Manifesta 16 Ruhr 2026 announces urbanist Josep Bohigas as First Creative Mediator

Manifesta 16 Ruhr, taking place in 2026 in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia, has selected the Catalan architect and urbanist Josep Bohigas as its First Creative Mediator. Bohigas will start working this autumn on creating an urban vision which is part of the pre-biennial research process. The urban vision strives to analyse the present and historical situation of the Ruhr area from an urban, peripheral perspective to create connectivity between public spaces which are in constant transformation. The Ruhr area has always been one of the most important East-West trade corridors in Europe due to its central continental location. The urban vision is a site-specific research contextualised by current geo-political developments, such as the rise of populism and the impact of neoliberal restructuring after the fall of the Iron Curtain. It will examine the effect of the changing world orders from a regional as well as global perspective, including investigating how new identities can be formed in post-industrial landscapes and can find new urban solutions to the shifting social fabric.

Josep Bohigas has been selected to become the First Creative Mediator of Manifesta 16 Ruhr based on his contribution to urban changes in creating alternative solutions for social cohesion and oversaturated urban spaces in Barcelona and its metropolitan region, which could serve as an inspiration for the Ruhr area (such as the concept of the Superblocks).