Ærø viser vejen

What should we bring into the future—and what should we leave behind?

Ærø viser vejen was a month-long participatory and growing public artwork at Ærøskøbing Harbour in Denmark.

A temporary headquarters was established outside Det Gamle Værft. It became a workshop, meeting place and base for imagining a more climate-friendly future.

A line divided the installation into two sides. On one side was the new world; on the other were the things that should not be allowed to follow us there.

Everyone, every day, could contribute. Visitors painted, drew and added bricks, then decided where to place them: in the future or among the things we should stop doing. Other visitors could move the bricks again, so both sides continually changed as different ideas and disagreements entered the work.

Around this shifting picture of the future grew a sculptural scenography of fire, reflecting the project’s subtitle, Verden brænder—The World Is Burning.

Presented from 1–29 May 2021 in collaboration with Det Gamle Værft and Ærø Friskole. Part of Værk din Verden, curated by Another Public.

Created by Pelle Brage in 2021, during JAM PUBLIC’s early development.