#Coronamosaik – a participatory project for families in lockdown

130 scenes of family life during Corona installed in Kantpark Duisburg

‘Creative together at home’ was the motto of the non-profit art project that I launched together with cubus kunsthalle Duisburg in spring 2020. In this hands-on project, people of all ages became part of a large mosaic that initially started in their own homes. The individual mosaic segments were assembled into a large mosaic and permanently installed in May 2022. It is clearly visible from the playground in Kantpark and is a real community effort.

The many detailed scenes in and outside the stylised houses got a headline by the writing #Coronamosaik and also some mosaic viruses created during a student workshop were added. We hope that they will report on life in a state of emergency during Corona in the future.

More than 130 families have taken part and created fragments of the mosaic at home or in workshops. We are very proud of all the participants: the variety of the works is simply amazing and there are many great details to discover in each mosaic piece!

Creation process: creative in lockdown

All participants, families and individuals, created the mosaic out of tiles in DINA3 format on reinforcing mesh according to their own design and given framework. A stylised house frames the family members living under the same roof, children, grandparents, pets, people living alone, dogs, cats or mice. These houses turn their hidden interior inside out and thus open up to the viewer. They form a grid and, when the mosaic is put together, emphasise the individuality of the individual works.

Due to the coronavirus lockdown, the project was designed so that everyone involved could work creatively from the comfort of their own home. The aim was to help people cope positively with the situation and to create a work of art together that would remain in place after the crisis. The finished mosaic thus also serves as a mirror for our society, showing how each individual is and has been dealing with the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic.