Wolfgang Tillmans Dedicates His Berlin Project Space to the European Refugee Crisis

The German photographer and artist Wolfgang Tillmans has declared that until further notice, his Berlin-based project space Between Bridges will function as a forum for addressing the ongoing European migrant crisis.

Tillmans wants to explore the root of the lack of empathy caused by the differentiation between “real refugees” and economic migrants, the rise of right-wing political parties taking advantage of discontent, and animosity towards the European Union, which he calls “the most successful peace project in the history of mankind.”

According to the artist the aim of the dialogue is to understand how the arrival of 1.5 million refugees in a continent of 508 million has provoked a rhetoric amongst the European population, one of the richest continents on earth, that was previously unacceptable.

During opening times Meeting Place will serve as a visual showcase of information and exhibits. Every Thursday evening the space will host social get-togethers where the three key issues identified by Tillmans can be discussed.

The first weekly meeting, which takes place on Thursday April 14 and will feature an exhibition of photographs by Bachar Al Mohamad Al Chanin, a Syrian archaeologist and official from Syria’s Directorate General for Antiquities and Museums. He has lived in Berlin since September 2015 and he works as a volunteer in the Refugees as Guides program in Berlin’s museums.

On April 21 the project space presents a conversation between Tillmans and the art therapist and author Gülây Akin. The focus will lie on Akin’s activism and work with unaccompanied underage refugees.