SQUARE OF THE EUROPEAN PROMISE

Invitation

The Square of the European Promise is being created in Bochum during the three years between 2007 and 2010. This artwork is an invitation to the inhabitants of the city and the Ruhr area as well as to the citizens of Europe to create a new public square together. Participants contribute their names and each name, which will be inscribed onto the square, stands for a promise.

The centre of Jochen Gerz’s Square of the European Promise is the Christ Church (Christuskirche) in Bochum with its “Heroes Memorial Hall” dating back to 1931. There, a golden mosaic features the names of citizens who died in World War I, and a surprise: Germany’s 28 “enemy states”. *

The Square of the European Promise adds a third list: The names of the living. Inscribed onto the new square, they stand for a promise participants make to themselves.

“Europe will not speak with one voice, but with many. Tolerance has many voices. Like the stars that give their light to the night, the people give their word to the future.” (Jochen Gerz).

* Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Great Britain, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Guatemala, Haiti, Hejaz, Honduras, Cuba, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Russia, Serbia, Siam, Czechoslovakia, Uruguay, United States of America.

My contribution to the Square of the European Promise is the inscription of my name on the new square and a promise that I give to Europe. This promise will not be published.

First name

Surname

Postal code, city

Street

Phone

Participants must be at least sixteen years of age
This data will only be used for internal purposes
Participation in this project is free of charge

The Square of the European Promise by Jochen Gerz has been commissioned by the city of Bochum as a contribution to the Ruhr 2010 - European Capital of Culture.