Are you a/an...

• Artistic collective
• Gardener
• Neighbourhood chef
• Football team coach
• Yoga teacher
• Ambitious filmmaker
• Curator or cultural worker
• A curious and creative person?

Apply for the Manifesta 16 Ruhr Open Call!

Manifesta 16 Ruhr announces its Open Call for local projects, inviting initiatives, collectives, institutions and individuals from across the Ruhr Area to propose interdisciplinary socio-cultural projects. The biennial, taking place from the 21st of June until the 4th of October 2026, aims to co-develop projects that are rooted in local contexts — initiated with, for and by communities — to foster long-term cultural engagement and co-creation beyond the biennial itself.

Manifesta 16 will unfold across the Ruhr Area in Summer 2026. Through close collaboration with local communities, Manifesta 16 engages with social, political and environmental issues, offering new perspectives on the historical and contemporary fabric of the Ruhr Area. The biennial will repurpose empty post-war church buildings to re-think how these spaces, being demolished or abandoned at a rapid rate in Germany, can yet again serve communities and become renewed axes of cohesion and collaboration within neighbourhoods.

About the Open Call

We welcome project partners that bring diverse groups together, strengthening community bonds through arts, music, literature, ecology, sports, democracy and beyond. Projects should highlight shared perspectives within the Ruhr Area's diverse society and preferably take place in or near a (previous) place of worship in the Ruhr Area. Even though Manifesta 16 is a biennial focused on culture and urbanism, we accept projects from a wide range of disciplines. The essential criteria are that the projects must have a social dimension and that they have to encourage community building or collaboration.

The 11 selected projects will enter a collaboration agreement with Manifesta 16 which will include a financial contribution of up to €15,000 and become part of the Manifesta 16 PLUS programme, running alongside the main biennial programme. A jury of local and international cultural professionals will select projects to be presented across the Ruhr Area. The jury is committed to selecting projects that catalyse community-led engagement and that are developed collaboratively and embedded locally, ensuring relevance, sustainability and lasting impact.

How to Apply

Find the selection criteria and details here. Submit your complete proposal to m16opencall@manifesta.org by the 30th of September 2025 at 23:59. For questions, please check our Open Call webpage or email m16opencall@manifesta.org. Information session details will be announced on our official channels.

We look forward to your proposals!