The Festival of Freedom on November 9 in Berlin will be a day to remember for all of us, a moment to seriously reflect on the true meaning of humanity, the respect we should have for each other and the will for democratic freedom for everybody. Borders such as the Berlin wall and many others which still exist worldwide are first erected in our minds to say: We are different! But, we are not, absolutely not!
To demonstrate this in Cyprus, the Goethe Zentrum Nicosia has invited artists from both sides of the Green Line to get together for this special day for a workshop on September 12 and 13 to decorate the symbolic stones made available by the Goethe Institute in Germany. The art associations E.KA.TE (Cyprus Chamber of Art) and EMAA (European Mediterranean Art Association) join forces for this event again. Their artists are: Daphne Trimikliniotis, Andreas Kalogirou, Georgos Gabriil, Aristides Anastasiades, Anna Kakoulli; Osman Keten, Feridun Işıman, Nilgün Güney, Şifa Alkapon, Gökçe Sekeoğlu;
Poets will participate: Zeki Ali, Jenan Selçuk, Ellie Paeonidou, Christos Hadjipapas;
and some young graffiti painters: Deniz, Mustafa, Anthony, Phillipos and Demetra.
Mrs Ute Woermann of the Cultural Department of the Goethe Zentrum Nicosia and the artists have met several times to organize the workshop. The following declaration was handed over to me with the request to pass the invitation on to all Cypriots and residents of North Cyprus to come and see the artists working and to see the symbolic stones off on Sunday, September 13, with our hopes for a better future.
INVITATION
The programme of the Goethe Zentrum Nicosia for autumn 2009 is dedicated to the
Peaceful Revolution in 1989, which led to the
Reunification of Germany
THE JOURNEY OF THE WALL
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Goethe Institute has invited artists from all over the world to share their experiences of borders. Symbolic fragments of the Berlin Wall have been sent to Korea, Israel, the Autonomous Palestinian Territories and Cyprus amongst others, countries in which divisions have not yet been overcome.
The wall fragments will be worked upon by artists and returned to Berlin until October 2009.
“The Journey of the Wall” is an international contribution of the Goethe Institute to the “Festival of Freedom” on 9 November at the Brandenburg Gate, an event in which all the symbolic “stones”, including thousands which were worked on by artists in Germany, will be installed and toppled, producing a “domino effect”. Politicians from all parts of the world
will attend this “Festival of Freedom”.
The Goethe Zentrum Nicosia is participating in this project: On Saturday, 12 and Sunday, 13 September 2009, Greek and Turkish Cypriot artists, poets and young graffiti painters will join forces and work on three large wall replicas (250 x 100 x 40 cm) in the Garden of the Goethe Zentrum to express their experiences of division.
During a reception at the Goethe Zentrum on Sunday evening, 13 September, 19.00 hrs., the three artistically adorned “stones” will be handed over to H.E. Dr. Gottfried Zeitz, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, to be sent back to Berlin.
Special guests are the leaders of the two communities in Nicosia, Mrs. Eleni Mavrou, and Mr. Cemal Bulutoğulari, together with Mrs.Kerstin Raatz, representative of the Goethe-Institute of Berlin.
During the course of the Sunday (10.00 – 17.00), the public will have the opportunity to watch the artists working and they are cordially invited to the reception at 19.00 hrs.
Copyright Heidi Trautmann 2009