Henri Neuendorf
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Germany is gearing up to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, and preparations for a massive street party to celebrate the landmark event are well underway. According to Art Daily, the soundtrack of the party will come courtesy of the Berlin State Orchestra, veteran German rockstar Udo Lindenberg, and the techno DJ Paul Kalkbrenner, who will keep Berliners entertained and dancing throughout the night.
As part of the celebrations, the artists Christopher Bauder and Marc Bauder have conceived a poignant visual reminder of the German capital’s division. A city-wide installation—stretching across 15km and consisting of 8,000 glowing white balloons perched upon 11-foot masts—will retrace the locations where the wall once stood. The installation, entitled Lichtgrenze, is designed to illustrate the vastness of the separation.
According to a press statement from the event’s organizers, the mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit has said: “25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the once divided city presents itself today as a liberal and open-minded metropolis […] We place ourselves in solidarity with those who have raised their voices for freedom, democracy, and human rights back then as well as now […] Berlin, after 25 years, has become a place of creativity, openness to the future, and internationality.”
Steffen Seibert, a spokesperson for the German government, told Art Daily: “We will be thinking of the many courageous and determined people whose persistent protests made possible the happy events of November 9, 1989 and, subsequently, German unity.”
Lichtgrenze will be on view from November 7 – 9.
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