Opening speech: Nikita Dhawan speaks at the festival kick-off

Due to illness in her close family, the Indian environmental activist Vandana Shiva is unable to give the opening speech at the Ruhrtriennale 2018. In her place, Indian philosopher and gender theorist Nikita Dhawan will speak at the opening of the festival on August 9 (6 p.m.) at the Kraftzentrale Duisburg. Ruhrtriennale artistic director Stefanie Carp: "We wish Vandana Shiva a lot of strength in this situation and have great understanding that she wants to stay with her family at the moment. At the same time, we are delighted that we were able to secure Nikita Dhawan, such an exceptional thinker, for the opening at such short notice."

In her speech, Nikita Dhawan will address postcolonialism and migration - two themes that also characterize the program of this year's Ruhrtriennale. Dhawan is a professor of political theory at the University of Innsbruck and was director of the Frankfurt Research Center for Postcolonial Studies. Her research focus is on the historical, economic, socio-political and cultural interconnections between Europe and the postcolonial world. Other areas of her scholarly work include transnational feminism, global justice, human rights, and democracy and decolonization.

Following Nikita Dhawan's lecture, William Kentridge's new creation The Head and the Load will celebrate its German premiere at the Kraftzentrale Duisburg. Tickets already purchased for the opening speech remain valid, but will be refunded by the Ruhrtriennale upon request. For this purpose, tickets can be returned to the advance booking offices where they were purchased.