morePlatz: EUROPA

Against a backdrop of growing uncertainty about the future of Europe, Caro Baumann and Johannes Schele from the Berlin-based architecture firm morePlatz have created a powerful symbol in public space with the light installation "EUROPA". In autumn 2016, the illuminated lettering consisting of 33 neon tubes was installed for the first time on the tower of the former St. Agnes Church in Berlin-Kreuzberg, which was designed by Werner Düttmann in 1964-67. The clear form of the letters turned the building itself into a statement in favour of an open and free society.

The number 33 symbolises the member states and accession candidates to the European Union at the time the artwork was created, i.e. in 2016. Each light tube was financed and supported by a sponsor. After its launch in Berlin, the installation travelled through various cities in Germany and could be seen at the Komische Oper Berlin, the Jahrhunderthalle Bochum, the Bille power station in Hamburg and the Landschaftspark Duisburg, among others. The light sculpture "EUROPA" was thus visible in different contexts - but always as a message against exclusion and demarcation and in favour of common values that unite Europe. in 2019, "EUROPA" was installed on a façade of the Wirkbau building in Chemnitz for the first time during the Festival of Industrial Culture and has been installed there permanently thanks to the acquisition of the owners of the Wirkbau building. In the course of the successful bid to become European Capital of Culture, the artwork "EUROPA" became a shining message of the old Saxon industrial metropolis. Today, it reflects the need for a strong European identity more than ever.

(Text: Ulrike Pennewitz / Alexander Ochs)