During his artist-in-residence stay of donumenta e.V. 2019 in the UNESCO World Heritage City, Dušan Zahoranský searched for role models of the present. "SEARCH and RESCUE" is what he calls his project of symbolic renaming. The Iron Bridge will temporarily become the "MICHAEL BUSCHHEUER BRÜCKE" and the Marc Aurel Embankment the "ALAN & GHALIB KURDI HAFEN".

"It is fascinating with what seismographic certainty our artist-in-residence artists find their topics in the world heritage city and prepare them for us in a most exciting way," says Regina Hellwig-Schmid, 1st chairwoman of donumenta and its artistic director.

In the artist-in-residence project "HERITAGE TODAY/TOMORROW" of donumenta e.V., artists* from all Danube countries work on building bridges between the rich cultural heritage of the historic imperial city and the significance of this heritage for the present and the future. During his AiR residency in 2019, Zahoranský found that not only the envoys at the Perpetual Diet, monarchs or patricians from centuries long past should be godparents for streets and squares, but also role models of the 21st century.

Rededication of public squares
For Marc-Aurel-Ufer and the Iron Bridge, Zahoranský chose new names from recent history. Bauhaus letters visible from afar make the rededication of "MICHAEL BUSCHHEUER BRÜCKE" and "ALAN & GHALIB KURDI HAFEN" clear. Michael Buschheuer from Regensburg started the sea rescue initiative "Sea-Eye" in 2015. The picture of two-year-old Alan Kurdi, who was found dead on the beach, went around the world on September 2, 2015. This date is now the fifth anniversary. It became an icon for the plight of refugees in the summer of 2015. Alan's brother Ghalib, then four, was also rescued dead with his mother. There is no picture of Ghalib. Representing rescuers and victims, the names of Michael Buschheuer and Alan and Ghalib Kurdi on the opposite banks of the Danube commemorate millions of people fleeing to Europe.

Dušan Zahoranský studied in Bratislava and Nottingham. Today he lives and works in Prague, teaches at the Academy of Arts there, and is one of the most important artists in the Czech Republic. Zahoranský is a master of typography in public spaces. "Words in a public democratic environment encourage discussion," he says.