It is a new eye-catcher on the Stadhuisplein: a huge mural with a powerful message, a work of art with a story. Encounters between pupils of the primary school Floralaan and veterans inspired the design.
A group of veterans visited a local school, inspiring a meaningful mural project. Among them, a Lebanon veteran shared a striking photograph, capturing the joy of children, not for their newfound freedom, but for the soldiers’ simple yet powerful gift of pens and pencils.
“I immediately thought that was a beautiful symbolism, and a perfect subject for the mural. The pen is mightier than the sword. A well-known, ancient, but at the same time timeless and still current expression”, says artist Niels Bakkerus, who is involved in the project.
The Centre for the Arts organised the project Freedom Stories together with the Stichting Veteranen Brabant-Zuidoost (SVBZO). With this project, stories of war veterans and refugees were told and translated into art.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Seetha
