Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 149

precariousness of refugee destinies are invited to partake in considering the
roles that they play in shaping the lives of these refugees.
Participatory art performances aimed to represent the reality of culture wars
in Europe and sought to bridge the divide between European citizens and
the everyday reality of refugees living in Europe by engaging art audiences
in participatory projects alongside refugees. To these performance artists,
the culture clashes between refugees and Europeans art-goers can be
overcome through participatory work and active efforts to provide financial
support to organizations that work with refugees in Europe. As such, the
projects are active invitations to help the refugee communities in immediate
and tangible ways. For instance, in early ����, Olafur Eliasson and Vienna’s
Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary space set up the ongoing Green
Light project that provides a safe creative space for refugees and the local
community to collaboratively create lamps out of recycled materials. The
proceeds are donated to Red Cross Vienna and Georg Danzer Haus (http://
olafureliasson.net/greenlight/).
A second participatory performance was Alfredo Jaar’s The Gift (����)
gathered volunteers around the Münsterplatz, to participate in a performance
piece presented at the outdoor Parcours Programme. Participants hand out
cardboard boxes on which the artist printed a photograph of the section
of beach in Turkey where the body of toddler Alan Kurdi was found in
September ����. The small boy’s image was removed but the beach was still
recognizable. The boxes came with instructions to open and refold them,
turning them into donation boxes to collect money for the Migrant Offshore
Aid Station, a charity dedicated to saving lives at sea. The art project
expanded on the message that the first version of the photograph published
in La Stampa aimed to disseminate. The journal’s editor-in-chief at the time,
Mario Calabresi, decided to publish the powerful image as a demand that we
all “face what is happening on the beaches where we spent our vacations”
concluding that: “This is the last chance for Europe’s leaders to live up to
the challenge of history. And it is the chance for every one of us to take stock
in the ultimate meaning of existence” (Art Basel).
These works of art represent the clashes of identities that are borne out of
the Syrian refugee crisis. Moreover, they seek to bridge the cultural divide
between the elite cultural world of a major European art festival with the
harsh everyday reality of refugee lives. These works raise awareness about
the need for accountability among cultural and political elites. Importantly,
they also offer two main concrete solutions to the problems that they raise—
148