Ruhr 2010: Who will be Artistic Director?
The EU officially confirmed in mid-November that the City of Essen in the Ruhr District will be European Capital of Culture in 2010. Now that the Ruhr 2010 GmbH has been established, the big question remaining open is who will get the artistic director job.
Unanimity by no means prevails within Ruhr 2010’s quadripartite alliance that includes the Province of Nordrhein-Westfalen, the Ruhr District Initiative (in which leading commercial interests in the region are represented), the City of Essen and the Ruhr Regional Association. The Province of Nordrhein-Westfalen has already come out in favor of the American director Peter Sellars, a star with a big international reputation, whereas the other partners are calling for the appointment of someone with cultural roots in the region. Their choice is a team headed by Oliver Scheytt, Essen’s Director of Cultural Affairs and the designated CEO of the GmbH. There’s no clear frontrunner at the moment, but it is certainly in the best interest of the project and the planning process for the decision to be made quickly.