27 European illustrators draw their hopes for a post-pandemic world

Twenty-seven European artists have designed illustrations to encourage solidarity across the continent during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Commissioned by Bulgaria-based creative collective Fine Acts, the project has brought together one illustrator from every EU state to make works that “deal with the aftermath of the pandemic, counter the rising nationalist sentiments, and bring to life a European common vision for a better future”.

While some works imagine communities together in the post-pandemic world, hailing the value of human relationships, others draw on political hopes. Romanian artist Alina Marinescu, for instance, reinterprets the EU flag as a human chain, with the text saying, “the stars are us”, while Slovakian illustrator Jan Vajsabel sees the same flag as a yellow flower wreath in a garden where nationalism, borders, and authoritarianism are weeds needing to be plucked.

“We believe that the coronavirus crisis can be a strong catalyst for the European idea, as it reveals the fundamental necessity for collective action, unity, and solidarity,” Yana Buhrer Tavanier, director and co-founder of Fine Acts told The Calvert Journal. “We feel that there is an urgent need for uplifting messages of unity, togetherness and hope, which we yearn to receive as people, and which artists want to weave in their creations.”

Following the initial commission, an open call has resulted in 1,000 submissions from artists worldwide.

Check the works out here.