Emilio by the roadside

In October 2017 the first open-air gallery in the Oberhavel district opened between Hohen Neuendorf and Birkenwerder. One of the figures by the roadside was Emilio by Stefan Seitz.

The exhibition was called “ART an der Grenze” (art at the border) and ran along Birkenwerderstraße, where the two towns meet. Eight sculptors from the region and from Berlin lent their works to the street for two years. Two further spots were kept for youth art projects.

“Instead of trees, twelve works of art along a stretch of around 400 metres help to calm the traffic.”

Around 200 people came to the opening despite bad weather. The Hohen Neuendorf fanfare band and the BirkenBrass band met at the town boundary and played the European anthem together.

Emilio was carved from oak in 2010, still during the Karlsruhe years. In the town’s list of works he stands next to steles, a bronze disc and a caterpillar made of old car tyres. A wooden figure by the roadside has it no easier than one on a market square: it stands in the weather, cars drive past, and anyone who looks often does so only for a moment.