Several Berlin cultural institutions are aiming to send a message of solidarity with the queer community by installing rainbow benches. In addition to the Berliner Ensemble, from which the initiative originates, the Deutsches Theater, the Friedrichstadt-Palast, HAU Hebbel am Ufer, the Komödie am Kurfürstendamm, the Maxim Gorki Theater, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, and the Sophiensæle are taking part. In the coming weeks they plan to install rainbow benches at their venues or repaint existing benches in rainbow colors.
These actions come in response to the repeated attacks on the memorial site dedicated to the victims of the Islamist attack at this year’s Berlin CSD. The Mitte district had installed a rainbow bench and planted a tree at the Tiergarten location during the summer. Since then, the site has been damaged, vandalized, and destroyed on several occasions, and the memorial tree has even been uprooted (TheColu.mn reported).
“The cultural institutions of Berlin stand for a diverse and colorful city society and are places of peaceful coexistence and exchange,” said Oliver Reese, artistic director of the Berliner Ensemble. “We condemn these attacks on peaceful civil society and want to take a stand against the repeated destruction of this memorial site and against queerphobia.” At the same time, he urged others to follow suit: “We call on more institutions, companies, and private individuals to use their resources and set rainbow benches up across Berlin!”
