In 2018, there will once again be a change in the artistic direction of the festival. As always, this is linked to the programmatic claim of renewal. The dramaturge Stefanie Carp and the artiste associé director Christoph Marthaler have been appointed. Stefanie Carp describes “today” as an “in-between time”. A time characterized by millions of migrants and global distribution and climate wars.

For her program, she invites international artists from the African and South American continents, Asia, Europe and North America. It begins with the production The Head and The Load by South African artist William Kentridge, who deals with the history of his country in his artistic practice. The production raises questions: Who gets to tell whose story and who gets to be on stage? The world premiere of Universe, incomplete of the unfinished Universe Symphony by Charles Ives, is a masterpiece from the Marthaler-Viebrock cosmos. Titus Engel conducts the Bochum Symphony Orchestra in Bochum’s Jahrhunderthalle. This season’s program is shaped by many choreographers, including the dancer and activist Mamela Nyamza with Black Privilege, the choreographer Serge Aimé Coulibaly with Kirina and Exodos / EΞΟΔΟΣ by Sascha Waltz. Diamante is also large in size: this is the name of a workers’ settlement in the Argentinian jungle. The author and director Mariano Pensotti is building a theatrical settlement of the same name in Duisburg’s Kraftzentrale. What used to be the factory estate in the Ruhr area is now the private city of the 21st century. Safe room or surveillance room?

In her first season, Stefanie Carp also triggers widely acclaimed discussions. The debate about the band Young Fathers and its connection to the BDS movement is central. As part of this, the festival invites you to the panel discussion “Freedom of the Arts”. It is about the tense relationship between freedom of opinion and freedom of art and about personal and social responsibility in the context of German history. Opinions differ widely and it remains to be seen whether an agreement will be possible.

Source: RUHRTRIENNALE