The socio-cultural arts centre Makroscope, the Gruppe Ruhrorter and the Theater an der Ruhr are collaborating on the Zuhören project. A participatory sound and encounter format that responds to the increasing closure of church community spaces and explores the losses and utopian opportunities this presents. The project takes place within the context of the programme of the nomadic art and architecture biennial Manifesta 16+.

The starting point is the closure of St. Engelbert’s by the parish in Mülheim-Eppinghofen. For a transitional period, the workers’ church — which combines neo-Gothic architecture with design principles from the post-Second World War reconstruction — will become a place where listening is made explicit as a social practice. Questions about future uses are met with complicating factors: loneliness, the town’s strained financial situation, and an ageing society. Yet these are accompanied by a longing for old and new forms of community, shared care and collective imagination. Through interviews, field recordings and choral singing, the project explores all of this and, over five days in July, presents a living archive of voices in the church. This creates a resonant space that draws on the voices of the neighbourhood and makes listening, as a prerequisite for speaking together, tangibly experiential.

15 July – Part 1: What is a church space today?

To kick off the ‘Zuhören’ series, we welcome the audience to St. Engelbert and invite them to listen to the first of four parts of our radio play of the same name, which begins by exploring where we actually are. A piece featuring voices that tell of the early days of the Church, but also of places that are currently undergoing transformation. It explores rituals of gathering, their sounds and spaces, as well as everyday life and the question of what the church can still be. Following this, we hear the experimental choir Γλωσσα (“Glossa”), which leads us into surprising and at times disconcerting interstices of the spoken word.

16 July – Part 2: Solitude

The second part of our radio play brings together stories and reflections on being alone today, right in the heart of the neighbourhood. It explores quiet, unobserved routines and the lack of social occasions, linked to the increasing disappearance of public spaces. But it also looks at subtle strategies that can help us get through long days. Afterwards, we invite you to join us for a convivial get-together with food and conversation.

17 July – Part 3: Communities

The third part of the radio play explores community as something that is created: through shared responsibility, negotiation and, inevitably, conflict. At a time when traditional forms of community are losing their binding power, the question arises as to what models of cohesion and communal living we actually want today, and where these are already being put to the test. What do the spaces of these new forms of community look like, and what do they need? To complement the radio play, there will be musical performances by the two church choirs ‘Canticum Novum’ and ‘Cantate Domino’, as well as the instrumental ensemble.

18 July – Part 4: City, Church, Money

Before we listen to the fourth part of our radio play, we invite the neighbours to a communal picnic on the lawn around St. Engelbert. The radio play then examines the structures that influence urban policy. This is particularly relevant in a city like Mülheim an der Ruhr, which, due to high levels of debt, is seeking creative solutions to maintain public life and the spaces required for it. We will hear perspectives from the local government, the church and everyday life, illustrating how solutions are politically achieved amidst a tight budgetary situation. Afterwards, there will be another concert by Γλωσσα (“Glossa”), an ensemble and experimental space for the human voice, as well as the opportunity to speak on the topics discussed during an open mic session.

19 July – Closing Event

The closing event of Zuhören begins with an organ concert. Afterwards, we will revisit key themes from the various parts of the radio play. What did the church interior tell us? Where does loneliness manifest itself? Which communities are realistic, and what role do financial resources play in this? A round-table discussion will bring together voices and questions from the neighbourhood on these topics and look to the future. What can continue, who will take over, and how can ‘Listening’ remain a living practice in the neighbourhood? Local stakeholders who are already involved in developments in the Eppinghofen neighbourhood, or who wish to be involved in the future, will be invited.

Team: Steffen Börgmann, Max Brands, Kara Handgraaf, Ole-Kristian Heyer, Elisa Kühnl, Franziska Schneeberger, Wanja van Suntum, Lina Wübbenhorst

Admission to all Manifesta venues is free.

The event will take place at St Engelbert’s Church, 47 Engelbertusstraße, 45473 Mülheim an der Ruhr.

A project by Makroscope e.V., Theater an der Ruhr, and RUHRORTER as part of Manifesta 16+, with the kind support of Freunde des Theater an der Ruhr e.V.