A rapid transformation has occurred in the Ruhr region: former home to the steel industry and coal mining, it is gradually turning into a modern service- and culture-oriented metropolis. This book of photographs contains around 450 images of the Ruhr region dating from the seventies to 2000 and produced by renowned photographers such as Bernd and Hilla Becher, Joachim Brohm, André Gelpke, Thomas Struth, Timm Rautert, Milton Rogovin, and many others.
The works featured deal with themes such as old and new kinds of work, political protests, youth subcultures, or the way that projects, like the International Building Exhibition (IBA) Emscherpark, have transformed everyday life, cities, and landscape. This volume offers an array of striking regional iconography, along with stories about people and places told through photos—a kaleidoscope that prompts the reader to recall the past as well as view and understand developments from a new perspective.
 
Exhibition schedule: Ruhr Museum, Essen, September 26, 2010–February 16, 2011