Topographie der Hoffnung

Under the aegis of the Ardi Goldman Art and Culture Foundation, a Resistance and Art Trail — a “Mapping Hope” — is emerging on the architecturally outstanding Union Grounds in Frankfurt’s East.

The Resistance Trail, “100 and 18 Bearers of Hope,” commemorates men and women who helped persecuted people during the Nazi era. Mirrored in the light of the Art Trail — site-specific works created by national and international artists — an area of resistant, narrative spatial development is taking shape. It will be freely accessible to everyone. The Art Trail unfolds as a subversive arrangement on walls, roofs, floors, and lamps.

It is about emotions, atmospheres, openness, autonomy, the courage to fail, and inclusion. Exploring the present, future, and past lies at the heart of the trail. Art as aesthetic resistance can and should become socially effective. Illuminated in this way, the subjunctive of German history becomes visible:

“Who we could have been — and how differently history might have unfolded.”

This look back to move forward, a bridge into the here and now of the 21st century, sharpens our awareness — especially in challenging times like these, marked by war and crisis — to stay on the democratic path.

For Ardi Goldman, remembrance constitutes a fundamental obligation. It is about assuming responsibility, taking a clear stance, and creating spaces imbued with meaning. The collaboration with the German Resistance Memorial Center places Goldman’s Mapping Hope under a special commitment: to honor the individuals whose stories are being told and to carry forward their legacy with imagination and creativity.