Frankfurt, May 23, 2023. On the occasion of the St. Paul's Church Festival, Städtische Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main (TCF) has commissioned the agency Atelier Markgraph to design and implement the accompanying open-air productions for the ceremony. The Frankfurt agency relied on the participation of citizens and the support of top-class artists.

From May 18 to 21, 2023, Frankfurt am Main celebrated St. Paul's Church Festival. St. Paul's Church symbolizes the tradition of a democratic and liberal constitution for the German nation like no other place.

The agency Atelier Markgraph, which has already visualized and dramaturgically organized numerous major exhibitions and events, was commissioned to design the festival program. Thomas Feda, managing director of TCF: “We are delighted that we were able to present an evening highlight on the 175th anniversary of the first freely elected German National Assembly, which duly highlights this event. With Atelier Markgraph, a Frankfurt agency is involved that has made a name for itself with spectacular productions. ”

For the Paulskirchen anniversary, it was important for Markgraph to involve citizens directly in the productions: “Giving the weighty theme a festive setting and making the abstract concept of democracy tangible and tangible was a major task that we developed together with citizens and artists. In the production, buildings, water, people and music became a canvas — artistic and technical refinement created a holistic experience,” says Stefan Weil, managing director (CCO) at Atelier Markgraph.

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‍The Main as a stage

Pontoons anchored at the bottom of the Main formed three projection surfaces, each 25 meters wide and 10 meters high. With 1600 liters of water per minute (6 bar pressure), they produced a water mist, which served as an unusual projection surface.

Complemented by 75 spotlights and 40 loudspeakers, in collaboration with the bright! Studios from Maintal a production that attracts the audience. It took four days to set up the almost twenty minute show, which was performed over two days. Jelena Zickner, technical manager of the project, about the challenges: “From shipping barriers to the involvement of the DLRG, there were numerous framework conditions to be considered for the production. We were unable to control water, wind, weather and public traffic — at open-air events, you have to deal flexibly with uncertainties.”

The artistic process was supported by the artist duo HSI (Katharina Zorn and actress Jasna Fritzi Bauer) and the musician Chima. Faces were projected onto the water fountains to accompany Chima's exclusively composed song, which formed the emotional “chorus of freedom” to the music.

Citizens were involved in the production — the public appeal “Your face for democracy” was followed by numerous people whose faces and statements could be seen as part of the show.

Tens of thousands of visitors to St. Paul's Church Festival watched the show live on site, which was also broadcast by Hessian Radio.

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‍Holistic concept and extended presentation ‍

In addition to the production on the Main, visitors could expect one from the artist duo”HSI“staged lyrical presentation. With the appeal “We are looking for your poem”, the invitation to actively participate was launched long before the actual exhibition. “Everyone can participate — every word counts — all languages are welcome,” is the framework of the call. All submissions were created, arranged and curated by the artist duo who”Hain der Freiheit“. 43 plane trees and St. Paul's Church itself were decorated with over 400 poems by the citizens. Easy to read and expressive, they gave democracy a physical space on St. Paul's Square.

In the overall concept, people, colors, animations, words, music and projections formed a dynamic, immersive kaleidoscope of the concept of democracy.

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Credits‍

Client: Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main

Overall concept, design, presentation: Atelier Markgraph GmbH, Frankfurt am Main

Dramaturgy, text selection, speaker texts: artist duo HSI (Jasna Fritzi Bauer and Katharina Zorn)

Songwriting: Chimaobinna Onyele & Marco Lehmann

Video, motion design, sound concept, visualization, staging: bright! Ltd, Maintal

Photo documentation: Kristof Lemp, Markgraph Studio

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‍ABOUT THE ACTORS:

‍TODAY'S STORY (HSI) ‍

Katharina Zorn and Jasna Fritzi Bauer have been working as a duo of artists and writers since 2018.

Since 2019, in addition to lyrical writing, the two have been researching cross-border disciplines in the multimedia sector. In addition to haptic installations, audio and video installations. In 2020, they founded the non-profit association “HEUTESCHREIBEICH e.V.” with the aim of promoting creative and lyrical writing in schools, among others.‍

https://www.heuteschreibeich.de/about Instagram: @heuteschreibeich‍‍

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‍CHIMA ‍

Chima, actually Chimaobinna Enyiakanwanne Onyele, is a Nigerian-German singer-songwriter and rapper. His parents emigrated to Germany in the 1960s. He was born in 1972 in Frankfurt am Main and also grew up there. His career in the music industry began in the mid-1990s as a member of the rap trio “Otropic T (h) ree”. He celebrated his first major success in 2000 as a member of “Brothers Keepers” with the single “Adriano”, which reached number four in the German charts.

He achieved his breakthrough in 2012 with the solo hit “Tomorrow”. Chima has been successful as a solo artist for many years. With his music, he is committed to greater understanding and respect.

In his songs, he sings about the various scenes of interpersonal encounters as well as social grievances.