Ruhrtriennale 2024 ends with a colorful festival weekend

After four weeks and a total of 140 events in Bochum, Essen and Duisburg, the Ruhrtriennale 2024 ends this weekend with two dernières and a closing party at the Wunderland festival center. Before then, there will be several premieres and a full festival program:

In Duisburg, Pferd frisst Hut with music by Herbert Grönemeyer celebrates its German premiere tonight, tomorrow the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company will be performing at the Museum Folkwang (admission is free) and on Friday the world premiere of Haugtussa will be performed at Jahrhunderthalle Bochum as well as the German premiere of Guintche (Live Version) by Marlene Monteiro Freitas at PACT Zollverein. Dance and discussion workshops complete the festival program on Saturday and Sunday, there will be another Appetizer Concert performed at Turbinenhalle and for the last part of the Brave New Voices series, Cemile Sahin will be in Bochum on Sunday, shortly before her new novel KOMMANDO AJAX is published. On Saturday evening, the last party of the season will be celebrated in the pink festival center Wunderland (admission subject to availability).

Artistic Director Ivo Van Hove: “I am delighted that the audience is so interested and open to new things and has so much fun at our events and productions. The concept of celebrating the festival as a ‘Fest’ has been a complete success: Some people have spent entire days here with their friends and families, going from one performance to the next, from craft or dance workshop to one of the Appetizer Concerts, before going to the performances or concerts in the evening. We would like to continue this next year and celebrate another ‘Fest’ with the people of the Ruhr region.”

This year's visitor highlights included the opening production I Want Absolute Beauty by artistic director Ivo Van Hove, which was completely sold out and is the most successful opening production in the history of the Ruhrtriennale with around 6,700 tickets issued, LEGENDE by Kirill Serebrennikov, Y by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Bérénice with Isabelle Huppert as well as Pferd frisst Hut (by Herbert Fritsch, Herbert Grönemeyer an Sabrina Zwach) and Abendzauber directed by program director Krystian Lada.

Dr. Vera Battis-Reese, Managing Director of Kultur Ruhr GmbH: “We expect an overall occupancy rate of 87%. Around 70,000 people visited the Ruhrtriennale, we issued around 36,000 tickets and around 34,000 people attended our events with free admission. For example, the Celebration Parade, the workshops and parties at the festival center Wunderland, as well as the installations at Turbinenhalle Bochum and at the Salzlager in Essen at Kokerei Zollverein. The new offers for greater accessibility were also well received. We want to expand and add to these formats in the future.”

The new formats for children and families, such as the production Little Ears, Tiny Feet, the Happy Sundays for children from 9 months and workshops such as the Sunday Dancers, have also met with great interest this year.

Every year, the Ruhrtriennale invites contemporary artists to transform the monumental industrial architecture of the Ruhr Metropolis into spectacular performance venues. This year, more than 660 artists from 37 countries took part. In total, there were 32 productions and projects with 140 events at ten different venues in Bochum, Duisburg and Essen.

Further information on the programme can be found at www.ruhrtriennale.de/en/programme, detailed information on all productions can also be found in our press kit and at www.ruhrtriennale.de/en/press.

With best regards

Your press department of the Ruhrtriennale