Deadline for final decision on future of obelisk in honour of refugees and migrants is June 30
Monument to Strangers and Refugees, Olu Oguibe, 2017. Source: ART iT
The council of Kassel voted in favour of buying a public monument to refugees created by artist Olu Oguibe. The sculpture provoked heated public and political debate over its price, location and the refugee crisis.
According to the latest news, the city will buy the monument, but the artist, who agreed to sell it for a lower price, €130,000 instead of €700,000, demands that it stand on Königsplatz (King's Square), as it had been created specially for the square and Documenta 14. The city is expected to choose the final location until June 30, or the work will be removed.
Some express doubts about the deal, saying that the city purchases the obelisk only to remove it later as it provokes criticism from the right-wing AfD party, which promised to organise protests near the monument, in case it remains on Königsplatz, after each terrorist attack carried out by a refugee or a migrant.
According to Artnet, the city’s deputy for culture alleged at a city council meeting in May that the city was going to buy the obelisk and, as the rightful owners, to deinstall it and put it in storage. The city said the monument could be moved to Holländischer Platz, (Dutch Square) near the university, a popular place among foreigners.
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