You might have seen a peculiar art form using life-size bears. Of course, I am not referring to the real bears you see in the woods.
The phenomenon of CowParade, another statue decorating statue project using life-size fiberglass cows, has spawned similar statue decorating projects in numerous cities worldwide.
One of these projects is the Buddy Bears. They consist of 2-meter-tall fiberglass bear sculptures that are hand-painted. While the sculpture is the same, the designs are distinct. The statues usually stand together "hand in hand," symbolizing a future vision of a peaceful world. Each bear represents the unique culture and people of each country.
Klaus and Eva Herlitz conceived the idea of the Buddy Bears in 2002, with the intent of bringing art to the streets of metropolises. Berlin marked the starting point, so the bear was the perfect animal for this art form because it was the heraldic symbol of Berlin.
The bear has been played a central role in Berlin's history for centuries. It is present in the city's coat of arms, featuring a black bear with a red tongue and red claws in a white shield topped with a golden crown. The current coat of arms was officially approved on May 13, 1954.
The Buddy Bear sculpture is based on designs by two master's students at the Berlin University of the Arts. Austrian sculptor Roman Strobl made the first Buddy Bear prototypes, which were nicknamed the "Dancer," the "Mini-Friend" and the "Acrobat."
The Buddy Bear project was originally intended to be a temporary art initiative. In other words, there was only supposed to be one exhibition and many of the bears were sold at an auction to aid UNICEF.
However, thanks to the overwhelming success of bringing color and joy to Berlin, the Buddy Bears developed into a permanent part of the capital city's culture and streetscape.
Credit: Buddy Bear Berlin
"We have to get to know each other better ... it makes us understand one another better, trust each other more, and live together more peacefully."
~ United Buddy Bears motto
Starting from Berlin, the Buddy Bears achieve great success with its international exhibition of the United Buddy Bears. This show has been touring the world for over 20 years under the title "Art of Tolerance."
Since 2002, more than 45 million visitors on five continents have been able to observe and enjoy the United Buddy Bears, as well as understanding its message of peace and understanding.
For example, the United Buddy Bears visited Guatemala in 2019. Specifically, the exhibition was held in two cities: Guatemala City and Antigua Guatemala. From April 25 to May 12, 2019, 144 Buddy Bears stood hand in hand in Parque Central on the Plaza Mayor in Antigua Guatemala. Then, the bears were part of the cultural festival ("Festival Cultural Paseo de la Sexta") in the Plaza Central de la Constitución from May 17 to June 2, 2019.
If you want a piece of Berlin for your home, take a look at the Buddy Bear online shop. 5% of the proceeds made by your purchase will be donated to charity.
You can check out this interactive map to see where all the Buddy Bears are located around the world. This map shows the bears' locations in Berlin, which can be accessed to the public for free.
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