Bring on the Buddy Bears of Berlin...
Buddy Bears have become a defining feature of Berlin, in symbolising tolerance and acceptance of the cosmopolitan culture, as well as adding art to the streets of the German capital. As the current president of Germany suggests, ‘The Buddy Bears are all different, as different as each of us human beings. Completely without finger-wagging, they stand for tolerance, friendship and international mutual understanding.’ The 2-metre-tall Buddy Bears are painted by a variety of groups, organisations or individuals, and Anthea Cronin - a graphic design student at Arden University - had this privilege in November of last year.
Anthea is currently studying a BA Honours degree in Graphic design. Arden is a distanced learning university which, being a mature student, suits Anthea. She describes it as ‘very sociable with a strong sense of community, very flexible and can be easily scheduled around work, family and social commitments.’
During the enrolment process, Anthea said she was scrolling through a competitions page and found the Berlin Buddy Bear competition. She didn’t want to overwhelm herself by committing to too much additional work at first. However, she thought it would be a valuable process to introduce herself to the new opportunities that university can provide, despite the distanced learning environment. The competition involved designing a Buddy Bear for the Arden University campus in Berlin - with the central themes of the design being unity and diversity. The student whose design was chosen would stay in Berlin and paint the bear, with the addition of one activity in Berlin of their choice.
The team at the Arden campus chose Anthea’s design as it encapsulated the sense of community and unity at the university. However, they were concerned that her initial design was too complicated for painting a 2-metre-tall bear over the course of 3 days, considering the detailed layered shapes and the paint’s drying time. After many emails back and forth, Anthea said that they finally reached a design they all agreed matched Arden’s ethos, while being manageable to paint in the time frame.
Anthea arrived in Berlin one day early to explore the city.
‘I was too early for the Christmas markets, but I managed to find some food stalls with currywurst chips!’
She started painting the bear the next day, and was ‘thankful to realise a tutor was coming to help after considering the time frame.’ Anyone who has used acrylic paint before knows of the tedious process of layering to get a solid colour, and Anthea described the process ‘a case of planning, time and stepping out of my comfort zone’ but concluded that it was ‘a lot of fun above all.’ On the last day of painting, the principal of Arden came to tell Anthea that she had until 4pm to complete the bear in order to reveal it to the students and professors at the Arden campus. 'It was definitely a bit of a rush towards the end, but I managed to finish it.'
The bear was painted, but there was one issue: this 2-metre-tall bear was upstairs and had to go down a floor for the grand unveiling!
‘Some students, the principal and a couple of others came in and manhandled the bear onto wheels,’ Anthea laughed, ‘And I was following them thinking “please don’t hurt him!”’. She explained that they managed to get the bear into the lift and lifted a sheet over him.
“They all loved the bear and there was a big round of applause, people took pictures with him, and that’s what I wanted. The bear should be a mascot for uniting people, where they can commune and get to know each other’.
Anthea chose a Trabant tour for her additional activity in Berlin, which she told me she was considering last time she went to the city. The ‘Trabi Safari’ allowed Anthea to discover the historical past of Berlin and its unique architecture including the Berlin Wall and several important museums. Additionally, Anthea had the opportunity to experience Berlin’s culture. She and her tutor went to an authentic local pizzeria, and then went to a bar by the river.
‘The walls were plastered with stickers, artwork, and lights. It was enriching not only speaking to somebody from the university I’m studying with, but also a German person.’
‘Berlin has a massive multicultural art scene, which I didn’t realise the first time round to the extent I realised the second time round’ Anthea concluded, 'It’s current and is hitting all the new trends, really the place to be for newly emerging artists’. This process for Anthea was enriching and inspiring. This was the first time she had travelled on her own, and going to Berlin independently has now boosted her confidence significantly, ‘It’s so easy now to travel around because of apps like Uber, but I made it my challenge to find travel independently. I was there to grow as much as I could, so I didn’t want to take the easy route.’
Alice Cronin, Year 12
Anthea is currently studying a BA Honours degree in Graphic design. Arden is a distanced learning university which, being a mature student, suits Anthea. She describes it as ‘very sociable with a strong sense of community, very flexible and can be easily scheduled around work, family and social commitments.’
During the enrolment process, Anthea said she was scrolling through a competitions page and found the Berlin Buddy Bear competition. She didn’t want to overwhelm herself by committing to too much additional work at first. However, she thought it would be a valuable process to introduce herself to the new opportunities that university can provide, despite the distanced learning environment. The competition involved designing a Buddy Bear for the Arden University campus in Berlin - with the central themes of the design being unity and diversity. The student whose design was chosen would stay in Berlin and paint the bear, with the addition of one activity in Berlin of their choice.
The team at the Arden campus chose Anthea’s design as it encapsulated the sense of community and unity at the university. However, they were concerned that her initial design was too complicated for painting a 2-metre-tall bear over the course of 3 days, considering the detailed layered shapes and the paint’s drying time. After many emails back and forth, Anthea said that they finally reached a design they all agreed matched Arden’s ethos, while being manageable to paint in the time frame.
Anthea arrived in Berlin one day early to explore the city.
‘I was too early for the Christmas markets, but I managed to find some food stalls with currywurst chips!’
She started painting the bear the next day, and was ‘thankful to realise a tutor was coming to help after considering the time frame.’ Anyone who has used acrylic paint before knows of the tedious process of layering to get a solid colour, and Anthea described the process ‘a case of planning, time and stepping out of my comfort zone’ but concluded that it was ‘a lot of fun above all.’ On the last day of painting, the principal of Arden came to tell Anthea that she had until 4pm to complete the bear in order to reveal it to the students and professors at the Arden campus. 'It was definitely a bit of a rush towards the end, but I managed to finish it.'
The bear was painted, but there was one issue: this 2-metre-tall bear was upstairs and had to go down a floor for the grand unveiling!
‘Some students, the principal and a couple of others came in and manhandled the bear onto wheels,’ Anthea laughed, ‘And I was following them thinking “please don’t hurt him!”’. She explained that they managed to get the bear into the lift and lifted a sheet over him.
“They all loved the bear and there was a big round of applause, people took pictures with him, and that’s what I wanted. The bear should be a mascot for uniting people, where they can commune and get to know each other’.
Anthea chose a Trabant tour for her additional activity in Berlin, which she told me she was considering last time she went to the city. The ‘Trabi Safari’ allowed Anthea to discover the historical past of Berlin and its unique architecture including the Berlin Wall and several important museums. Additionally, Anthea had the opportunity to experience Berlin’s culture. She and her tutor went to an authentic local pizzeria, and then went to a bar by the river.
‘The walls were plastered with stickers, artwork, and lights. It was enriching not only speaking to somebody from the university I’m studying with, but also a German person.’
‘Berlin has a massive multicultural art scene, which I didn’t realise the first time round to the extent I realised the second time round’ Anthea concluded, 'It’s current and is hitting all the new trends, really the place to be for newly emerging artists’. This process for Anthea was enriching and inspiring. This was the first time she had travelled on her own, and going to Berlin independently has now boosted her confidence significantly, ‘It’s so easy now to travel around because of apps like Uber, but I made it my challenge to find travel independently. I was there to grow as much as I could, so I didn’t want to take the easy route.’
Alice Cronin, Year 12