The flood in the Ahr-Valley, Germany in 2021 July, destroyed large parts of the region.

It attracted massive media attention, over 150.000 volunteers came to help the victims, and donations worth millions of euros were collected to support the area.

However, the financial support and in general the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Ahr-Valley were trapped in a bureaucratic loophole. The victims and the catastrophe became forgotten.

Focusing on the key learnings from the actual Ahr-Valley flood, we wanted to raise awareness of the more general problem of this ”bureaucratic anomaly” that affects every past and future post-catastrophic situation, slowing down reconstruction and help. Our aim was to fight against oblivion by reactivating media attention

Keeping the flood and its consequences in the spotlight and building mental availability of this serious issue we had to start a public conversation that involved decision-makers, and even reminded politicians about their forgotten promises.

We transformed the full story of the catastrophe into a piece of art, a memorial called: “museum of modern ahrts”.

Our idea was twofold:

1.) create an unusual memorial/piece of art that draws back attention/sparks conversation about the problem

2.) make an unusual exhibition for it to spread the message

First we collected flood-relics and personal items of the flood-victims, and placed those objects in a cube made of transparent, 3,5 tonne epoxy resin with a side length of 1.407m (reference for the date of catastrophe: 14.07.2021) as an artistic symbol of the flood. The objects in the cube reframe and tell the stories of the „Flood Heroes”, and it became a memorial of the fight against nature, and reminder of the fight against bureaucracy.

Then we displayed the cube and its objects using innovative technology, and making the world's biggest outdoor exhibition, reaching millions of people with our message.

While media attention fades quickly away, victims of nature-catastrophes keep their memories for eternity. We wanted to fight against oblivion in the Ahr-Valley by “keeping the story ongoing”.

We used art to re-frame the situation, capturing the emotional state of being a flood victim: How they experienced the catastrophe? What it was like being washed away, hovering between life and death, surviving…

And being caught in the bureaucratic loophole of reconstruction.

Immortalizing individual memories and the full story of the catastrophe in an artistic memorial - the “museum of modern ahrts” generated new relevance & timeless topicality for the forgotten stories and promises.

In the first wave the campaign we introduced the cube, and its special characteristic. Then the memorial was taken for a road-show in Germany. Later we started a nationwide exhibition using traditional media channels and reacted to up-to-date headlines connecting the “Ahr-Valley learnings” with current (public-political) debates.

An invitation only launch-event became the unique “reveal moment” for news-outlets and our flood-heroes, who we connected with the journalists in the shocking setting of the event: The closed St. Laurentius Church in the Ahr Valley, that`s still heavily damaged from the floodings of 2021.

Then we introduced the cube to the public, and showcased it in various events in Germany e.g. ProWein (worlds leading wine tradefair with >40.000 visitors)

We launched a nationwide multimedia-campaign, supported by innovative technologies and strategic partnerships, so millions of people could encounter with the Museum of Modern Ahrts, and experience the unique memorial’s exhibition.

Using traditional media channels we created a campaign that redefined the limits of exhibitions. Digital billboards turned the streets of Germany into worlds largest art gallery, displaying the cube and the personal items of the flood victims it contains on a scale that has never been experienced before.

–Over 1.9 billion people reached

–Over 150 million people visited the outdoor gallery, that featured in various national news and TV programs

–More than 2 million visited the campaign page; average visit time: almost 9 minutes

–All 200 “cube" NFTs sold out at launch; over 900 subscribers waiting for next NFT drop

–Over 50 exhibition requests for the cube tour

–Zero Euro budget spent, but earned media value: 42.7 million Euro

The campaign resulted in real political actions:

–At federal level: the Building Act was changed to simplify reconstruction in the Ahr Valley, and future disasters in Germany.

–In non-profit law: waivers on donations will be issued at federal, and NOT state level, and it simplifies the payment of funds to victims of natural disasters.

–Minister-President Malu Dreyer visited the region to discuss the unseen problems and possible solutions with the flood victims.

The memorial/exhibition continues to drive impact!