All roads lead to Schengen

“People on the move,” compulsive travelers, eternal passersby through History…, their path is now barred by the gates of “Fort Europe,” nevertheless built under the sign of free movement.

It is impossible to turn a deaf ear to Tania Mouraud’s call — “How Can You Sleep?” — which echoes within the august walls of FRAC, and ignore the life force and the energy of those human beings whom we assail with our doom and gloom, that is, with our sedentary lifestyles.

Why should the reception of foreigners be viewed today as a “scourge” afflicting our closed-off societies? This is an important topic of shared reflection in the regions surrounding Schengen (LU), which, not too long ago, experienced an exodus to Algeria, and even now are a thoroughfare for Gypsy caravans.

From the figure of the wandering Jew to the often-ignored figure of the woman migrant, the present project draws an analogy between constantly shifting populations and the recent Western craze for walking. With or without walking sticks, the new pilgrims cross paths with amateur athletes, and there’s hardly a trail without active walkers! Is walking itself a cure for today’s ills? … for the closing off of our society?

Putting side by side artists’ projects and activist archives and rewriting the history of movements and struggle from women’s perspective means raising awareness and challenging hasty opinions … even, and above all, if one has to start with one’s feet!