On April 14th 2019 the conservative nationalist Rasmus Paludan and his political party Stram Kurs (Hard Line) had announced yet another of their quran burning so-called protests. This turned into riots which were echoed in the media for days.
What hardly got any attention, was this counter demonstration by hundreds of people that took place on Blågårdsplads, a central square in the Nørrebro neighbourhood of Copenhagen, two days later on April 16th.
Organiser Uzma Ahmad invited to a peace rally against racism and urged us all to come together with love. I came to the event with a dream of making a huge loving artpiece together with everyone there, and it was an incredible experience facilitating the co-creation of this huge drawing with hearts, that ended up covering the whole square.
It was a very touching and enriching experience for everyone that took part in this counter protest. Sometimes I can’t help but wonder, how it might have affected the public conversation, if the media had decided to give this peaceful event as much attention, as they gave to the riots a couple of days earlier.