Art connects cities: Mülheim and Tours celebrate 60 years of partnership!

Art connects cities: Mülheim and Tours celebrate 60 years of partnership!

Mülheim an der Ruhr is preparing for a special cultural exchange. On January 17, 2025, the exhibition "Stadt - Land - River" will open, which celebrates the artistic cooperation between Mülheim and the French twin town of Tours. This city twinning has existed since 1962 and aims to deepen the artistic contacts between the two cities. A special feature of the cities is their comparable population and their rich history, which goes back to the Middle Ages.

Both cities are strongly shaped by historical and cultural buildings and have a long history. A river plays an important role in the development and history of both places. The exhibition will show works by the artists Justine Ginter from Tours and Rona Nekes from Mülheim an der Ruhr. They combine film and photography to present their individual perspectives.

a special evening for the Franco-German friendship

The end of the project is celebrated on January 22nd with a “Franco-German evening”, which was launched in honor of the Franco-German day. This day was launched in 2003 by the then heads of government Gerhard Schröder and Jacques Chirac. This friendship was further consolidated

The exhibition is opened on Friday, January 17, 2025, at 6 p.m. in the fourth center, Leineweberstraße 15-17, in Mülheim an der Ruhr. A varied program awaits the guests who, among other things, a greeting by Karin Dörre from the AGMK, greetings from Mayor Ann-Kathrin Allkotte and an introduction by the art historian Dr. Gerhard Ribbrock includes.

opening times and events

The artists are present on Tuesday, January 21, and Friday, January 24, 2025, from 2 to 4 p.m. The finissage will take place on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at 5 p.m. Entry to the exhibition and the program items is free of charge.

This project is funded by the City of Mülheim's cultural office and the Franco-German citizens' fund, which was founded in April 2020 to support Franco-German friendship. The citizens' fund enables various projects and is implemented by the Franco-German youth work (DFJW). This underlines the importance that city twinning for cultural exchange and the possibilities they offer to promote understanding and trust between nations.

In addition, the city of Mülheim an der Ruhr emphasizes its other city twinning with Darlington (Nordland), Kouvola (Südfinland), Opole (Poland), Kfar Saba (Israel) and Beykoz (Türkiye). The city is actively involved in the organization of encounters, exhibitions and cultural events in order to constantly intensify the exchange between the partner cities.

like muelheim-ruhr.de is the upcoming exhibition all about cultural networking, which is funded by city partnerships. These are an important instrument to enable a constant dialogue and exchange between different cultures and nations.

A look at other cities shows, as well as frankfurt.de for years through numerous partnerships intensively promotes cultural networking and the exchange. These efforts help to expand the horizon and to strengthen understanding for each other sustainably.