New art installation “FreiheitBerlin” celebrates Berlin as city of freedom

Credits: Marco Leitermann

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, Berlin has been seen as the capital of freedom. With the art installation “#FreiheitBerlin”, the capital has created a monument for freedom, which is now open to the public until June, 18. The temporary monument was inaugurated on May 11, 2018 by Berlin’s Governing Mayor Michael Müller just outside the German capital’s Central Station, the “Hauptbahnhof”.

Berlin, May 17th, 2018 – Berlin’s new temporary monument “#FreiheitBerlin” (ger.,“#FreedomBerlin”) is now open to the public and greets arriving tourists and locals on Washington Square, just outside the German capital’s Central Station, the “Hauptbahnhof”. The monument, which is 25 metres long and 2.5 metres high, is a new landmark in the city, designed to encourage people to think about and discuss the term freedom.

The art installation already gets major attention on social media platforms. Hundreds of people posted selfies in front of the giant letters, which were designed by international street artists.

Berlin has established its brand worldwide – be it as a business and science hub, creative hub, or as “city of freedom”. The aim of this project is to make Berlin’s citizens and the global community consciously think about freedom, in connection with the city that has become a symbol of freedom ever since the fall of the Wall. Over the past year the #FreiheitBerlin project has been a focus of “be Berlin”, an initiative of the City of Berlin, run by “Berlin Partner” (www.be.berlin). Since the start of the campaign, over 9,000 people have shared their thoughts about what freedom means to them under the hashtag #FreiheitBerlin.

“Berlin lives and loves freedom. We Berliners will never forget that peace and freedom cannot be taken for granted. With this project, the German capital sets a clear sign that it lives by the principles of freedom. The monument marks the year in which the Berlin Wall has been gone for as long as it was there and it reaffirms Berlin’s commitment to being an open-minded and tolerant city”, Berlin’s Governing Mayor Michael Müller said at the official opening ceremony.

The art installation was designed by GRAFT architects. The creation of the monument was supported by Berlin Art Bang e.V., an organisation already known for other impactful projects such as “The Haus” and “Berlin Mural Fest”. Furthermore, international street artists as well as people from all over the world who had been invited to submit their ideas, are part of the project.

To bring to life the white letters of the word “freedom”, “Freiheit” in German, a number of artists have come together: Die Dixons, Klebebande, Gogoplata, AKTEOne & Cren, El Bocho, Notes of Berlin, CASE Maclaim, Amigo and Daniela Uhlig & Stereoheat. Each one of the street artists contributed their own interpretation of freedom to the project. The ideas for the word “Berlin” came from all across the world. For the letter “B” the Berlin newspaper “Berliner Morgenpost” has taken over the sponsorship and made the “Evangelischer Kirchenkreis Tempelhof-Schöneberg” the winner. The other ideas came from Marcus Haas, Zofia Hanna Bogucka, Türkhan Emrah Tümer and Ekaterina Koroleva. The design for the “I” was created by Ana Torralba Loyo from Madrid, selected by the city magazines “tip” and “zitty”.

The art installation is also part of the “Berlin Mural Fest”, that presents from May, 19th-21st, around 80 new street art works and murals all around the city of Berlin.