‘This is Not Detroit’ is an international festival held in four Opel factories and aimed at exploring the future of the city, work and art in Europe. The phrase ‘Bochum is Opel and Opel is Bochum’ by the famous singer Grönemeyer describes the relationship between his city of birth and the car plant. In the 70s, when more than 20,000 people were employed at the plant, it embodied the pride and identity of a whole city. Today, however, the same equation expresses the fateful dependence on a global market which, in order to survive, is forcing different European cities to compete against each other.
In December 2012 the CEO of Opel in Detroit decided to close down the Bochum plant, plunging Bochum into its biggest economic and social crisis since the 60s and triggering major changes not only in the city but also in the region. This closure is an important milestone in the industrial history of the Ruhr basin as it raises significant questions about the future development of cities and their design.
Not only Bochum is raising these questions: other towns and cities like Zaragoza (Spain), Gliwice (Poland) and Ellesmere (UK) are experiencing similar situations as they depend on decisions that are made in Detroit – precisely the city where the end of heavy industry began.
Artists, researchers and urban planners of these ‘Opel cities’ have been engaged in analysing the changes that have taken place and creating pieces that link not only the four cities but also their citizens in the local context. Cities which should supposedly be global competitors thus become allies.
AC/E is collaborating in this project by supporting the participation of the Basurama group through its mobility programme. The aims of this group are to explore and create and to engage in cultural and environmental production. Founded in 2001, it has centred its studies and scope of action on the production processes, the generation of waste they involve and the creative possibilities these contemporary situations yield.
