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Participants in the competition for Leipzig's Monument to Freedom and Unity have been selected
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(27.01.2012)
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The competition for Leipzig's Monument to Freedom and Unity has entered a new important phase. On January 19 and 20, the Selection Committee, which is independent of the Jury, held a meeting and selected 41 out the total 325 submissions, and recommended them to Leipzig's City Council as candidates for the competition.
The selected participants come from ten countries:
- 23 from Germany, of which 2 come from Leipzig,
- 12 from other European countries,
- 3 from the United States,
- 1 from Japan.
Among the 41 selected entries are
- 9 artists,
- 2 architects and
- 1 landscape architect, as independent entrants, as well as
- 29 groups of artists/architects, urban planners and engineers.
The names of the selected participants will not be disclosed until completion of the competition process to make sure that the selection will not affect the decisions of the Jury.
The Selection Committee consisted of experts (artists, curators, architects and landscape architects) and representatives of the monument's two patrons, the Federal German Government and the government of the Federal State of Saxony. Representatives of the Association of Visual Artists from Saxony and Leipzig (Bund bildender Künstler Sachsen und Leipzig) and of the Chamber of Architects were present as observers. The City Council of Leipzig was responsible for examining the legal conformity of the entries.
Mayor Burkhard Jung, to whom the names of the selected entrants were not disclosed because of his membership in the jury, thanked the Selection Committee for its work. "I can imagine how difficult it must have been to choose the 41 most appropriate entries from such a large number of outstanding submissions from Germany and abroad", said the Mayor. "I will keep my fingers crossed for all participants in the competition and am looking forward to expressive, surprising, poignant results." The jury will announce the winner(s) in early July.
Further proceedings
The selected participants were notified by January 23 and asked to confirm their participation. They must then submit their drafts for the Monument to Freedom and Unity by June 1, 2012. The meeting of the Jury is scheduled for July 5 and 6, 2012.
After the competition had been made public on October 9, 2011, interested parties were asked to submit applications by December 16, 2011.
Public event on March 1, 2012
The next opportunity for the citizens to follow the progress of the competition will be in the evening of March 1, 2012 at Zeitgeschichtliches Forum in Leipzig. Then, two members of the jury will hold a discussion with contemporary witnesses and representatives of the younger generation, on how the values of the peaceful revolution might best be propagated into the future.
Leipzig's Monument to Freedom and Unity
In 2008, the German Bundestag called on the Federal Government to join forces with the Saxon Government and the city of Leipzig to build a monument to freedom and unity in Leipzig, in addition to the monument already planned for Berlin.
The march of 70,000 protesters in Leipzig on October 9, 1989, had brought the breakthrough for the 'Peaceful Revolution' in East Germany and ultimately freed the way for German unity. In addition, the Leipzig Monument to Freedom and Unity is intended as a national monument, which by location, design and significance shall point way beyond Leipzig. It is intended to speak to a wide democratic public and above all, to future generations through its expression of political and artistic values.
Funding
6.5 Million euro, of which 5 million come from the Federal Government and 1.5 million from the Federal State of Saxony.
Competition money: 175,000 euro
In May 2011, Leipzig City Council designated Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz as the location for the monument. The square is located directly on the ring road around the city centre, where the demonstrations took place in 1989. The Monument to Freedom and Unity will be inaugurated on October 9, 2014 in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Peaceful Revolution. The square will then be renamed into 'Platz der Friedlichen Revolution' (Square of the Peaceful Revolution).
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Monday demonstrations on the city centre ring road on October 9, 1989. View from Wintergartenhochhaus. Photo: Heinz Löster |
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