Dozens of artists bring new life to a gigantic former ironworks on UNESCO's world heritage list

VÖLKLINGEN, Germany (AP) — Dozens of urban artists from 17 countries have converged on one of Europe's most important industrial landmarks for a show that takes advantage of the former ironworks' sprawling spaces and aura of abandonment.

At the Völklinger Hütte, or Völklingen Ironworks, the Urban Art Biennale 2026 is getting underway, continuing what has grown into a biennial tradition over the past decade and a half.

“This location is at the core of street art and graffiti art,” said Ralf Beil, the general director of the site, which is open to the public as a museum. “It all began in industrial places like this.”

Artists “love this place and they do works for the Völklinger Hütte, in the Völklinger Hütte, with the Völklinger Hütte,” he said.

This year's show features 50 artists. They include France-based Tomas Lacque, whose installation features a small van, a pile of tires, toys and debris covered in a coat of paint. Standing in a hall where furnaces once worked, it appears to evoke fossil-fueled mobility being covered in ash like Pompeii.

Spanish artist Ampparito has painted the words “no hay nada de valor” (roughly, "There is nothing of value here") in huge white letters on the roof of one of the site's massive sheds — a work best seen from a viewing platform 45 meters (148 feet) above ground level.

Dutch artist Boris Tellegen, better known as Delta, contributed a massive green-and-black wooden sculpture that lights up the interior of the ironworks. French-based collective Vortex-X, who recycle salvaged material, stretched rays of white industrial fabric across one of the building's halls in a work titled “Memory in transit.”

The ironworks spreads over a 6-hectare (nearly 15-acre) site, a maze of chimneys and furnaces in which visitors still encounter ominous industrial-era signs warning of risks such as a “danger of crushing.” They dominate the town of Völklingen, near Germany’s border with France.

They have been on UNESCO’s world heritage list since 1994, recognized as “the only intact example, in the whole of western Europe and North America, of an integrated ironworks that was built and equipped in the 19th and 20th centuries.”

The furnaces have been cold since 1986, when production ended, and the site has been preserved as it was then. But its appearance is much older, as no new installations were added after the mid-1930s.

“It’s so dusty and it’s so old, but it’s beautiful, you know, there’s beauty in decay,” said British artist Remi Rough. “I think what I’ve done makes you kind of just perceive it in a bit of a different way.”

Rough contributed small paintings that he said were meant to be “very clean and clinical,” in contrast to the site.

Danish artist Anders Reventlov said he felt “humble to be able to do something here.”

“As somebody told me ... it was hell to work here,” he said. “Now it’s not hell. It’s like a nice place, people walking around, there are bees, there are beautiful flowers, but yeah, we still remember the history and that’s super important.”

Beil said that organizers “want pieces which are really original for this space and this also is then prohibiting (them) from being commercial."

“This is an installation for the space,” he said. “This is pure art.”

The Biennale opens Saturday and runs until Nov. 15.

Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

The installation "Transit der Erinnerung", Transit of Memory, by artist Vortex-X is on display at the at the former ironworks Voelklinger Huette, World Cultural Heritage Site, as part of the exhibition Urban Art Biennale 2026 in Voelklingen, Germany, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Oliver Dietze/dpa via AP)

Frank Kraemer, exhibition director, stands next to the installation "Affichage Libre" by artist Joachim Romain at the exhibition Urban Art Biennale 2026 at the former ironworks Voelklinger Huette, World Cultural Heritage Site, in Voelklingen, Germany, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Oliver Dietze/dpa via AP)

A woman takes a photo of the installation "Les Silence des Departs" by artist Tomas Lacque at the exhibition Urban Art Biennale 2026 at the former ironworks Voelklinger Huette, World Cultural Heritage Site, in Voelklingen, Germany, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Oliver Dietze/dpa via AP)

The installation "One Beam" by artist Boris Tellegen, is on display at the former ironworks Voelklinger Huette, World Cultural Heritage Site, as part of the exhibition Urban Art Biennale 2026 in Voelklingen, Germany, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Oliver Dietze/dpa via AP)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Make it 10 wins in a row for the Chicago Cubs again. That's twice in one season — for the first time in nine decades.

Ian Happ extended his on-base streak to 29 games, Michael Busch hit a three-run double and the Cubs clinched their second 10-game winning streak this year with a 7-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.

This is the first time since 1935 that Chicago has had two 10-game winning streaks in a season. The only time the Cubs had more was in 1906 with four.

“That means you’re doing something that’s pretty rare, and I think we realize that,” manager Craig Counsell said.

The 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers were the previous major league team with two 10-game winning streaks within the first 39 games of a season, according to Sportradar. They did it in their first 24 games.

“Baseball is a game of a ridiculous amount of stats and things to look up, so anytime you have to go that far back, it is obviously a good sign, especially on a positive like that,” Chicago second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “We're just going to keep it rolling.”

These Cubs have done it pretty quickly, too, with a pair of 10-game winning streaks by May 8.

“That’s a crazy sentence,” Hoerner said.

Milwaukee had two winning streaks of at least 10 games last season on the way to winning the NL Central title and finishing five games ahead of Chicago.

The Cubs have the best record in the majors at 27-12 and have won 20 of their last 23 games, with three consecutive losses separating those long win streaks.

“If you break it to small things, it’s just come and play a good game today, and we played a really good game today, a really well-rounded, well-pitched for sure, with some pressure a lot in a bunch of innings," Counsell said. "It's been the recipe for a lot of wins.”

When the Cubs had multiple 10-game winning streaks in 1935, their Hall of Fame catcher Gabby Hartnett was the NL MVP and Charlie Grimm the manager while winning 100 games. The only time they have done that since was their 2016 World Series championship year, when they won 103 games in the regular season.

“Two double-digit winning streaks in a season, that sounds pretty wild to me,” said Ben Brown, who threw four hitless innings in his first start this season after 12 relief appearances.

“That’s kudos to all the guys in the clubhouse, all the coaches, all the trainers, the sports staff,” he added. “That is some goosebumps to think about how talented this team is. It’s special to be a part of, it’s special to witness, it’s special to watch.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run off Texas Rangers starting pitcher Kumar Rocker during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 8, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki (27) is greeted by Carson Kelly (15) near home plate after hitting a two-run home run off Texas Rangers starting pitcher Kumar Rocker during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 8, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Chicago Cubs designated hitter Michael Conforto connects for a double off Texas Rangers starting pitcher Kumar Rocker during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, May 8, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki gestures while running the bases after hitting a two-run home run off Texas Rangers starting pitcher Kumar Rocker during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 8, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)