Manifesta 16, the nomadic European biennial, has revealed the full list of 106 artists from 30 countries who will participate in its 2026 edition. The event will open on 21 June and take place across 12 decommissioned modernist churches in four cities in Germany's Ruhr region: Bochum, Essen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen. The program includes 64 new commissions.
Hedwig Fijen, founding director of Manifesta, the European Nomadic Biennial, will step down on October 5. Emilia van Lynden and Catherine Nichols will succeed her as general director and artistic director respectively, as announced by the supervisory board of the International Foundation Manifesta. Fijen, who was commissioned by the Netherlands Office for Fine Arts in 1991 to develop a pan-European platform, has led Manifesta through editions in Palermo, Pristina, Barcelona, and the upcoming 2026 edition in the Ruhr region. Van Lynden has served as deputy director since 2019, while Nichols, a Berlin-based curator, contributed as creative mediator for the 2022 edition and artistic board member for 2026. The new leadership will begin with Manifesta 17 in Coimbra, Portugal, in 2028.