Art instead of crosses: How Manifesta aims to revitalize churches. They boast, "This is not a Church" and stage a Queer Upper Silesian Last Supper
Art as a revitalization measure for unused church spaces – under this motto, the Manifesta art exhibition is making a stop in the Ruhr region this summer.
The fact that church services were held here until a few years ago fades into the background under a huge garbage-bag-blue plastic tarp. The Spanish-Brazilian artist collective Penique Productions has lined the interior of St. Joseph's Church in Gelsenkirchen with a large inflatable membrane. Like a second skin, it stretches over the altar, the walls, and between the columns. The church windows still shimmer through.
Plastic sheeting, sand, a grandstand made of pews
In the nave, which the artists now call an airship, designer Curro Claret has repurposed discarded pews into picnic tables and stacked them to form a grandstand. Tons of sand are spread on the floor. St. Joseph's in Gelsenkirchen, deconsecrated in 2023, is one of twelve former houses of worship that, for one summer, will no longer be anything but churches.
"This is not a church" is the motto of the major international traveling exhibition Manifesta, which is making a stop in the Ruhr region this year. In Duisburg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, and Bochum, the art biennial will utilize twelve predominantly deconsecrated and transformative churches—all post-war buildings.
International artists and local initiatives
A total of 100 artists, creatives, and collectives—including internationally renowned artists such as Katharina Fritsch, Luc Tuymans, and Mirosław Bačka—are participating. Around half of the exhibited works were created specifically for the location. Many therefore explicitly explore how the empty, once-sacred halls can be transformed back into spaces for community and encounter.
Local residents, groups, communities, and initiatives were also invited to participate: Former church spaces are thus becoming bars, basketball courts, or venues for communal cooking evenings.
"Slipper churches" characterize Ruhr area neighborhoods
In the post-war period, many churches in the Ruhr area were designed as so-called "slipper churches," explains architect Josep Bohigas, who played a key role in developing the exhibition's concept. They were built right in the heart of neighborhoods, so close that the congregation could literally reach them in their slippers. Many of them have long since stood empty. Yet the need for places of community is great.
Instead of viewing these buildings solely as architectural heritage, the Biennale examines how the existing spaces can generate greater closeness and cohesion in the neighborhoods, the organizers explain. "People don't want the churches to simply be preserved." “They want to be activated,” says Hedwig Fijen, founder of Manifesta.
Art made from discarded church furniture
“Certainly an ambitious goal,” Bohigas admits. “Manifesta can’t solve all the problems that exist in the Ruhr region,” he says. Decades of economic change and social fragmentation can’t simply be reversed. But the festival can make things visible, open up spaces for ideas and possibilities.
What this looks like in practice can be explored starting Sunday: Many of the participating artists are working with church furniture, redesigning church spaces, and thus making change and new beginnings visible. In Essen, the Turkish artist Ayşe Erkmen has equipped a confessional with a screen and chat program. Nassan Tur has collected thoughts and memories from people in the Ruhr region and carved them into church pews.
Bouncy castle and tea garden - participation expressly encouraged
There's also a walk-in organ in the Church of Our Lady in Duisburg: Instead of hovering high above the congregation, visitors to Abbas Zahedi's sculpture can step among the organ pipes and experience the sound firsthand. The artist collected the parts of his instrument from all over Europe; he calls the partially dented, but still usable, pipes "organ orphans."
In Bochum, a bouncy castle in the shape of a bell, created by Berlin-based artist Marina Naprushkina, who is originally from Belarus, invites visitors to bounce and jump in a church garden. In Gelsenkirchen, the artist collective Bureau Baubotanik is cultivating tea herbs in a church garden. Visitors are invited to harvest the herbs, taste them, and sample the tea.
All church spaces and events are free of charge. The exhibition opens on Saturday evening with a celebration at the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen. To reach as many people as possible, including those who rarely attend cultural events, all events are free of charge, and there is an extensive educational program. Manifesta lasts until October 4th.
PS the 16 churches NB some are former Protestant churches
Breathe • Artists' Collective Bottrop, Bottrop
For Breathe, the artists' collective Bottrop transforms a church into a "breathing" cultural space. The project includes an exhibition that uses the building as a resonating chamber and connects it with diverse artistic perspectives.
Catch the Light – Build Bridges • Pottporus e. V., Christuskirche, Herne
Catch the Light – Build Bridges transforms the Christuskirche in Herne-Wanne into an intercultural laboratory where art acts as a catalyst for dialogue, community, and democratic participation. At its heart is the development of an experimental dance theater piece by the Pottporus Young Ensemble.
The Stuff Neighborhood Is Made Of • Negar Foroughanfar, Essen
In The Stuff Neighborhood Is Made Of, artist and curator Negar Foroughanfar makes intertextual references to the wrapping projects of Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
Maktaba Room • Cate Lartey and Donja Nasseri, venue of Manifesta 16 Ruhr, Essen
Maktaba Room is an existing project by artists Donja Nasseri and Cate Lartey, creating an inclusive cultural space that explores diversity, participation, and representation.
Next Door: Neighborhood Stories – On the Way to a Volunteer Church • Dr. Bettina Heine-Hippler, St. Martin Church, Dortmund
For Next Door: Neighborhood Stories, the St. Martin parish in Dortmund-Gartenstadt, together with Piazetta, is reviving the 70-year-old vision of a marketplace in front of the church's south wall.
Reclaiming the Space of Worship – An Artistic Manifesto • Save Space e. V., Romano Than e. V. and Museum Ostwall at the Dortmunder U, Church of the Holy Family, Dortmund
Reclaiming the Space of Worship – An Artistic Manifesto transforms the Church of the Holy Family in Dortmund-Marten into a meeting place for local residents as well as Roma and Sinti communities.
Sinsen Connected – Church Reimagined • AWO Münsterland-Recklinghausen District, Church of the Cross, Marl
Sinsen Connected – Church Reimagined transforms the modernist Church of the Cross in Marl-Sinsen into an inclusive meeting place and cultural venue.
The Church is Our Baze • Social-Ecological Center Dortmund SÖZ e. V., Sam Hopkins, Daniela Berglehn, St. Mark's Church, Dortmund
The Church is Our Baze transforms the former St. Mark's Church in Dortmund-Nordstadt into a space where young people can create digital content offline and share it directly from device to device.
A Queer Upper Silesian Last Supper • Grupa Mauczka, venue of Manifesta 16 Ruhr, Bochum
Grupa Mauczka invites you to a queer Last Supper. This performative ritual explores "remains" in a radical act of remembrance, reinterpretation, and exuberant celebration.
Go(o)d Kitchen: Building and Cooking Together • Oberhausen Food Bank and KITEV Food Bank, Holy Family Church, Oberhausen
Go(o)d Kitchen transforms the Holy Family Church in the center of Oberhausen into an open space for learning and encounter. The project makes the social reality of food banks visible and redesigns shared spaces for local communities.
Ludgeriplatz 2.0 WeLove • Ludgeriplatz, Duisburg
Ludgeriplatz 2.0, together with local residents, transforms the square of St. Ludgerus Church in Duisburg-Neudorf into a vibrant, inclusive meeting place.
SACRED KITCHEN • Beate Gärtner, Essen
SACRED KITCHEN is a participatory, interdisciplinary art project that connects neighborhoods, everyday culture, and artistic practice. At its heart are three communal cooking evenings.
SHAPING TOMORROW: OPEN HOUSE, NEW COMMUNITIES • Die Urbanisten e. V., Heilig Geist Church, Dortmund
The installation SHAPING TOMORROW by Verena Issel and the co-creative project OPEN HOUSE, NEW COMMUNITIES explore new forms of neighborhood community.
Sing our Songs! • Markus Pottbäcker – Catholic Parish of Gelsenkirchen, Musiktheater im Revier and Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen, St. Mariä Himmelfahrt Church, Gelsenkirchen
Sing our Songs! recalls the tradition of workers' songs and their significance for solidarity and community in the Ruhr region.
LISTENING • Theater an der Ruhr and Makroscope e. V., Mülheim an der Ruhr
With LISTENING, the Theater an der Ruhr and the Makroscope Cultural Center are transforming a church in Mülheim into a school of listening. The project explores listening, speaking, singing, stuttering, and silence as social practices.
This is not a bar • Wilko Meiborg and Felix Meermann, Dortmund
With This is not a bar, Felix Meermann and Wilko Meiborg are setting up a temporary pub in a repurposed post-war church in Dortmund's Nordstadt district. It is furnished with discarded furniture from the "Gelsenkirchen Baroque" period.
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