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 created a memorial and a piece of art called: „Museum of Modern Ahrts”.

Our idea was twofold:

1.) create an unusual memorial/piece of art

2.) make an unusual exhibition for it

First we collected donated 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 1.407 m (reference for the date of catastrophe: 14th July) as an artistic symbol of the flood. The actual and symbolic objects of the cube tell the stories of the „Flood Heroes” with its most important learnings from the catastrophe, 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.

We wanted to capture the emotional state of being a flood victim. How they experienced the catastrophe? What it was like being washed away, grasping for air, and hovering between life and death?

We collected donated relics and personal items of flood victims, and made those objects "trapped" in a transparent, 3,5 tonne cube of epoxy resin with a side length of 1.407 m (reference for the date of catastrophe: 14th July) as an artistic symbol of the flood.

The creation of the cube was a 3-month long, meticulous process; we had to fill the epoxy on the objects layer-by-layer. Then thorough polishing gave the cube its final look. We wanted to make it look like a contemporary, modern piece of art, that has not just an aesthetic value – but it's a memorial of the flood, and like a Manifesto conveys an important social and political message.

–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!

The “Museum of Modern Ahrts” brand is based on the flood in the Ahr-Valley. The idea was built and communicated on the fact that people knew about it.

The flood in the Ahr-Valley, on 14th July 2021 was a massive, devastating event. One of Germany’s worst natural disasters in history.

It received huge media attention, and support e.g. with the successful #flutwein campaign. It also became a major campaign-issue for the 2021 federal election.

However, even this terrible event was soon replaced by other headlines. The issue of the post-catastrophe, and the bureaucracy behind became unknown to the public.

German people, donated hundreds of millions for rebuilding the Ahr-Valley, thinking that reconstruction is progressing without any major problems.

With these donations trapped in bureaucracy and the importance to learn from the forgotten Ahr-Valley events, the campaign highlights the truth about the disaster within disaster-management, triggering the emotions of the people.