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Portrait of a sculptor |
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A project focussing on poverty and refugees |
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In co-operation with the NGO Living Sea Jens Galschiot has rebuilt the fishing cutter M/S Anton to function as a refugees’ ship. On its tour the ship is touching harbours in Denmark and abroad. Suddenly a cutter filled to the brim with boat people appears in the middle of the harbour idyllic. In fact, the 70 passengers are not living humans, but sculptures cast in cupper. The aim of the project is to highlight the looming disaster that we’ll face when millions of people will be compelled to leave their homes heading for the West, as a consequence of the climate changes. But, for sure, the ship will not just convey distressing messages. In each harbour local NGOs will have an opportunity to present their contribution to achieve the UN’s 2015 goals of curbing poverty and hunger. In contrast to a widespread belief, there are plenty of successful stories in the field of development. |
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Text of the banner: The UN’s 2015 goals: STOP THE HUNGER! |
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Progress of events 2010: The refugee sculptures were modelled and cast at Jens Galschiot’s workshop in Odense. The project was launched with a visit to 4 Danish harbours. 2011: The itinerary embraced 13 Danish harbours. The tour started and ended at the picturesque Nyhavn in Copenhagen. In June the ship joined the popular gathering on the isle of Bornholm. The 70 ‘refugees’ participated in more than 250 events where politicians, press people and citizens came to discuss the immense floods of refugees that can be expected due to the climate changes. In December a ship with the refugee sculptures invaded the idyllic X-mass market in Nyhavn. Danish MPs and NGO representatives participated in a live TV debate about how to handle the situation we’ll be facing in the coming 40 years, when presumably 200 million climate refugees will be heading for Europe. 2012: The tour touched various Danish harbours and the German city of Flensburg, just south of the Danish border. In Scandinavia the ship visited Stavanger in Norway and Stockholm in Sweden. 2013: We hope that a Mediterranean tour is feasible. In this region the boat people represent a particularly pressing problem. If you have any suggestions for harbours that could be suitable for a visit by the refugee ship, contact skipper Knud Andersen, knud@levende-hav.dk |