The Stars Above Us
Urban Subjects
Postcards for people who are seeking asylum in Austria.

October 2020                                                                                                         
Our project provides a postcard as a small means of communication and location and for the people staying at the refugee and asylum-seekers centre in Traiskirchen, Lower Austria. The postcard is a photograph of the stars above Traiskirchen; looking at the night sky is a mode of location, for the constellation of the stars also indcates where one is on the earth. Yet, from a refugee perspective, the night sky can also signify the lack of a roof over one’s head, the lack of a fixed home, and a period of being transitory and in precarious conditions. Hopefully, an image of the stars above us can also give some sense of possibility and commonality.             

Long description
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Stars Above Us

The eight-person panel of experts from Kunst im public space Lower Austria invited 12 artists living in Austria to design a postcard for particular groups of people. This postcard could send, or used by those people to send, a message of recognition, caring and solidarity in this historical moment [during ther corona closure period].
Urban Subjects were commissioned to create a postcard for the Public Art project Kleine Post for Kunst, through im öffentlichen Raum Niederösterreich, (Lower Austrian Culture: art in public space) October 2020.
The KLEINE POST was designed for people living and working in Lower Austria in order to give them sign of recognition, appreciation, and solidarity.

The shock of the lockdown due to the health threats of the corona-pandemic created unique and bold forms of solidarity, social responsibility, and accountability. At the same time the daily routines of working and living were ruptured, and we were impelled to stay at home, protect ourselves, and protect others. Yet, despite these forms of isolation early in the pandemic, we have seen a growing mutual social responsibility and recognition. For instance, the workers who do the on the groundwork of healthcare, food supply, and energy infrastructure have been recognized as never before and neignourhoods gather to applaude these frontline workers.

Rather than expressing a gesture of thank you to a group, we would like to hand over the agency of sending this gesture of appreication to a group of people for whom we can’t even imagine the true impact of the pandemic – the asylum seekers and refugees who are temporarily staying at the ireception centre (EAST) in Traiskirchen.

We will produce a postcard of a starry night sky above the area of Traiskirchen that will be delivered to the camp and handed out to each refugee and asylum seeker in person. Our plan is to distribute the postcard to these people so they can send them to whomever they wish. These cards will have sufficient postage affixed so it can send it anywhere in the world where there is international mail service.

Our project looks to provide a small means of location and communication to the people staying at Traiskirchen. A night photograph of the stars above the area of Traiskirchen, Lower Austria, is, in one sense, a very neutral way of indicating where one is in the world, for the constellation of the stars also indicates where one is on the earth. Yet, from a refugee perspective, the night sky can also signify the lack of a roof over one’s head, the lack of a fixed home, and a period of being transitory and in precarious conditions. Hopefully, an image of the stars above us can also give some sense of possibility and commonality.