Saint Arbera's day

Saint Barbara of Nicomedia is the patron saint of heavy professions and was regarded as a protector by miners. The fourth of December was one of the few days on which miners in Limburg did not descend into the mines, but instead celebrated the saint above ground. Today, this day is still celebrated, often by miners' choirs. 

Saint Arbera is the contemporary translation by artist Gökhan Kizilbuga. He christens the trees that were supposed to protect Sledderlo from air pollution as new patron saints. These trees were planted on a verge to form a barrier against emissions from the nearby factory, but died due to poor air quality before they could grow. The dead trees were decorated with the help of local children and replanted in their original location on 4 December. There they serve as relics of Saint Arbera. A video was made of this action, which was presented together with the trees at C-Mine in Genk.   

Saint Arbera took place in collaboration with Emine Cerkinaj and is part of the research project Today: new calendar of the old mining basin by Martha Balthazar & Vivi Focquet. The day can also be seen on the calendar they created as part of this project.