20 art museums in the Ruhr Metropolis have joined forces under a new umbrella brand RuhrArtMuseums. The RuhrArtMuseums represent a unique museum landscape for art from the 19th century via modern art to contemporary art of national and international standing. It forms the densest landscapes of museum of modern art in the world. The network of RuhrArtMuseums can be put into place with the cooperation of the RUHR.2010 GmbH and through the support of its sponsors. The aim of this united effort is to together hone existing collection, to develop and to present them in mutual agreement, to strengthen education and communication as well as develop an exhibition program that reflects the future of the third largest European conurbation through art. The RuhrArtMuseums first appear together in the Cultural Capital Year RUHR.2010. Since the successful application of the European Cultural Capital in 2007, the RAM have intensifying cooperation. The area of education and communication with the project Collection Tours, exhibition cooperation Mapping the Region with 14 projects, collection presentation as well as public relations/marketing have become central common areas of application. The aim is to establish a permanent common organization extending beyond 2010.

In March 2010 the initiative Collection Tours began, made possible by the Deutsche Bank and developed together with the RuhrArtMuseums. This represents a communication concept for art and education unique to date: over 20,000 pupils from around 1000 schools in the Ruhr Area will be able to participate in the Tour Zweimal Kunst und Züruck with a dedicated fleet of buses, which includes a visit to a museum in their hometown as well as another RuhrArtMuseum. The weekend tours Reisegespräche (for the umbrella exhibition Mapping the Region) and Ost/West (on the different focal points of collections in the east and west of the Ruhr Area) are aimed at adults interested in art.

Reservations for the various tours can be made at the Collection Tours project office:
T + 49 201 88 45 777
info@collectiontours.de

The multi-part exhibition project of contemporary art entitled Mapping the Region artistically recontstructs the Ruhr Area with local, national and international artists. The Museum Folkwang participates in the joint Mapping series with the innovative project Hacking the City in which a number of artist groups text subversive, non-violent strategies of penetration and infiltration, not in the museum; but in the city at large. The museum is also a partner in Jochen Gerz’s Project 2-3 Straßen, which will transform an entire street into a cultural events zone during the Cultural Capital Year.

RuhrKunstMuseen:
Kunstmuseum Bochum; Kunstsammlungen der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Campusmuseum. Sammlung Moderne und Situation Kunst, Bochum mit Stiftung Situation Kunst; Josef Albers Museum, Bottrop; Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund; MKM Museum Küppersmühle für Moderne Kunst, Duisburg; Stiftung DKM, Duisburg; Stiftung Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum – Zentrum Internationaler Skulptur, Duisburg; Museum Folkwang, Essen; Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen; Emil Schumacher Museum, Hagen; Karl Ernst Osthaus Museum, Hagen; Gustav-Lübcke-Museum, Hamm; Emschertal-Museum und Flottmann-Hallen, Herne; Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten Marl; Kunstmuseum Mülheim an der Ruhr in der Alten Post; LUDWIGGALERIE Schloss Oberhausen, Kunsthalle Recklinghausen; Zentrum für Internationale Lichtkunst, Unna; Märkisches Museum, Witten

Information: www.ruhrkunstmuseen.de