175 Years of Paulskirche Constitution: Ode to Democracy

May 2023 saw celebrations of a significant date for German democracy: the 175th anniversary of the National Assembly. It was an occasion that was marked in Frankfurt am Main with a big civic and democracy festival.

The open-air stagings “Grove of Freedom” and “Ode to Democracy” designed by Atelier Markgraph were part of these festivities. They were intended to turn the abstract notion of “democracy” into an experience and consciously incorporated citizens into the creative process.

The staging of “Grove of Freedom” on the square Paulsplatz in Frankfurt lent democracy a poetic voice. Citizens from all over Germany contributed over 400 poems and thoughts on democracy in various languages. The texts curated by the artist duo HSI decorated 43 Sycamore trees on printed black, red and golden banners. Extracts from the poems were projected onto the Paulskirche in the evening.

Citizens also had their say during the evening event “Ode to Democracy” – made visible and audible with the help of three 25-metre-wide and 10-metre-high water projection surfaces, 75 spotlights and 40 loudspeakers. The animated play of water, wind and light and the resulting fragmentary, transparent projections illustrated the essence of democracy and associated it with values such as freedom and openness.

The highlight of the evening was the polyphonic “Choir of Freedom”, a choir comprising people from a wide variety of backgrounds and of all ages. Together they sang the chorus of the song specially composed by Frankfurt musician Chima as a projection on the surface of the water. A choreography with the flags of the people from 178 nations living in Frankfurt formed a well-chosen colourful conclusion.