The broad-based solidarity action “Our Space to Help” of the Berlin art institutions for Ukrainian refugees in the Neue Nationalgalerie raised around 250,000 euros in donations over the past weekend with a good 7,000 participants. Further donations can be made via the organisation Be an Angel e. V. (account see below).
Image above: #kunst4ukraine, Our Space to Help, Neue Nationalgalerie 2022 © Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Simon Menges
100% of the donations collected will directly benefit the Be an Angel e.V. association, which uses them to support refugees arriving in Berlin and transports of refugees from the Republic of Moldova and medicine deliveries to Kiev and Odessa, among other things. Be an Angel e. V. and the Neue Nationalgalerie continue to call for donations:
Be an Angel e. V.
Donation keyword: #kunst4ukraine
Konto 014 522 59 00
BLZ 100 708 48 (Deutsche Bank)
IBAN DE37100708480145225900
BIC DEUTDEDB110
The fundraising vigil initiated by Klaus Biesenbach, director of the Neue Nationalgalerie, together with the artists Anne Imhof and Ólafur Elíasson, took place for 36 hours from Saturday, 5 March, to Sunday, 6 March 2022, in the upper exhibition hall of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie. Many Berliners and artists took up the offer of an open stage – including Clemens Schick, Florian Illies, Prem Krishnamurthy, Luki von der Gracht, Ariel Reichmann, Christina Seifert, Margret Köll, GUSH (Steven Warwick & Iván Brito), Lars Eidinger and Herbert Grönemeyer. On the second day of the vigil, a toddler also ran onto the stage, grabbed the microphone and said: “We all don’t want war!”
Quoting this child, Klaus Biesenbach says: “Our solidarity is with all those who do not want war, our support goes to all those who do not live in peace, everywhere in the world! Our thanks to all those who have helped to make a contribution and have thus made a start. We thank the many Berliners who came to our vigil and donated. We would also like to thank the artists who performed in the Neue Nationalgalerie and made us aware that this is about peace and freedom. I would also like to thank our colleagues in Berlin’s cultural institutions who supported ‘Our Space to Help’.”
“We are overwhelmed by the generous donations that literally save lives,” says Ulrike Lessig, coordinator of Be an Angel e. V. “We are currently the only organisation in Moldova that evacuates people directly from the Ukrainian border to Germany on a daily basis. A bus for 50 refugees costs 4,900 euros. This was made possible by donations from the Neue Nationalgalerie, artists and Berliners. We need to help even more people on the run. Our gratitude knows no words.”
“Our Space to Help” is supported by an association of art institutions and their responsible persons in Berlin: Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art, Gabriele Horn; Gallery Weekend Berlin, Maike Cruse; Akademie der Künste, Jeanine Meerapfel, Johannes Odenthal; Berlinische Galerie, Thomas Köhler; Brücke Museum, Lisa Marei Schmidt; Gemäldegalerie, Dagmar Hirschfelder; C/O Berlin, Stefan Erfurt; Haus am Waldesee, Anna Gritz; Ifa Gallery, Inka Gressel, Susanne Weiß, Alya Sebti; Kolbe Museum, Julia Wallner; Art Library, Moritz Wullen; Kunsthaus Dahlem, Dorothea Schöne; Kupferstichkabinett, Dagmar Korbacher; KW Institute for Contemporary Art Berlin, Krist Gruijthuijsen; Martin Gropius-Bau, Stephanie Rosenthal; nGbK, Annette Maechtel; n. b.k., Marius Babias; Palais Populaire, Svenja von Reichenbach, Sara Bernshausen; Schinkel Pavillon, Nina Pohl; Stiftung St. Matthäus, Hannes Langbein, Berlin University of the Arts, Nobert Palz as well; Alte Nationalgalerie, Ralph Gleis, Neue Nationalgalerie, Klaus Biesenbach, Joachim Jäger; Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin, Till Fellrath, Sam Bardaouil, Gabriele Knapstein; Freunde der Nationalgalerie, André Odier, Katharina von Chlebowski.
