Berlin, Germany. Friday 28 February 2014. Presentation of “a New Narrative for Europe”, with J. M. Barroso and 300 artists, in the studios of the Icelandic/Danish sculptor Olafur Elisasson. An old warehouse in Prenzlauer Berg. Green and white tiles. Impressive light projections.
The “New Narrative” was drafted by a cultural committee, composed of artists and scientists from all over the continent, who worked for nearly a year, with large-scale meetings in Brussels, Warsaw and Milano.
“Europe is a state of mind formed and fostered by its spiritual, philosophical, artistic and scientific inheritance, and driven by the lessons of history (…)
Europe is a state of mind that goes beyond a grouping of Nation States, an internal market and the geographical contours of a continent. Europe is a moral and political responsibility, which must be carried out, not only by institutions and politicians, but by each end every citizen (…)
Europe is a state of mind shared by citizens across the continent. The students, researchers, scholars, artists, professionals and politicians who live, study work, think and journey across national borders, do so in order to deepen and expand their knowledge, unleash their creativity, and widen their opportunities. “.
Strong messages indeed. But the facts are there: on 25 May, a substantial part of the “citizens” to whom the document is addressed will vote against precisely that vision of Europe, denying it the qualification of being a “state of mind”. They will reject it for many good or, often, bad reasons: because of the crisis, because they are out of a job, because they believe that Europe is responsible for everything.
During the evening, representatives of all artistic and scientific fields stood up to propose their ideas, ward off the bad omens, repeat and emphasise the messages of their common work.
An Italian journalist: “We must do away with Europe Day, transforming it into a Non-Europe Day, to show people what the lives of people would look like without the Union”.
A Belgian artist: “We need a commitment. An effort to commit. The conviction that we are doing something useful. That we are creating something else, something new. To enable the beneficiaries of the project to be fully part of the picture, to give them the impression that they also can decide”.
An Italian video producer: “We need to stop with these preconceived products prepared by communication agencies who gain extravagant sums of money. We need to create new products to carry the New Narrative messages. Make short videos on Europe, on the life of Europe. Different for every country, because our countries are different. Share experiences. Involve different media. Call upon the creativity of young people. And, above all: go viral!”
An Italian painter: “Focus on the image. The images of Europe. People who believe in it and people who don’t. Don’t be afraid of diverging views. Speak up with confidence”.
A Scottish festival director: “We need to break the barrier of humour. Or rather: we need to find ways to integrate humour in the ways we communicate. Recapture the spirit of Europe, through laughter and derision. Recapture the European dream.”
A Greek scholar: “The most important value in Europe is its cultural heritage. This asset comprises three time elements: past, present and future. We need to consider these three elements together. Values, coherence, symbols, jobs, messages, construction, re-construction. Presence, oblivion, hope, impatience, respect. Build, debate, believe, do not despair. Fight stereotypes. Create empathy. Understand that things are not given once and for all. Recall that we are born and live free in this space, at this moment of time. Remember that it was not always that way. Remember that at this very moment, in numerous other countries, some of them only distant by a few hundred kilometres, people are fighting to acquire or maintain the principles of democracy. These principles, even in our countries, can never be taken for granted. We need to move fast. Without concessions. Recalling that in our countries, fed for a long time by the benefits - and illusions - of growth, adverse forces are now beginning to act, as they have always been. Do not give up!”
The President of the European Commission: “We need to recall that Europe is a universal principle. We need to consider this without fear, but also without chauvinism”.
So much for the challenges, recalled in an artist’s studio- in this special place, a school of art and architecture that hosts 90 artists from all over the world. So much for the challenges recalled, in a town that lived through so many things: Isherwood, Mann, Brecht, Benjamin, and all those who rebuilt it after the storms. They knew what they were doing, what they had to do. It’s up to us now to take over, to ensure that the strong commitments of the New Narrative are not reduced to mere pious hopes.
“Europe”, says the New Narrative in conclusion, “needs brave, imaginative and enlightened political leaders who speak and understand the language of Europe as a political body, animated and energized by culture.
Europe also needs artists and scientists, educators and journalists, historians and sociologists, entrepreneurs and civil servants who are prepared to move beyond the comfort of their autonomy to take on new responsibilities towards Europe as a political body.
Finally, Europe needs citizens to raise their voices and to take part in the European public space of debate by sharing their stories and concerns. These narratives will tell the story of what it means to be a European in the 21st century”.
Nothing more, nothing less. We need now to endorse this narrative, which was repeated the next day by President Barroso and Chancellor Merkel in the glass-paved façade of the Academy of the Arts, looking onto the Brandenburg Gate – that other monumental symbol of European history, with its demons and its stories, its innumerable dead, and all those who have fought to bring us to where we are. “Without Europe”, recalled the Chancellor, “in Germany today we would never have experienced the happiness of living this together”.
We need to repeat this endlessly, in the confusing and worrying ordeal currently taking place in Kiev, in remembrance of the dead of Maïdan, and of all those who have believed in this unique endeavour, a story of peace, of values, of fallen walls, of democratic opportunities. We need to repeat, above all, in the troubled atmosphere of rising populism, that nothing - I repeat, nothing - , is granted for ever.
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