2025-10-09
Circular Valley Forum 2025: Artwork Highlights European Cohesion
The photomontage shows what the artwork will look like at the Circular Valley Forum 2025. Various artistically edited portraits will be on display around the entrance to the Historic Town Hall in Wuppertal.
Source: HA Schult
Source: HA Schult
At the 2025 Circular Valley Forum, artist HA Schult will send a powerful message about European solidarity. "Hotel Europe" welcomes guests to the largest gathering of the circular economy in Europe, where art, politics, and business converge in a unique way.
A functioning circular economy requires cooperation and the people who make it possible. Some of these influential figures from business, politics, and science will be represented artistically at this year's Circular Valley Forum. HA Schult's entrance design for the Historic City Hall in Wuppertal, titled “Hotel Europe”, is based on his 1999 performance art at the Kaiserbau.
At that time, he covered the 18 floors of the shell of the building on the A59 motorway with his artistically altered portraits of 130 personalities who have shaped Europe. At the big annual circular economy meeting on November 14, 2025, he will display not only important Europeans at the entrance to the Historic Town Hall in Wuppertal, but also people who have made a significant contribution to the circular economy. These include influential founders from the Circular Valley network, as well as political figures.
Some of those featured will be attending the Circular Valley Forum in person. In the political realm, this includes North Rhine-Westphalia ministers Mona Neubaur and Nathanael Liminski; Jo Brouns, the Flemish Minister of Environment and Agriculture; and Thierry Aartsen, the Dutch Minister of Environment and Transport. With him at the forum, cross-border cooperation between North Rhine-Westphalia and Flanders will be extended to include the Netherlands.
Art is an important means of communication
"North Rhine-Westphalia is Europe's largest economic and cultural event hub. The Circular Valley Forum is where its heart beats for the future," says artist HA Schult. This year, more than 1,200 decision-makers from politics, business, science, and society will gather for the forum. The forum's motto is “Action across borders and industries,” and its focus is cooperation. Cross-industry and cross-border cooperation is crucial for the transformation to a functioning circular economy. During various panel discussions and confidential roundtable talks, participants will exchange ideas about significant challenges and potential solutions. Fifteen startups from the ninth funding round of the Circular Economy Accelerator will also present their ideas.
"HA Schult's Hotel Europe is intended to highlight European unity at the Circular Valley Forum," said Dr. Carsten Gerhardt, the initiator of Circular Valley and chairman of the nonprofit Circular Valley Foundation. From the beginning, art has played a key role in raising awareness of the circular economy among the general public.
In previous years, the artist HA Schult has supported the Circular Valley Forum with his artwork as well. In 2022, he placed 270 of his Trash People sculptures throughout the building. These 40-kilogram figures represent the average amount of waste produced by one person per day. Previously, they had been displayed in locations such as the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Giza, and Red Square in Moscow. In 2023, the artist covered the entrance to the historic town hall with a print of his "Save the World Hotel" and provided participants with an opening message to carry into the discussion rounds.
All information about this year's Circular Valley Forum, the speakers, and the program can be found here: circular-valley.org/forum2025.
At that time, he covered the 18 floors of the shell of the building on the A59 motorway with his artistically altered portraits of 130 personalities who have shaped Europe. At the big annual circular economy meeting on November 14, 2025, he will display not only important Europeans at the entrance to the Historic Town Hall in Wuppertal, but also people who have made a significant contribution to the circular economy. These include influential founders from the Circular Valley network, as well as political figures.
Some of those featured will be attending the Circular Valley Forum in person. In the political realm, this includes North Rhine-Westphalia ministers Mona Neubaur and Nathanael Liminski; Jo Brouns, the Flemish Minister of Environment and Agriculture; and Thierry Aartsen, the Dutch Minister of Environment and Transport. With him at the forum, cross-border cooperation between North Rhine-Westphalia and Flanders will be extended to include the Netherlands.
Art is an important means of communication
"North Rhine-Westphalia is Europe's largest economic and cultural event hub. The Circular Valley Forum is where its heart beats for the future," says artist HA Schult. This year, more than 1,200 decision-makers from politics, business, science, and society will gather for the forum. The forum's motto is “Action across borders and industries,” and its focus is cooperation. Cross-industry and cross-border cooperation is crucial for the transformation to a functioning circular economy. During various panel discussions and confidential roundtable talks, participants will exchange ideas about significant challenges and potential solutions. Fifteen startups from the ninth funding round of the Circular Economy Accelerator will also present their ideas.
"HA Schult's Hotel Europe is intended to highlight European unity at the Circular Valley Forum," said Dr. Carsten Gerhardt, the initiator of Circular Valley and chairman of the nonprofit Circular Valley Foundation. From the beginning, art has played a key role in raising awareness of the circular economy among the general public.
In previous years, the artist HA Schult has supported the Circular Valley Forum with his artwork as well. In 2022, he placed 270 of his Trash People sculptures throughout the building. These 40-kilogram figures represent the average amount of waste produced by one person per day. Previously, they had been displayed in locations such as the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Giza, and Red Square in Moscow. In 2023, the artist covered the entrance to the historic town hall with a print of his "Save the World Hotel" and provided participants with an opening message to carry into the discussion rounds.
All information about this year's Circular Valley Forum, the speakers, and the program can be found here: circular-valley.org/forum2025.
If you have any questions or interview requests, please contact us by e-mail at press@circular-valley.org
The image may be used free of charge for reporting purposes, provided you cite the source.
The image may be used free of charge for reporting purposes, provided you cite the source.
The non-profit Circular Valley Foundation brings together the relevant stakeholders. Across industries and technologies, companies, startups, academia, and policymakers are working together to develop solutions for the transformation to a true circular economy. Public relations, the world's first circular economy accelerator, and policy recommendations are the foundation's main areas of focus.
