In August 2018, the Beyond-Borders project “Unlock Society” started as part of an open seminar. The intense debate and discussion on the topic of community and being foreign resulted in two art projects that were intended to bring our ideas to the public. One of the is the Sofa project.
Its protagonist was a sky blue sofa, that wanted to be carried from Eastern Hamburg to Western Hamburg. We wondered: Who spontaneously helps a lonely person towing a sofa? Who do you talk to? Who is going to sit down? What stories will be exchanged on this sofa?
In seven routes, our performers took turns to set the sofa in motion alone. Thanks to the numerous support of helpful passers-by, our piece of furniture made it from Eilbek to Altona on foot. And not only that. We got to know each other, made ourselves comfortable on the sofa in the middle of the city and talked. The sofa project brought people together who would otherwise never have met and would have walked past each other anonymously. It was nice to see how many people were ready to help us on the spot.
See photos of our Sofa’s complete journey here.