Image: Olafur Eliasson, Earth Speakr, 2020, for the Federal Foreign Office on the occasion of the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2020.
Olafur Eliasson’s Artistic Work “Earth Speakr”
Listen to the Kids!
To mark the United Nations’ World Children’s Day, Olafur Eliasson's work of art titled Earth Speakr called on political decision-makers to listen to the voices of the younger generation and to take them better into account: #ListenToTheFuture. At Futurium, Earth Speakr is now made available to you until 30 April.
Image: Olafur Eliasson, Earth Speakr, 2020, for the Federal Foreign Office on the occasion of the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2020.
Earth Speakr is an artistic work by Olafur Eliasson that consists of an app, a website in 25 languages, physical installations and other elements. It invites children to take a stand for the planet – and adults to listen to them.
To date, children and teenagers from 70 countries have worked together to create the artistic work in the Earth Speakr app by sharing their views and feelings in their respective national languages and with the help of augmented-reality features.
The children can lend their voices to any kind of object – be it a tree, a banana peel, the sky or the street – and in this way speak up both for their immediate environment and for the planet as a whole:
“Hello, I’ve got something I just have to say. Please protect the environment – otherwise we won’t have a future. There’s no Planet B, and there’s no Plan B, if we fail to act now. Thanks a lot for your help," says a sidewalk in Kapfenberg, Austria.
“I wish people wouldn’t eat so many animals,” says a wall in Tallinn, Estonia.
Futurium supports the artist’s initiative. As soon as Berlin’s museums and cultural institutions are allowed to reopen, Earth Speakr will be presented to you in our foyer, where you can read and listen to its messages.
Earth Speakr is the central element of Germany’s cultural programme hosted as part of its EU Council Presidency; it is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has come into being in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut. For those who wish to participate, the Earth Speakr app is available for download in the Google Play Store or App Store. Further information here.
Please protect the environment – otherwise we won’t have a future.
