fairy tale. However, it loses all its fairytale
romanticism as soon as an African actress
measures it against her knowledge of African
history.
In the kainkollektiv’s production of
“The Tempest” Edith Voges Nana Tchuinang
from Cameroon refuses to portray
the girl Miranda, because she is unable
to identify with her in the play, nor in the
character of a white princess. She tries
out different roles like pieces of clothing
and then sorts them out once more. The
way she sees it, acting always arises from
one’s own feelings and thoughts – but all
the characters from the European literary
and theatre canon mean nothing to her.
© RVR
DIE ZUKUNFT
IM BLICK
Ruhr area photographs from the image
archive of the Regionalverband Ruhr
Special Exhibition 09/20/2020 - 05/30/2021
PETER-BEHRENS-BAU
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Peter-Behrens-Bau
Essener Straße 80 | 46047 Oberhausen
www.diezukunftimblick.lvr.de

The People’s
Theatre
The Ruhrfestspiele is one of the oldest
cultural festivals in Europe and something of a
myth in the world of theatre. Once, Recklinghausen’s
miners coal in echange for art. Most
recently, artistic director Olaf Kröck had the
theatre transformed into a huge gallery. For, and
with, the townsfolk.
TEXT
Sascha Westphal
PHOTOS
Inside Out Project
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May 1st – Mid-June 2021
→ RUHRFESTSPIELE.DE
Adventures of Discovery
It was like being in a theatre foyer or on a
square. Some people immediately stand out
even though you only pass them for a second.
The same is true for the pictures created by the
photographer and street art artist JR, which he
displayed on the outside walls of the Recklinghausen
festival theatre. Some of them simply
had a special unforgettable charisma. For example,
an elderly gentleman in a black top hat, or
the young woman, who seems to be blowing a
large kiss into the camera. In 2020, people from
all areas of life and age groups, from toddlers
to senior citizens, gathered for the exhibition on
Recklinghausen’s “Green Hill”.
The huge installation of
black and white portraits was
a perfect fit for Germany’s
oldest theatre festival, which
has always been a celebration
for the citizens of Recklinghausen
and the Ruhrgebiet.
Around 80,000 people make
it to one of Europe’s most
popular theatre events every
year. In 2020, 800 selfies were
stuck on the glass facade
of the Festspielhaus. Only a
fraction of the usual audience
- and nonetheless a powerful
signal in times of Corona.
JR’s “Inside-Out Project” randomly gathered the
faces of artists and audience, of townsfolk and
decision-makers. Coexistence and cooperation
has always been a tradition in Recklinghausen. In
the summer of 1947 Max Brauer, then Mayor of
Hamburg, announced in front of the assembled
workers at the Recklinghausen colliery “König
Ludwig”: “I can imagine a new and different kind
of festival...a festival not only for writers and a few
select persons, but one in the midst of places of
heavy labour. Yes, a festival for miners in the ‘coal
pot’. Yes, a festival in Recklinghausen and not
Salzburg.”
“My ideal
is to find a way
to reconcile
innovative
contemporary
art with
a high broad
impact.”
Olaf Kröck
When the Ruhrfestspiele announces its programme
it is still common for works councils from
all over Germany to meet, and then order tickets
for their companies. One of the two shareholders is
the German Trades Union Confederation. The 1947
speech was something like the birth of a festival for
the masses, and since then it has always opened
with a huge cultural event on May 1st. Because the
theatres in Hamburg theatres had no fuel to heat
their buildings during the cold post-war winter of
1946/47, they sent some lorries to the Ruhrgebiet.
The first colliery along the way was “König Ludwig”
in Recklinghausen, whose miners loaded the lorries
with coal without the permission
of the British military police.
Theatre operations in Hamburg
theatre were rescued; and in
return, the Hamburg theatres
gave several guest performances
for the miners in the summer
of 1947: “Art for Coal”.
To this day the Recklinghausen
theatre event is a counterpoint
to the Salzburg Festival.
Yet, in no way does it feel
inferior to this famous festival in
terms of quality. Over the years,
all the major German-speaking
stages and renowned international
theatres have given guest
performances here. Legendary shows like Peter
Zadek’s “Lulu” with Susanne Lothar in the title role,
and Frank Castorf’s version of Schiller’s “Die Räuber”
could be enjoyed on the “Green Hill”.
Artistic director Olaf Kröck presents
performances by fringe groups, dance, children’s
and youth theatre and cabaret in addition to
classical plays. The festival must be as diverse
as its audience and the region. This includes the
New Circus, which Kröck calls an “overwhelming
engine”, leaving lots of room for any kind of story
in a language everybody understands: that of the
performing arts.
The Ruhrgebiet’s industrial
heritage can be explored
in many different ways – at
blast furnaces in disused
steel works, pithead gear in coal mines
or on the top of spoil tips from
which there are some breathtaking
views.
Coal, steel, coke and gas have long left their mark on the Ruhr
area - and continue to do so today. The best way to discover
the region and its industrial history is via the Industrial Heritage
Trail. The route covers around 400 kilometres and leads to
the most important sites, with 26 anchor points forming the highlights
along the way. The main destinations include the North
Duisburg Landscape Park, the Open-Air Museum in Hagen and
the “Nachtigall Colliery” in Witten. You can enjoy some amazing
views of the region from the top of greened-over spoil tips like
the Rheinpreußen tip in Moers, the Haniel tip in Bottrop and the
Hoheward tip in Herten.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein is a further
highlight. Once the world’s largest coal mine, it attracts thousands
of visitors to the Ruhrgebiet every year. Including the Ruhr
Museum, the Red Dot Design Museum, the PACT Zollverein
Dance Centre, as well as numerous shops, restaurants, cafés
and studios, the World Heritage Site is a highly popular day-trip
destination. The Zollern Colliery is also something special. The
locals used to call it a “Castle of Labour”, on account of its
imposing red brick buildings. The Art Nouveau steel and stained
glass entrance to the engine house will whisk you back to
another era. And an ensuing tour of the rest of the museum will
make a perfect end to a brief journey into the age of coal dust
and industrial heritage.
RTG / SCHLUTIUS
TIPS
You can find out about
all the anchor points and get
further tips online at
→ INDUSTRIEKULTUR.RUHR
RTG / RAVI SEJK
URBAN ARTS
POLY MAG 2021
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ADVERTORIAL

TEXT
Volker K. Belghaus
The
Ruhrgebiet
in shorts!
The German-Argentinian Author
Ariel Magnus is discovering the
Ruhrgebiet – in the form of short stories.
MAXIMILIANO LUNA/TELAM
Coal mines as an element connecting the
world? Sounds strange at first. But it fits
perfectly into Ariel Magnus’ imagination, the
writer who is living and working in Mülheim
an der Ruhr for a year in 2021. For when
it comes to collieries he has his very own
theory. “I believe that everyone is connected
underground – just like the miners who
worked in teams in single locations”, says
the “Metropolitan Writer”, who is touring the
area under the aegis of the Brost Foundation
– for literary purposes.
The region is uncharted territory for
the German-Argentinean writer. Whatever
the case, he was born in Buenos Aires in
1975, and although he and his wife studied
in Berlin and Heidelberg between 1999 and
2005, he had previously only been in the
Ruhrgebiet for one evening: in 2010 for a
reading in the Königsborn III/IV Colliery
in Bönen. Even as a young man, the silver
mines in the Bolivian town of Potosí had fascinated
him. And in the geography lessons
at his German school, of all the regions in
the country it was the Ruhrgebiet with its
smokestacks that interested him the most.
Ariel Magnus regards mining as a network
linking people and cultures. Even though the
coal industry has been history in the region
since 2018, he says: “I am fascinated by this
nostalgia. It is part of a person’s identity that
they have to live with. But life goes on.” For
research purposes he has therefore also
been reading Frank Goosen’s laconic texts:
“On the one hand, the people here have
had their fill of coal mines, but on the other
hand they have developed an ingenious
self-irony. They regard themselves with a
touch of irony, and they have learnt a lot.”
A conversation with Ariel Magnus
is similar to reading his novels, like his
current publication “The Chess Players of
Buenos Aires”. He has a friendly serenity,
trenchant humour, and is full of cross-references
and allusions with lots of commas
in between. He freely admits that he used
to think that the milieu-soaked films of
Rainer Werner Fassbinder were made in
the Ruhrgebiet, and that the miners’ slang
“Mottek” meant a sledgehammer. But here
Magnus can’t help thinking of his father’s
dog, which was also called “Mottek” – the
Hebrew word for “sweet”.
The previous “Metropolitan Writers”,
Lucas Vogelsang and Wolfram Eilenberger,
approached the Ruhr area in the form of
reportages and philosophical essays. Ariel
Magnus is doing his own thing:
“I am writing fiction.
Not a novel
but short stories.”
Which will then be published under
the title “Kurzgebiete”. One of them is a story
about a miner, Fernando Luis, who takes
a wrong turn in a mine in South America,
only to emerge into the daylight in Unna. A
tale about someone who enters uncharted
territory. Like Ariel Magnus himself.
→ BROSTSTIFTUNG.RUHR
URBAN ARTS
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URBAN ARTS
65

Pick up a
book
There are
many places
for lovers of
literature
in the Ruhrgebiet:
over
170 bookshops,
more
than 60
publishing
houses and
more than
50 libraries.
Here’s a
brief survey.
CRASH, BANG, BOOM!
In Dortmund, comics, cartoons
and caricatures have
found a home just a few
metres from the central train
station. The showroom gives
mangas and graphic novels
their own stage and, for its
exhibitions, publishes excellent
catalogues that are only available
there.
Literary
events in
2021
EUROPA:WESTFALEN
March to May 2021
A major festival of European
and regional literature in
various towns in Westphalia.
→ LITERATURLAND
WESTFALEN.DE
AKAZIENALLEE FESTIVAL
From 24th April 2021
Essen
There may be no trees in
the Akazienallee but to
compensate for that there
is a fine bookshop named
“Proust” and the “Correctiv
bookstore”. Here a small
but select literatary festival
takes place once a year. It
also features a Piaggio Ape
three-wheeler belonging to
the NRW magazine “kultur.
west”. This has to be the
smallest reading stage in the
whole country.
→ BUCHHANDLUNG-
PROUST.DE
BOBIENNALE
27th May to 6th June 2021
Bochum
An art festival organised
by fringe organisations and
featuring a “Literature Day”.
LITERATÜRK
Autumn 2021
Essen & surroundings
A German-Turkish literature
festival featuring readings,
music, writing workshops
and discussions with authors.
→ LITERATUERK.COM
MURDER ON THE HELLWEG
18th September to
13th November 2021
the entire Ruhrgebiet
Europe’s largest detective
story festival comprises
over 200 readings and
prominent authors like Simon
Beckett and Arne Dahl.
→ MORDAMHELLWEG.DE
LIT.RUHR
5th to 10th Octobre 2021
Essen & Bochum
An international literature
festival with a prominent
cast, and an offshoot of Lit.
Cologne. The main reading
venue is the Zollverein
UNESCO World Heritage
site in Essen.
→ LIT.RUHR
THE APHORISTS' MEETING
5th to 7th November 2021
Hattingen
Three days specially
dedicated to aphorisms in
literature and society. These
comprise readings, discussions
and cabaret shows.
TRANSFER. BÜCHER
UND MEDIEN
An der Schlanken Mathilde 3 | Dortmund
→ TRANSFER-DORTMUND.DE
COMICLAND
Provinzialstraße 364 | Dortmund
→ COMICLAND.DE
SCHEUERMANN
Sonnenwall 45 | Duisburg
→ SCHEUERMANN.DE
BUCHHANDLUNG
MIRHOFF & FISCHER
Pieperstraße 12 | Bochum
→ MIRHOFF-FISCHER.DE
LITTLE NEMO
Südring 37 | Bochum
→ LITTLE-NEMO.DE
SCHMITZ. DIE BUCH-
HANDLUNG
Grafenstraße 44 | Essen
→ SCHMITZBUCH.DE
BUCHHANDLUNG IM
LITERATURHAUS HERNE
Bebelstraße 18 | Herne
PROUST
Classy
Bookshops
Akazienallee | Am Handelshof 1 | Essen
NETWORKED READING
It’s not easy to find a balance in the literary scene between
Hamm in the east and Duisburg in the west of the area.
Nonetheless an initiative called “Literaturgebiet Ruhr” is
making an attempt. It networks bookshops, publishers,
literature centres, festivals, municipal libraries, poetry slam
communities and reading stages. On April 24th, authors,
booksellers and publishers will be meeting up during the
“Literatour 100” for readings and discussions throughout
the region. You can find more dates in the calendar of
events – these range from stellar poetry in the planetarium
to the Poetry Slam championship.
→ LITERATURGEBIET.RUHR.DE/VERANSTALTUNGEN
BETWEEN THE PAGES OF A BOOK
Which way should we go now? The “literaturkarte.ruhr”,
a map and also a book, reveals the locations mentioned
in novels and poetry: from the “Kamener Kreuz” motorway
junction (Dietrich Schwanitz, “The Campus”) to the
central station in Bochum (Heinrich Böll, “The Clown”)
and the Hochheide residential park in Duisburg (Karosh
Taha, “A Description of a Crab Migration”).
→ LITERATURKARTE.RUHR
AT HOME WITH BOOKS
Everyone who loves books feels at home in the literature
centres. Here you can have a coffee in peace, read, discuss
books and take part in writing workshops. From 1st
to 13th March the “Literaturhaustage”, a small but select
festival of live readings will be taking place. The Dortmund
“Literaturhaus” will also be celebrating literature at its
annual “LesArt” events. In Oberhausen there are “threecourse
literary menus”, and Unna has reserved a place for
literature in the most beautiful spot in town – the Nicolai
quarter.
LITERATURHAUS HERNE-RUHR | Bebelstraße 18
→ LITERATURHAUS-HERNE-RUHR.DE
WESTFÄLISCHES LITERATURBÜRO UNNA | Nicolaistraße 3
→ WLB.DE
LITERATURHAUS OBERHAUSEN | Marktstraße 146
→ LITERATURHAUS-OBERHAUSEN.DE
LITERATURHAUS DORTMUND | Neuer Graben 78
→ COMIC.DORTMUND.DE
→ BOBIENNALE.DE
→ DAPHA.DE
→ BUCHHANDLUNG-PROUST.DE
→ LITERATURHAUS-DORTMUND.DE
URBAN ARTS
POLY MAG 2021
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67

Prick up your ears!
Music in the Ruhrgebiet.
noi
sy
Luminous Walls can be discovered
in the Church of Christ in Bochum:
along with very unusual concerts where
musicians occasionally blast holy messages
through their amplifiers. (→ p. 70) After
dark: a brief glimpse of some mindblowing
clubs. (→ p. 74) International Coolness:
melancholy songs by the Düsterboys from
Essen. (→ p. 76) Global travellers: the versatile
vocalists in the Chorwerk Ruhr have
been known to stir up the concert scene
by appearing in crazy alien costumes. (→ p. 80)
POLY MAG 2021
NOISY
69

Luminous Walls
ADAM ZEGARMISTRZ GLAGLA
The Christuskirche
(Church
of Christ) is many
things: a listed
building, a place of
art and a concert
hall for classical,
jazz, indie and metal
music. But above
all it is one of the
most unusual churches
in the region,
where holy messages
are sometimes
blasted through
amplifiers. And its
bells only ring once a
year – for 14 minutes.
TEXT
Honke Rambow
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NOISY
71

It’s easy to miss the Christuskirche, despite
its being in the centre of Bochum. Next to
the massive town hall, it stands a little set back
from the street. In front of it is a small square,
behind which rises a neo-Gothic bell tower. The
nave itself, however, almost seems to shrink
behind it. The building is slightly tilted, and its
low brick façade and small copper entrance
seem somewhat reticent.
The Christuskirche is a church without a
congregation, but with a pastor. Here Thomas
Wessel has created a cultural and spiritual centre
with boldness and ideas. His church is open
for a wide programme of events and has already
been staged as a theatrical “Gesamtkunstwerk”.
It offers a performing space for the Bochumer
Stadtkantorei, the Chor-Werk Ruhr and firstclass
jazz artists. At regular intervals it can also
become deafeningly loud when alternative, wave
and metal bands blast their messages through
amplifiers near the altar.
Pastor Wessel justifies such activities
directly on Protestant theology, in which a “service”
is defined as a community of people who
have gathered to listen to the proclamation of a
message. He believes that such a message does
not have to come from a pastor, but can also be
roared into a mike with amplified guitars. Artists
who have played here include Peter Murphy and
Ray Wilson, the Slovenian art collective Laibach
and the Mülheim horror jazz band “Bohren &
der Club Of Gore”; not forgetting Ute Lemper,
Konstantin Wecker and Bugge Wesseltoft. They
all had to sign a contract ensuring that the cross
and the bible are clearly visible at the altar. It
must remain a sacred space.
The interior
of the church is
as spectacular
as its exterior is
unobtrusive.
The exposed concrete ceiling is folded in a
crystalline form and seems to hover above the
brick walls through a shadow gap. Light streams
CHRISTUSKIRCHE BOCHUM
Platz des europäischen
Versprechens 1 | 44787 Bochum
→ CHRISTUSKIRCHE-BOCHUM.DE
→ EUROPEANPROMISE.EU
indirectly towards the altar through the coloured
windows in the sides. All over the world the
Christuskirche is regarded as an icon of post-war
architecture. But the building is also linked to a
myth. Its architect, Dieter Oesterlen, had originally
decided to demolish only the war-damaged
nave, and leave the tower standing as a stark
reminder of war. Around the time it was being
built, between 1957 and 1959, Egon Eiermann
was working on his “Ruhrkohlehaus”. Hence it is
quite possible that Eiermann was familiar with
Oesterlen’s building, and that his design for the
much more famous memorial church in Berlin
was based on Oesterlen’s ideas. That said, there
is no definite proof for such an assumption.
Since 2015, the Christuskirche has also
housed a work of art. In the tower is a memorial
hall constructed in 1931 to commemorate the
citizens of Bochum who died in the First World
War, alongside a list of the enemy countries at
the time. Using this as a starting point, the concept
artist Jochen Gerz has created a “Square
of European Promises”, on the floor of which
14,726 names of people who want to promote
the idea of a united Europe have been embedded
in stone slabs. Even if their statements are
not publicly stored in a database, these names
of celebrities and lesser celebrities are a visible
sign of peace and togetherness – just a few metres
away from the 1930s revanchist culture of
remembrance.
Another thing makes the Christuskirche
unique: its bells are only rung once a year. Neither
at Christmas nor at Easter, nor even for a church
service, but as an act of commemoration. They
can be heard every year on 11th September
between 14.46 and 15.03, the time in which two
aeroplanes slammed into the World Trade Center
in New York. The chiming bells do not simply
commemorate the victims but also remind us all
to take a stand against terrorism.
NOISY
POLY MAG 2021
72
loud!
Düsseldorf
an initiative of
co-funded by
Live close Feel free
The Sound of Düsseldorf
Ministry of Economic Affairs,
Innovation, Digitalization and Energy of the
State of North Rhine-Westphalia
Join Germany’s loudest walking tour – an
entertaining trip through Düsseldorf’s rich
electronic and punk music history.
Every Saturday morning at 11:00
Book now:
www.the-sound-of-duesseldorf.com
Your organiser
Dr. Michael Wenzel + Sven-André Dreyer

After dark
Clubs in the Ruhr Area
MICHAEL SCHWETTMANN
DELTA
In the mid 1990s “Mudia Art” opened
in former Krupp factory buildings
in Essen. The spectacular industrial
backdrop, where the audience lost
itself in evening dress and often during
somewhat dubious shows gave the
disco a reputation far beyond the borders
of Germany. In 2006, it renamed
itself “Delta”, prices were lowered and
the visitors became younger. What
remained was the unique ambience
in up to nine different areas and spacious
outdoor areas.
Frohnhauser Str. 75 | Essen
→ DELTA-ESSEN.DE
GOETHE BUNKER
This tall bunker is located just a few
steps away from the Folkwang Museum
in Essen and only a crossroad away
from the Rüttenscheider Strasse, a
street full of boutiques, bars and restaurants.
Protected by concrete walls, you
can freak out to heavy bass music in
the middle of this residential area. The
“Goethe Bunker” owes its reputation
above all to its “Minimal” parties hosted
by first-class DJs from the region or
guests from Berlin. But you can also
dance to house or hip-hop.
Goethe Str. 67 | Essen
→ GOETHEBUNKER.NET
FREAK SHOW
According to the British newspaper
“The Guardian” the case is clear. One
of the ten greatest concert venues in
the world is a rock’n’roll bar in the
Essen borough of Steele. A voracious
monster awaits visitors at the entrance
– as if it were the entrance to a ghost
train. Ela and Benny Nordvall have
furnished the basement bar with great
attention to detail – oil barrels as high
tables and a life-size model of Freddy
Krüger. As for the music – it’s guitars,
guitars and guitars.
Grendplatz 2a | Essen
→ FREAKSHOW-BAR.DE
TUROCK
Until the 1990s the Ruhr area was
considered a bastion of rock music.
Essen’s reputation was even a little
tougher, because, for example, the
city is the home of Kreator, one of the
world’s most successful trash metal
bands. It’s also home to one of the last
real rock and metal clubs in the Ruhr
area. You don’t need long hair to get
into Turock, but it’s certainly helpful if
you’re into excessive headbanging on
the dance floor.
Viehofer Platz 3 | Essen
→ TUROCK.DE
ROTUNDE
This brick building with its eponymous
rotunda was originally only built as an
emergency setting for the 73rd German
Catholic Day in 1949. The listed
building stood empty for many years
until the “Rotunde” club emerged
there in 2010. In addition to parties
with house, drums’n’bass, reggae,
electro and world music, there are
also regular concerts, poetry slams,
comedy events, flea markets and
design markets in the simple yet beautiful
station area.
Konrad-Adenauer-Platz 3 | Bochum
→ ROTUNDE-BOCHUM.DE
DOMICIL
Since 1969 jazz in Dortmund has
had a permanent “domicile” in this
former 1950s cinema. The list of
music legends who have performed
on stage here is very long – and on
several occasions the US magazine
“Down Beat” has also voted it as
one of the 100 best jazz clubs in the
world. In addition to its live shows,
it also presents parties and DJ sessions
on a regular basis. World music
and drums’n’bass are also part of the
programme.
Hansastr. 7-11 | Dortmund
→ DOMICIL-DORTMUND.DE
OMA DORIS
Hiding away in Dortmund’s Brückstraße
quarter is a gem! “Oma Doris”
is a classical 1960s dance café. In its
plushy atmosphere with dim lights
and hundreds of coloured lamps,
gentlemen used to invite the ladies
to dance via a table phone. Today it’s
more casual, but the atmosphere has
remained the same. The loudspeakers
broadcast a colourful mix of house
music, reggae, trap, 80s pop and New
German Wave.
Reinoldistr. 2-4 | Dortmund
→ OMADORIS.DE
TRESOR WEST
The latest addition to the Ruhrgebiet
nightlife can be found in Dortmund.
It was opened in 2019 by Dimitri
Hegemann, in the basement of a hall
on the former site of the Phoenix
West steelworks, as a subsidiary of
his legendary Berlin “Tresor” club.
Thanks to its first-class sound and
lighting technology, he has created a
particularly impressive techno club
in the deliberately rough atmosphere
of brick, concrete and steel. This is
the place to dance to the music of
regional and national DJs.
Phoenixplatz 4 | Dortmund
→ TRESORWEST.COM
NOISY
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NOISY
75

International
Coolness
The Düsseldorf Düsterboys love to sing
about things like a lengthy trip across their
hallway, a yearning for the Atlantic, and love.
The newcomer band from Essen are not only
known for their ironic lyrics, but also for their
special sound.
ALL EARS POLY MAG 2021
POLY MAG 2021
NOISY
76
LUKAS VOGT
TEXT
Kristina Schulze
“Schalke 04, I don’t wanna lose any more.” The songs of the Düsseldorf
Düsterboys have little in common with football anthems. In
one of their melancholy songs they sing about the Gelsenkirchen
football club, which has been waiting in vain for a championship title
for years. Since the band was set up, Pedro Goncalves Crescenti
and Peter Rubel have been making pop music together for 15 years.
For the last eight years the band has been named after a city in the
Rhineland of all places – while both musicians live, work and study
in Bochum and Essen. “In the beginning I had a dream”, says Peter
Rubel and laughs, because the idea for the Düsseldorf Düsterboys
came to him one night.
Yet the unusual band name fits perfectly with their unusual
music. Peter Rubel and Pedro Goncalves Crescenti oscillate between
melancholy and lightness. The whole magic of their sound begins to
unfold when you follow their ironic, debunking lyrics, which are sometimes
created in the rehearsal room, and sometimes over a beer in the
evening at home. With wit and irony they tell of “hot fag ends”, “lengthy
walks from the hall all the way to the back yard” or their yearning for
far-off places. They only need a few words to express their feeling
of being overwhelmed – by the world and their own lives: “Keep me
out, keep me out of trouble” is what they hope for in “Oh Mama”, for
example.
77

In the early days the Düsseldorf Düsterboys only played for a
handful of friends. In 2016 their first single “Tenerife” was released, and
the German music scene began to sit up and take notice of them. A
concert in Berlin then paved the way to even more popularity and professionalism.
Maurice Summen from the Berlin music label “Staatsakt”
had invited the two singers in 2017 to perform in a club called “West
Germany”. “From that moment on, everything took off”, recalls Pedro
Goncalves Crescenti. Two years later, Olaf O.P.A.L. produced the band’s
first album, which now also included Fabian Neubauer (organ, piano)
and Edis Ludwig (drums).
“Nenn mich Musik” (Call me Music) was released in autumn 2019
by Staatsakt. It was recorded in a disused shop in Waltrop with “loads of
instruments”. They can not only be heard on the album, but also on the
band’s new EP “Im Winter”. “I like our music best when it’s enigmatic”,
says Peter Rubel. The Düsterboys rarely sound fast and scatty. Instead,
dreamy guitar chords combine with funky organ sounds, the gentle
beat of drums combines with the soft voices of the two singers. There
are numerous breaks and rhythm changes, vocal sections, playful
clarinet solos.
The Düsseldorf Düsterboys have played around 50 concerts in
Germany, Austria and Switzerland in the last two years, many of which
were sold out. “It’s been an intensive, enjoyable, but also exhausting
time”, says Pedro Goncalves Crescenti. “I am glad we know each other
so well. We look after each other and sense when someone needs a
break.” On a music level, however, things remain all the louder with the
boys. Five years ago Pedro Goncalves Crescenti and Peter Rubel founded
a second band alongside the drummer Joel Roters: “International
Music”. The band’s next album will be released in 2021. Compared to the
Düsseldorf Düsterboys, this band sounds faster, louder, more powerful –
and is just as popular. In 2018 they won the popNRW prize in the Best
Newcomer category, and in 2020 they won the GEMA Music Authors’
Prize in the Newcomer category.
→ DUESSELDORF
DUESTERBOYS.DE
Here you can
find current tour
dates, listen to their
music or follow
their social Media
accounts
Ruhr Ding:
Klima
An exhibition
in public space
in Gelsenkirchen,
Herne, Recklinghausen
and Haltern am See.
Anyone who travels so much needs
a place to land.
What are their favourite places in the Ruhr area? The Six Lakes in
Duisburg, the Schurenbach spoil tip in Essen and the Mental Space
studio gallery in Bochum. They also rate the “Makroscope” in Mülheim
- a concert venue and studio for subcultural, experimental
music and art projects – as a “super-good hang-out”. But in 2021,
the quartet will again be heading for faraway places. Their programme
includes a tour with International Music, as well as the odd
concert by the Düsseldorf Düsterboys. Maybe it will be a bit like
the lyrics in “Tenerife”: “You only realise it’s time to go when you’re
on your way”.
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8.5.–
27.6.21
Urbane Künste
Ruhr
Associates and Public Sector Supporters
Design: Lamm & Kirch, Berlin / Leipzig
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The Chorwerk Ruhr in a scene from “Einstein on the Beach”.
THOMAS JAUK / STAGEPICTURES
TEXT
Honke Rambow
The Chorwerk Ruhr is a choir
that specialises in contrasts. Its repertoire
includes folk songs, sacred vocal music,
baroque sounds and minimal music. That
said, they are not content to simply stand
on stage and sing in pretty costumes.
Sometimes the vocalists even invade the
auditorium as shaggy aliens!
Just a moment ago the conductor was standing at the podium in
black trousers and shirt. Now he’s leaning back relaxed in his chair.
In his tight, olive-green T-shirt, jeans and a rough motorbike leather
jacket, Florian Helgath could also be a guitarist in a rock band. He
likes to say “my choir” when he talks about Chorwerk Ruhr, whose
artistic director he has been since 2011. My choir – that could
sound possessive. “When I say that, I mean that with great affection
for the ensemble.”
Born in Regensburg, he sang with the local “Domspatzen” as
a child and has left his mark on the Chorwerk Ruhr like no other
artist. His contract has just been extended for a further three years.
And the workload has increased considerably: his predecessor
was responsible for four to six programmes a year, now there are
twelve to fourteen. Just under a third of these are collaborations:
invitations from orchestras, festivals and opera houses. That said,
they put most of their programme together themselves. Their programme
strategy can be roughly summed up as challenging the
themselves artistically, and surprising the audience. Their success
proves them right. For audiences have been following Helgath into
unknown territories for years, when he mixes sacred and secular
music under a single theme and lets centuries collide. Tickets for
Chorwerk concerts at the annual mammoth Ruhrtriennale festival
are often the first to be sold out. This special ensemble is also in
demand internationally. “Whether we accept a request to collaborate
with another organisation depends on how much a project
interests the choir artistically and helps it progress”, says Florian Helgath.
NOISY
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NOISY
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The Chorwerk Ruhr was launched in 1999, when the Emscher
Park International Building Exhibition (IBA) was drawing to a close.
For over ten years the IBA had had a major impact on the Ruhr area,
reinventing urban structures, preserving spectacular industrial buildings
and filling them with new content. How does industrial heritage
work? How can the Hall of the Century in Bochum, the Zollverein
and Zollern collieries (Essen and Dortmund) and the disused buildings
in the North Duisburg Landscape Park be used as concert
venues? The “Music in Industrial Spaces” series was launched to
find the answer. A structure was needed to be able to use the
unconventional spaces on a permanent basis. This explains how
“Kultur Ruhr GmbH” came into being, today with the state of NRW
and the Regionalverband Ruhr as sponsors. The pillars of “Kultur
Ruhr” include the Ruhrtriennale peforming arts festival, Urban Arts
Ruhr, Chorwerk Ruhr and Tanzlandschaft Ruhr.
Frieder Bernius was the first artistic director. During those years,
Chorwerk Ruhr was purely a project choir, constantly changing its singers
and conductors. In 2008, Rupert Huber took over the direction for
three years. The foundations for its reputation as a top vocal ensemble
had been laid, and Florian Helgath then sharpened its profile further.
“We are a chamber choir with 32 singers.”
Florian Helgath
EMSCH
ER
38 / BOGO MIR ECKER:
REEM RENREH
( KAUM GESANG / BARELY NO SIN GIN )
A-capella choral music is the company’s core business. Although
all its members are freelance artists who are engaged for each programme,
Helgath regards Chorwerk Ruhr as a permanent ensemble.
Like him, some of its members do not live in NRW, but only meet for
rehearsals in Bochum or Essen and concerts in the Ruhrgebiet, Germany
and other European countries. This means a constant ensemble
with the greatest possible flexibility. It is a basic requirement,
says Helgath, that everyone knows each other well and are personal
friends. It is also a fundamental quality that they don’t have to work
together every day, like a radio or opera choir.
Beside tonal refinement and stylistically confident flexibility,
there is a rare third quality that sets the members of Chorwerk Ruhr
apart from other choirs: their enormous desire to work scenically as
well. It’s not enough for them to stand on stage in pretty costumes and
sing? A collaborative production like the magnificent staging of Philip
Glass’ “Einstein On The Beach” in Dortmund is something else. “The
director Kay Voges immediately recognised how important it was is to
challenge the singers. He tested their limits and was then surprised to
see how the ensemble met this challenge.” This is exactly what makes
the singers’ delight in staged performances. It expands their own potentials.
The result was that the choir entered the auditorium dressed in
shaggy alien costumes, and navigated the intricate rhythmic structures
of Glass’ Minimal Music as if in a dream. For all the participants it was
an unforgettable moment. The same applies to Florian Helgath’s Chorwerk
Ruhr which does not recognise the word “impossible”.
→ CHORWERKRUHR.DE
ART FOR
EVERYONE
AT ALL
TIMES
ÁHENNING ROGGE
KUNST
WEG.COM
FUNDED BY
A COOPERATION BETWEEN
NOISY
POLY MAG 2021
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As long as it’s tasty – Culinary Highlights
in the Ruhr area
ta sty
Are you looking for a good eatery in
the Ruhrgebiet? As the saying goes:
“One man’s meat is another man’s poison”.
True! That said, we shall be telling you
how and where to eat well. We’ve chosen
places which are, so-to-speak, timeless.
Timelessly good! Just like Granny’s: a
culinary journey through time in a selection
of choice cafés, restaurants and
pubs. (→ p. 86) For consc(ient)ious Foodies:
everything from boxes of organic vegetables
to vegan restaurants and “afterwork”
markets with local traders. Tips for
the culinary “green” Ruhrgebiet. (→ p. 90)
POLY MAG 2021
TASTY
85

Just like
Granny’s
Culinary gentrification? Well… only to
a limited extent. How about a culinary
journey through time in some cafés,
restaurants and pubs?
CAFE WIACKER, HERNE-FOTO
MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD
You won’t find vegan cheesecakes and smoothiebowls
with acai berries in the Café Wiacker patisserie
in Herne. And that’s good. Instead of hipster food,
they serve sweet pastries just like you remember from
your childhood: juicy butter crumbles, chocolaty
almond slivers and sugared marzipan strawberries. The
furnishings are somewhat dignified. Nonetheless the
chandeliers, leather armchairs and cream-coloured
wallpaper do not detract from the impressive counter
full of cakes and tarts in the entrance area. But not
everything is sweet. There are also savoury classics
like “Strammer Max”; a combination of bread, ham,
cheese and a fried egg. (Branches can be found in
Herne, Bochum, Recklinghausen and Dortmund)
KONDITOREI CAFÉ WIACKER Neustr. 1 | Herne
→ WIACKER.DE
OUT IN THE GREENERY
First take a walk in the Bochum municipal park, then
play a round of minigolf and finally treat yourself to
a cold drink in the “Milchhäuschen”. The little place
near Bergstraße is perfect for a short break. If you
fancy it, you can laze outside in a wicker beach chair,
but inside it’s just as relaxed thanks to the soft cushions
on the benches. You can find tarte flambée,
hotdogs and other snacks on the menu, not to speak
of ice cream, lemonades and coffee. Breakfast is
also available from 11 am at weekends in the “Milchhäuschen”.
There’s a good reason for the name. Over
100 years ago milk was handed out to the people of
Bochum at this very spot.
DAS MILCHHÄUSCHEN | Bergstr. 140 | Bochum
NEVER WITHOUT “SALTED CARAMEL”
Patience is required if you want an ice cream here!
The queues at “Casal – Die Eismacher” in Essen are
sometimes over 100 metres long. Small wonder! After
all, this little café has a secure place in the list of the
top ten “ice cream parlours in Germany”. Simonetta
Pasqualotti and Davide de Ton are the second generation
of managers at Casal. They have regularly
modernised the furnishings but their art of making ice
cream has remained unchanged. Every year they add
new varieties to their ice cream menu. The absolute
bestseller is “Salted Caramel”.
CASAL – DIE EISMACHER | Mülheimer Str. 62 | Essen
LATTE+CO | Frintroper Str. 62 | Essen
→ CASAL1950.DE
Cofffee + sweet delicacies
CAFÉ KÖTTER
Following the motto “We’re not hip,
we’re scrumptious”, Susanne Kötter
and her team serve up such classics
as cream puffs and marble cake.
Rüttenscheider Str. 73 | Essen
→ CAFE-KOETTER.DE
STADTCAFÉ SANDER
The speciality at this patisserie is
the “Sandersche Baumkuchen”.
They also offer fruit cakes, cream
gateaux and butter cream cakes.
Kohlenkamp 12 | Mülheim an der Ruhr
→ STADTCAFESANDER.DE
CAFÉ + KONDITOREI WENNING
Hot chocolate, coffee and
a large variety of cakes
are served in this small 200
year-old slate house.
Hauptstr. 2 | Herdecke
→ CAFE-WENNING.DE
CAFÉHAUS DOBBELSTEIN
This is one of the oldest cafés in
the Ruhr area. It’s renowned for
its wide selection of cakes and
gateaux.
Sonnenwall 8 | Duisburg
→ CAFEHAUS-DOBBELSTEIN.DE
GASTHOF BERGER
This is basically a restaurant, but
their selection of cakes is as extensive
as it is delicious.
Schloßgasse 35 | Bottrop
→ GASTHOF-BERGER.DE
TASTY
POLY MAG 2021
POLY MAG 2021
TASTY
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NOTHING BUT DRINK
Three drinks, two days, one bar – you don’t have to be
a mathematician to understand the “necktie (Schlips)
principle”. Opened in 1950 as the “tasting room” at
Dortmund’s Krämer distillery, “Zum Schlips” is a small
old inn that changed hands several times and finally
stood empty for a long time. Now the place with its
bowling alley has been updated with fresh ideas. It’s
open on two days (Tuesday and Saturday) and in
reality offers only three drinks: juniper tonic, water and
“Stößchen” – a Dortmund beer speciality served in a
glass that widens out towards the top. On every first
Saturday of the month the bar table turns into a Discjockey
table and “Zum Schlips” is transformed into the
smallest disco in town.
ZUM SCHLIPS | Brückstr. 64 | Dortmund
GOLDEN TIMES
A warm, reddish glow meets your eyes when you enter
the “Goldbar” in the south of Essen. Immediately you
want to sink down into the comfy leather armchairs
with a couple of friends, open a bottle of wine and
chat for hours. The “Goldbar” in Essen is the perfect
place for a laid-back evening. The homely atmosphere
is created by its nostalgic, informal furnishings: dark
red walls, scraggly wooden shelves with old books,
golden chandeliers, lots of candlelight and a warm
stove in the corner. The name “Goldbar” is a bit misleading,
because the “bar” is also a café that’s open
from half past nine in the morning. You can even sit
outside when the weather’s fine.
GOLDBAR | Rellinghauser Str. 110 | Essen
→ CAFE-GOLDBAR.DE
YOU MIGHT BE IN VIENNA
“Franz Ferdinand” is not just an inn, but a real “Beisel”.
This is the Austrian designation for a Viennese restaurant
with a cuisine that is as fine as it is down-toearth.
It’s slap bang in the middle of the Ruhrgebiet,
right across the road from Bochum Zoo. Here you will
find dark-green velvet chairs, turquoise ornamental
wallpaper and Austrian delicacies like Tyrolean “kasspatzen”
in an alpine cheese sauce, or “kaiserschmarrn”
with stewed plums. Even though you may not
always know what dishes are hidden behind words
like “Obers” or “Paradeiser” – just place your order.
Everything is mouth-watering at “Franz Ferdinand”.
FRANZ FERDINAND | Klinikstr. 51 | Bochum
→ FRANZFERDINAND-BOCHUM.DE
Somewhere to relax
DRÜBBELKEN
In the middle of Recklinghausen
there’s a place that can best be
compared to a British pub. At
“Drübbelken” you can relax over a
beer, eat crunchy fried potatoes
and listen to live music. This mixture
between a pub and a restaurant
has been around for a number
of years. It opened in 1906 as the
“Schankwirtschaft Fritz Wiesmann”,
survived two World Wars and is
now one of the most welcoming
pubs in Recklinghausen. Here people
are mostly relaxed and always
sociable. The name alone tells you
that. “Drübbelken” comes from the
Low German dialect and means
something like “a bunch of people”.
Münsterstr. 5 | Recklinghausen
→ DRUEB.DE
HONEY HAIR BAR
Killing two birds with one stone! By
day Honey Hair is a hairdressing
salon, by night a feel-at-home bar.
Viktoriastr. 16 | Bochum
→ HONEY-HAIR-BAR.DE
AMPÜTTE
The oldest bar in Essen is the
perfect place for an evening drink.
Rüttenscheider Str. 42 | Essen
→ AMPUETTE-ESSEN.DE
HAUS OE
A former colliery alehouse, complete
with a beer garden and a tiny menu.
Frohlinder Str. 35 | Castrop-Rauxel
burst
your
bubble
Don’t just be a tourist – immerse into the
unknown territory of urbanana. Stretching
from the Ruhr Area to the Rhineland, you
find a banana-shaped metropolis with
hazy boundaries.
Gear up your curiosity and zoom in on
Cologne, Düsseldorf and the Ruhr. Hover
across the streets and backyards till
you find yourself eagerly knocking on the
doors of movers and shakers, hunters and
collectors and perhaps even new friends.
Multi-faceted, free-spirited and unconventional:
Join those pioneers in creating
unique spaces, experiences and encounters.
Break away from the tourist bubble and
start your journey to North Rhine-Westphalia
at:
urbanana.de
co-funded by
YUMMY TASTY POLY MAG 2021
88
Ministry of Economic Affairs,
Innovation, Digitalization and Energy of the
State of North Rhine-Westphalia

For consc(ient)ious
Foodies
From boxes of organic
vegetables to vegan
restaurants and afterwork
markets with local
traders: tips for the
culinary “green” Ruhrgebiet
Good food.
Restaurants
and Cafés
KRÜMELKÜCHE
A vegan café with home-made
delights.
Zero Waste
Shops
ALLERLEI VERPACKUNGSFREI
Steinbrinkstr. 216 | Oberhausen
→ ALLERLEI-VERPACKUNGSFREI.DE
BIOKU BIO- UND
KULTURMARKT
Herner Str. 14 | Bochum
→ BIOKUH.ORG
DUISBURG UNVERPACKT
Blumenstr. 4 | Duisburg
→ DUISBURG-UNVERPACKT.DE
The Food-Rescuers
Swenja Reil founded
Dortmund’s first zero
waste shop, which also
supplies the “Fabulose”
restaurant,. Here you
can enjoy five-course
menus made from
“rescued” food.
COLOURFUL & VEGAN:
“FARBENFROH” IN ESSEN
Lentil salad marinated with apricots, pine nut rice
with coriander, peas and caramelised figs – and,
to finish, a dessert of pears and warm nut nougat
cream. Although there are never more than ten
dishes on the menu at “Farbenfroh”, the dishes
prepared in this vegan restaurant are anything but
boring. On Sundays they offer a vegan brunch between
10 a.m. and 2 p.m. (book in advance!). Those
who prefer to eat at home can get their bread and
blueberry mousse in a brunch box.
FARBENFROH | Franziskastr. 69 | Essen
→ FARBENFROH-ESSEN.DE
THE TASTE OF INDIA – IN HAMM
“Maharani” in Hamm stands for Indian cuisine with
fresh ingredients and spices. Together with his
father Vipan, Alex Wahi cooks traditional dishes like
tandoori chicken and lentil dal. Menus vary according
to the season. Besides meat and fish dishes, he
also offers vegetarian and vegan dishes like coconut
soup with curry and parsnips. Here you can also
learn how to cook good Indian food yourself, for the
restaurant is also a cooking school.
MAHARANI | Martin-Luther-Str. 10 | Hamm
Johanniterstr. 28 | Duisburg
→ KRUEMELKUECHE.DE
SCHNIBBELGRÜN
This salad bar has lots of local
products.
Massener Str. 11a | Unna
→ SCHNIBBEL-GRUEN.DE
REINHARDTS
A restaurant & wine bar with
regional supplies.
Oststr. 15 | Hamm
→ REINHARDTS-HAMM.DE
LISA – EINFACH GUT ESSEN
A deli with a breakfast and
lunch menu.
Bebelstr. 16 | Herne
→ FEINKOST-LISA.DE
NÄHRSTOFFREICH
A bistro offering dishes without
artificial additives.
Trankgasse 3 | Bochum
→ NAEHRSTOFF-REICH.DE
ZODIAC, ESSEN
Pizza & pasta etc. with many
organic products.
Witteringstr. 41 | Essen
Food Boxes
via the internet
FLOTTE KAROTTE
Fresh vegetables from the “Holland
Colliery” in Wattenscheid. For the
past 25 years the delivery service
has been sending out its boxes
of organic products in electricallypowered
vans to various towns and
cities in the Ruhr area. In addition
to vegetables, herbs and fruit, its
range of products includes cheese,
cold (vegan) cuts, bread, cake and
yoghurt.
→ FLOTTEKAROTTE.DE
GRÜNKÄPPCHEN
Organic farming, “green” electricity
and extra economical refrigerated
transporters! This Dortmund delivery
service takes sustainability
seriously. It not only offers boxes
of organic vegetables, bread, wine
and natural cosmetics, but also socalled
“company fruit” baskets for
the office on a weekly basis.
Swenja Reil could have been satisfied with writing
her Master’s thesis in social sciences. But that wasn’t
enough. Together with friends she opened “Frau Lose”
(lit. Ms. Loose), Dortmund’s first zero waste shop.
Here there are no plastic packs or food exports from
far-off countries. Small glass containers decorate the
walls, from which you can take any amount of pasta or
flour you need. Oil, vinegar and puréed tomatoes are
sold in glass bottles, while toiletries like shampoo and
toothpaste are only sold in solid form. On top of that,
you can take part in workshops on topics like how
to ferment food. Bent cucumbers and apples with tiny
blemishes can be found in boxes of “rescued” food.
“Every year in Germany, around 18 million
tons of food are tossed into rubbish bins because they
don’t look right or haven’t been sold”, says Swenja
Reil. In order to do something about this waste, “Frau
Lose” opted for food sharing. The company arranges
with local supermarkets and farm shops to collect and
re-use their imperfect goods – for example from the
Schulte-Tiggeshof in Dortmund or the “Kornkammer
Haus Holte” in Witten. The “Fabulose” restaurant in the
northern part of Dortmund proves that rescued food
can taste just as good as anything else. Every Friday
evening they serve a five-course vegan menu made
from rescued food.
FRAU LOSE | Zero Waste Shop | Rheinische Str. 24 | Dortmund
FABULOSE | Restaurant | Braunschweiger Str. 22 | Dortmund
Lunch menu, cake, Friday, 11 am. to 4 pm,
Five-course menu every Friday from 6 pm. (with reservation)
→ MAHARANI.DE
→ RESTAURANT-ZODIAC.DE
→ GRUENKAEPPCHEN.DE
→ FRAU-LOSE.DE
YUMMY TASTY
POLY MAG 2021
POLY MAG 2021
90
TASTY
91

“Fan”-tastic food!
If you live in a city it’s not always easy to
shop for regional goods. Supermarkets usually
only offer a small selection, weekly
markets always take place while you’re in the
office, and the nearest farm shop is miles
away. In the Ruhrgebiet Julia Welkoborsky
manages a Europe-wide initiative entitled
“Marktschwärmer”.
LET’S HAVE A SANDWICH
IN BLANKENSTEIN
Starting at 4 pm on every first Friday
of the month between April and
October, the “Hattinger Butterbrotmarkt”
takes place on the market
square in the Hattingen suburb of
Blankenstein. Here eight traders
from the region set up their stands.
Despite its modest size, you can get
everything you need for a good start
into the weekend - bread, antipasti
and wine. The motto “bread and
butter” is meant literally. One stand
sells nothing but sandwiches.
BUTTERBROTMARKT | Marktplatz | Hattingen
April till October, every first Friday of the month,
from 4 to 8 p.m.
A MARKET FOR
LATECOMERS
After a hard day’s work there has to be a better solution than
rushing to the supermarket, hastily stashing the groceries
in the shopping trolley, standing in an endless queue – and
driving home exhausted. And so the founders of the Moltkemarkt
in Bochum came up with the idea of offering the first
“after-work market” in the Ruhrgebiet. Every Friday afternoon
from 4 pm on Springerplatz, local traders are selling fruit,
vegetables and meat, as well as bread, cheese, antipasti and
honey. It goes without saying that you can also relax over a
coffee at the Barbera espresso bar or take a break at Halime
Gürsoy’s stand, where you can buy Turkish specialities like
Bulgur dumplings. If you’ve still time (and are hungry) afterwards,
there are some good places nearby, like the Spanish
restaurant La Mesa or the Osteria al Veccio Torchio.
MOLTKEMARKT | Springerplatz | Bochum | Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m.
→ MOLTKEMARKT.DE
POLY
JW
POLY
JW
POLY
JW
How does the initiative work?
Regional groceries can be easily ordered via our
website and then picked up once a week in the
early evening at a central location close to where
you live. This might be a pedestrian precinct or it
could be a park, for example. Our online map shows
exactly where you can get your “fan products”.
What’s on offer?
Fruit and veg, meat, dairy products, pastries, drinks
and natural cosmetics. All products are regionally
produced, many of them are also certified as
organic or come from very small farms. Last weeks
“best-sellers” were lamb, cabbage and onions.
And where can we get hold of the “Schwärmereien”?
In Dortmund, Bochum, Herdecke and Schwerte.
We are currently setting up locations In Bottrop,
Recklinghausen und Datteln.
MARKUS SPISKE – UNSPLASHED
→ MARKTSCHWAERMER.DE
TASTY
POLY MAG 2021
92

On foot
In many cities in the Ruhr area the nearest trendy neighbourhood is
only a few minutes’ walk from the central station. In Essen the so-called “Südviertel”
(south quarter) is within easy reach, in Bochum the Bermuda Triangle is only
a few hundred metres away, and the same goes for the Dell quarter in Duisburg.
For those who like a bit more peace, why not try one of the many Revierparks,
which are currently being upgraded. Even hikers can find what they’re looking for:
a classic example is the 27-kilometer “Baldeneysteig” overlooking Lake Baldeney
in the south of Essen.
By bike
Especially in busy cities, cycling can sometimes be a real challenge.
Nevertheless there are some great cycling trails. One of the longest is the “Industrial
Heritage Trail” which has over 700 kilometres of cycle routes. It connects Duisburg
with Hamm, and also passes numerous industrial monuments. The so-called “Radschnellweg”
– a sort of motorway for cyclists – is conveniently laid out and well-lit,
mainly between Essen and Mülheim. Sad to say, further plans for expansion are only
making slow progress...
You can hire a bike at many bike rental stations (most of them are at railway stations),
and at → METROPOLRADRUHR.DE
If you want to put together your own individual cycle route, take a look here
→ RADROUTENPLANER.NRW.DE
By car
The A40 motorway is legendary – for its traffic jams. The busiest
motorway in Germany runs through Duisburg, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Essen, Bochum
and Dortmund, to name just the largest cities. If you don’t have your own car, you
can turn to car-sharing providers like Stadtmobil, Greenwheels or Flinkster. For an
overview see → CARSHARING-NEWS.DE
By E-Scooter
Germany’s first e-scooters went on the road in Herne in 2019. Since
then the network has been further expanded and e-scooters are usually accessible
without problems in Duisburg, Essen, Bochum, Bottrop and Dortmund, from companies
like Lime, Bird, Spin and Tier.
By taxi
Like everywhere else in Germany, Ruhrgebiet taxis have a pale yellow
“pensioner” look. One small problem is that the call numbers vary from town to
town. They can also be booked online on portals like → CABDO.DE
By bus, tram and underground
If you’re looking for a local public transport system that connects all
the cities in the Ruhr area, no problem! There’s only one. In theory. Because different
transport companies such as the DVG in Duisburg or the EVAG in Essen seem
to make the whole thing more complicated. Nonetheless they’re all a part of a single
transport association, the VRR, where ticket prices vary according to the length
and time of the journey. Here’s a tip. The “culture line” (tram 107) connects many
cultural highlights between Essen and Gelsenkirchen. If you take the 107 tram,
you will pass Werner Ruhnau’s legendary Musiktheater im Revier (Gelsenkirchen),
as well as the Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Folkwang Museum
in Essen. For information on tickets and prices (also in English) see → VRR.DE
By air
Dortmund Airport serves many destinations within Europe. It can be
easily reached by the airport shuttle bus from Dortmund central station. The smaller
Essen/Mülheim airport does not offer scheduled flights, but gliders, helicopters and
planes take off here. As does an airship called “Theo”. When the weather’s fine in
summer, you can take a 60 minute round tour aboard the airship, sometimes over
the Bergisch Land area. If you fancy booking a ride on “Theo”, take a look here:
→ WDL-WORLDWIDE.DE
By boat
Canals may look less idyllic in the Ruhrgebiet than in Italy. But industrialisation
has ensured that there is a dense network of waterways - and structural
changes have resulted in many cycle and walking trails along their banks. Europe’s
largest inland port is in Duisburg, where the “White Fleet” pleasure boats also set out.
Pedal boats, canoes and the like can be hired from the “Six Lakes” in Duisburg, Lake
Kemnade in Bochum and Lake Berger in Gelsenkirchen, to name but three.
You can book a tour along the canals at
→ KULTURKANAL.RUHR
Apart from that you can…
…glide over Dortmund on the overhead railway → WWW.H-BAHN.INFO
or travel the area on a steam train, say from the Railway Museum in the Bochum
suburb of Dahlhausen → EISENBAHNMUSEUM-BOCHUM.DE
And if you want to travel back in time why not take a trip on the Hespertal Railway
from the suburb of Kupferdreh along Lake Baldeney in Essen? Some of the
night-time scenes for the ’20s tv series “Babylon Berlin” were shot here. More info:
→ HESPERTALBAHN.DE
→ RUHR-TOURISMUS.DE or phone: 0180-61 81 620
MORE INFORMATION
TASTY POLY MAG 2021
POLY MAG 2021
TASTY
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95

ART
EUR 5,– NO 4
Face to face:
An interview
with British performance
artist
William Hunt
SHOPPING
Preloved and
pretty: Join
Düsseldorf ’s
thriving vintage
scene
GUIDE
Discover the
best spots and
addresses in town
for food — and
a glass or two
made by
SPECIAL
If times turn gaga,
go for yoga —
the best studios
to bend, stretch
and chill out
GUIDE
Be inspired by
Düsseldorf ’s
unmissable
and diverse art
galleries and
museums
URBAN
Meet Donald
Campbell who’s
living true skate
style since 1983
free // NO 3
Imprint Once a year “Poly”
provides an overview
of all the key issues affecting
art and society in the Ruhr region.
If you want to find out
more about art and culture in
North Rhine-Westphalia, why
not take a look at our magazine
“kultur.west” (which is published
ten times a year), or every day
at: www.kulturwest.de
PUBLISHER
K-West Verlag GmbH
Dinnendahlstr. 134
45136 Essen
T +49 201 49 068-14
info@kulturwest.de
www.kulturwest.de
CONCEPT & EDITOR IN CHIEF
Annika Wind
Volker K. Belghaus
CREATIVE DIRECTION
Morphoria Design
www.morphoria.com
TITLE
Thomas Böcker, Sommerbilder/Monumente
www.thomas-boecker.net
MARKETING & SALES
Anja Keienburg und
Marcus Schütte
Netzkult Marketing & PR
T +49 208 828 776 00
www.netzkult.de
ADVERTISEMENT
anzeigen@poly-magazin.de
WHAT ELSE?
If you’re keen to discover
more hot spots and
insider tips in North-
Rhine Westphalia, we
can highly recommend
the following two magazines:
“hiddencologne”
for Cologne and “The
Dorf” for Düsseldorf.
MORE INFO AT
→ HIDDENCOLGNE.DE
→ THEDORF.DE
→ URBANANA.COM
WILLIAM
HUNT
VINTAGE
FASHION
EAT &
DRINK
YOGA
CITY
ART &
CULTURE
PAVEL
SKATES
URBAN ART & CULTURE • TOURS • FOOD • MUSIC • ART • FASHION
AUSGEWÄHLTE
SKULPTUREN
ENTDECKEN –
MIT DER
KOSTENLOSEN
APP!
TEXT
Volker K. Belghaus, Honke
Rambow, Kristina Schulze,
Stefanie Stadel, Sascha
Westphal, Annika Wind
CIRCULATION
25.000
PRINTED IN GERMANY
Druckerei Himmer, Augsburg
TRANSLATION & PROOF-READER
Roy Kift
COPYRIGHT 2020
Poly Magazin
ILLUSTRATION
Brian Storm
www.storm-illustration.de
CONTACT
www.poly-magazin.de
info@poly-magazin.de
Projektentwicklung und Durchführung:
Gefördert vom:
96
IMPRINT
POLY MAG 2021

urst
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