Hedwig Fijen Steps Down After 30 Years Leading Manifesta; New Co-Directors Named

Hedwig Fijen will leave her role as director of Manifesta on October 5, 2026, after more than 30 years. The nomadic European biennial will transition to a co-leadership model. Emilia van Lynden, previously Deputy Director since 2019, becomes General Director, and Catherine Nichols, a Berlin-based curator, takes on the role of Artistic Director. Van Lynden worked closely with Fijen on the last four editions; Nichols served as Creative Mediator for the Prishtina edition and was on the Artistic Board for Ruhr 2026. The new directors will begin developing future editions, starting with Manifesta 17 in Coimbra, Portugal. Manifesta 16 Ruhr will take place in 2026 across four German cities and 12 venues. Founded in the early 1990s after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Manifesta evolved under Fijen from a traveling contemporary art exhibition into an interdisciplinary platform focusing on culture, urban space, and social dynamics. The biennial has visited over 15 European cities, including Palermo, Prishtina, and Barcelona.