That was Ruhrtriennale 2024!

16.9.2024

After four eventful weeks and a total of 140 events in Bochum, Essen and Duisburg, the Ruhrtriennale 2024 has come to an end. Artistic Director Ivo Van Hove looks back with satisfaction: ‘I am delighted that the audience is so interested and open to new things and has so much fun with our productions. The concept of celebrating the festival as a festival has been a complete success.’

The highlights of this year's season included the opening production I Want Absolute Beauty by Ivo Van Hove, LEGENDE by Kirill Serebrennikov, Y by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Bérénice with Isabelle Huppert. Productions such as Pferd frisst Hut by Herbert Fritsch and Abendzauber directed by Krystian Lada have also delighted audiences.

Thank you very much!

We would like to thank everyone who made the Ruhrtriennale 2024 such a great success. A special thanks to our audience, as well as all contributors, supporters, sponsors and friends of the Ruhrtriennale. Without your generous support, this extensive and ambitious programme would not have been possible.

Here you will find insights into the most beautiful moments of the Ruhrtriennale 2024! See you again in 2025!

  • Sandra Hüller sings songs by the legendary singer-songwriter PJ Harvey. Produced by Ruhrtriennale in partnership with Ballet national de Marseille direction (LA)HORDE.
    I Want Absolute Beauty, director: Ivo Van Hove. Sandra Hüller, (LA)HORDE © Jan Versweyveld
  • Ivo Van Hove, Sandra Hüller, PJ Harvey beim Premierenapplaus von I Want Absolute Beauty
    Final applause for I Want Absolute Beauty at the opening of the Ruhrtriennale 2024 with Ivo Van Hove, Sandra Hüller and PJ Harvey © Volker Beushausen
  • The image shows the opening of the Ruhrtriennale 2024. In the front row, Minister President Hendrik Wüst, Managing Director Dr. Vera Battis-Reese, and State Secretary Gonca Türkeli-Dehnert are seen applauding. They are seated among a packed audience celebrating the event. The atmosphere is festive, marking the start of the significant cultural festival. Everyone appears joyful and in high spirits.
    Final applause for I Want Absolute Beauty at the opening of the Ruhrtriennale 2024 with Minister President Hendrik Wüst, Managing Director Dr Vera Battis-Reese and State Secretary Gonca Türkeli-Dehnert. © Volker Beushausen
  • The image shows the opening of the Ruhrtriennale 2024. Minister President Hendrik Wüst is standing at the podium delivering a speech. Next to him, Ivo Van Hove, the artistic director of the Ruhrtriennale, waves to the audience. The background features a colorful stage with the logo of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The atmosphere appears festive and formal.
    Opening of the Ruhrtriennale 2024 with Minister President Hendrik Wüst and Director of the Ruhrtriennale Ivo Van Hove. © Volker Beushausen
  • The image shows the festival center Wunderland at the Ruhrtriennale 2024. In the foreground, several people are sitting at a table, casually chatting. Drinks are placed on the table, while the word "WUNDER" glows in neon letters in the background. The atmosphere feels cozy and inviting, with the evening lighting enhancing the special ambiance of the festival center.
    Festival centre ‘Wunderland’ © Daniel Sadrowski
  • Nassim Baddag stands upside down in front of the painting by Carl Gustav Carus "Hochgebirge’. One hand is on the ground, the other is held vertically upwards. His legs are also stretched upwards. He is wearing black pants and a yellow T-shirt.
    Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Rosas, Y, Nassim Baddag / Carl Gustav Carus, Hochgebirge, copy after Caspar David Friedrich, around 1824 / A work commissioned by the Ruhrtriennale in co-production with the Museum Folkwang. © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024 Photo: Katja Illner / Ruhrtriennale
  • Musicians on a stage playing different instruments
    The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions, Manchester International Festival 2023, f.l.t.r.: Joy Smith, Collin Shay, Eric Lamb, Yandass, Yshani Perinpanayagam, Meriel Price, Jacob Garside © Tristram Kenton
  • A stage set with an artificial meadow on which people sit and an artificial bird flies.
    LEGENDE, Kirill Serebrennikov © Katrin Ribbe, Ruhrtriennale 2024
  • A recording of the ‘Barve New Voices’ format in the Jahrhunderthalle, Bochum. The audience can be seen as Edouard Louis on stage
    Brave New Voices, Édouard Louis © Volker Beushausen, Ruhrtriennale 2024
  • In a high room with concrete funnels, people stand in a pool of water.
    Abendzauber, director: Krystian Lada © Christian Palm, Ruhrtriennale 2024
  • Several dancers from the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company stand on a stage in colourful costumes.
    À la carte, Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company, f.l.t.r.: Yan Leiva, Ichiro Sugae, Sarah Bucher, Todd Baker © Dominik Mentzos
  • A woman in a dress, the actress Isabelle Huppert, is sitting on the floor in front of a curtain
    Bérénice, Isabelle Huppert © Alex Majoli
  • "City of Refuge IV" at the Ruhrtriennale in the Turbinenhalle at the Jahrhunderthalle Bochum
    Berlinde De Bruyckere, City of Refuge IV © Berlinde De Bruyckere / Photo: Mirjam Devriendt
  • The ‘Celebration Parade’ parades through Duisburg Landscape Park with a giant puppet elephant
    Celebration Parade, Handspring Puppet Company, Ukwanda Puppets & Designs Art Collective, Figurentheater-Kolleg Bochum © Thomas Berns, Ruhrtriennale 2024
  • Pump Into The Future Ball: Ballroom culture with glitz and glamour.
    Pump Into The Future Ball, Amowia 007 © Carolin Windel, Ruhrtriennale 24
  • Angélique Kidjo on stage at the Gießhalle in Duisburg
    Celebrating 40 years, Angélique Kidjo © Thomas Berns, Ruhrtriennale 2024
  • The image shows the Appetizer Concert by the Wild up Ensemble in the Turbinenhalle Bochum as part of the Ruhrtriennale 2024. Several grand pianos are arranged on stage, where the musicians are intensely working to prepare them for the performance. In the background, an industrial-inspired set design is visible, dominated by large metal grids and sculptural elements. The audience watches the preparations with great attention. The scene creates a unique connection between the raw industrial character of the hall and the classical music performance.
    Appetiser concert with the Wild Up Ensemble. © Heinrich Brinkmöller
  • A male choir sings in a hall, with the conductor standing in front of them.
    Georgian Voices, Georgian State Chamber Choir (Trinity Cathedral Choir), artistic director and conductor: Svimon (Jiki) Jangulashvili © Heinrich Brinkmöller-Becker, Ruhrtriennale 2024
  • The ensemble of the Belgian theatre ‘De Spiegel’ performs ‘AORTA’ with their instruments and hand puppets in the middle of the stage. Children sit in a circle around them. The musicians make music
    LittleEarsTinyFeet, Theater De Spiegel © Björn Hickmann, Ruhrtriennale, 2024
  • Music for Ruhr: Nils Frahm
    Nils Frahm © Thomas Berns, Ruhrtriennale24
  • People dance on a stage, other people sit in the background.
    Unlocking Paradise, director: Ivo Van Hove. In front: ‘Romano Than e.V.’, in the background ‘Orpheus XXI’ & ‘The Remains’ © Katja Illner, Ruhrtriennale 2024
  • Shelley Washington, Brian Walsh, Adam Tendler, Richard Valitutto play in the Turbinenhalle in Bochum at ‘Erased Music: Julius Eastman’
    Erased Music: Julius Eastman, Wild Up, f.t.l.: Shelley Washington, Brian Walsh, Adam Tendler, Richard Valitutto © Volker Beushausen, Ruhrtriennale 2024
  • The dance production FUTUR PROCHE in the Jahrhunderthalle Bochum
    FUTUR PROCHE © Katja Illner, Ruhrtriennale 2024
  • The artist Marlene Monteiro Freitas looks wide-eyed into the camera, her face and hands painted in colour.
    Guintche (Live Version), Marlene Monteiro Freitas © Ursula Kaufmann, Ruhrtriennale 2024
  • A person stands in a dark hall carrying a metal bucket, other people in white clothing stand in the background.
    Haugussa, director: Eline Arbo. In the front: Kjersti Tveterås, Adrian Angelico © Caroline Seidel, Ruhrtriennale 2024
  • The Chorwerk Ruhr in the Turbinenhalle in Bochum for the production ‘Rechants’, the Ruhrtriennale 2024. The choir stands in front of the installation by Berlinde De Bruyckere ‘City of Refue IV’. We see the choir from the right, a woman sings. Notes are in front of her
    Rechants, Chorwerk Ruhr © Christian Palm
  • A group of people in costumes, including a chambermaid and a bride, stand on a colourfully lit stage.
    Pferd frisst Hut, Theater Basel. In the middle: Christopher Nell, Cécilia Roumi © Thomas Aurin
  • Dancers from the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company at the Museum Folkwang
    ONE ONE ONE, Museum Folkwang © Caroline Seidel, Ruhrtriennale 2024
  • The image shows the opening of the exhibition "Landscapes of an Ongoing Past" by Urbane Künste Ruhr as part of the Ruhrtriennale 2024. The event takes place in the Salt Warehouse of the Zollverein Coking Plant in Essen. A large crowd has gathered to listen to the speeches and presentations. In the background, parts of the exhibition and the impressive architecture of the space are visible. The atmosphere is lively and engaged as visitors observe the artworks and listen to the speakers.
    Opening of the exhibition ‘Landscapes of an Ongoing Past’ by Urbane Künste Ruhr as part of the Ruhrtriennale 2024 © Silke Briel
  • The image shows a workshop from the "Sunday Dancers" series as part of the Ruhrtriennale 2024. The participants are moving freely and dynamically, exploring different dance movements. In the foreground, a woman is seen dancing with her eyes closed and arms raised. The atmosphere appears focused and energetic, with the group moving in an industrial space with rough walls and simple lighting.
    Workshop from the ‘Sunday Dancers’ series with Nahimana Vandenbussche © Volker Beushausen
  • The image shows a book signing session with Édouard Louis after the first "Brave New Voices" event at the Jahrhunderthalle Bochum during the Ruhrtriennale 2024. Édouard Louis is smiling and interacting with a visitor, while a line of people patiently waits for their turn to get an autograph. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly.
    Édouard Louis signs autographs after the first event in the ‘Brave New Voices’ series at the Jahrhunderthalle Bochum. © Volker Beushausen
  • The image shows the festival center Wunderland at the Ruhrtriennale 2024. In the foreground, three people are relaxing in deck chairs branded with the Ruhrtriennale logo. In the background, several visitors are enjoying the lively atmosphere of the festival center. String lights hang above, adding to the festive ambiance, as people gather around the various stands and seating areas.
    Festival centre ‘Wunderland’ © Volker Beushausen