Bells in Berlin and the town of Mytilene in Lesvos rang in synchronization on Tuesday, as part of a Greek-German collaborative art project to raise awareness about the refugee crisis. At noon on Tuesday, the bell at Agios Athanassios Cathedral in Mytilene and the Freedom Bell in the Tower of Schöneberg Town Hall toll rang at the same time, forming a “national connection” in a call for sensitization and action.
The parallel tolling of the bells aimed to unite two landmark locations in the refugee crisis: the island of Lesvos, whose coasts symbolize the passage into Europe, and the city of Berlin as the destination of the refugees‘ odyssey. The sound of the tolling was mixed and broadcasted via the internet.
Behind the symbolic action are Greek artist and activist Varvara Papadopoulou and the German artistic platform “Neue Berliner Raume,” working with the Mytilene church and the Schöneberg Town Hall.
Papadopoulou, who is a front-line volunteer in the refugee crisis herself, noted that art “must be a punch in the stomach” and that most artists had a “comfortable” relation with the crisis.
“When you have 5,000 people in a public space, such as Piraeus port, and hundreds of refugees are arriving by boat so that you have to give priority to women and children because there aren’t enough tents for anyone, then you have a state of war and in this state, artists must be on the front line,” she said.
Source: ANA MPA
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