"Longing for Tomorrow." Or in German: How do we want to live tomorrow? This question is posed by Ivo van Hove at the beginning of his program outlook for the Ruhrtriennale. It is also about how we can discover and establish connections and relationships with each other. Or as Van Hove himself puts it: "Connectedness is more important than ever in a world full of hostile tensions."

The Ruhrtriennale 2025 opens on August 21 with the world premiere of "I Did It My Way," a production featuring the music of Nina Simone and Frank Sinatra, with Lars Eidinger, Larissa Sirah Herden, and choreography by Serge Aimé Coulibaly. Ivo Van Hove continues his new music theater concept that he designed for the Ruhrtriennale: He combines acting, dance, and music into new narrative forms – music is the narrative centerpiece.

Other premieres include the multimedia play "Oracle" by director Łukasz Twarkowski about the life of visionary scientist Alan Turing, Sharon Eyal's new work for the Ruhrtriennale, "Delay the Sadness," where club dance and classical ballet meet. Not to forget "Guernica Guernica" by the theater collective FC Bergman, which was awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2023 and was inspired by Picasso's famous painting.

The Pulitzer Prize winner 2024, Tyshawn Sorey, will perform two song cycles about the status of Black people in the USA. In the Katernberg church, an eight-hour organ work by Jonny Greenwood, the guitarist of Radiohead, will be heard. With "before and after nature," the Chorwerk Ruhr celebrates its 25th concert anniversary.

This year, the Ruhrtriennale is hosting the Mortier Awards 2025. The awards are given to artists who, in the spirit of the founding artistic director of the Ruhrtriennale, combine bold artistic innovation and social dialogue.