All roads lead to Schengen

The exhibition at FRAC Lorraine aims to rewrite the history of movements and struggle from women’s perspective to raise awareness and challenge hasty opinion.

Justine Blau, <i>Schengenland</i>, 2011. Photo Roger Wagner © l'artiste

Can we compare the historical movements of peoples with the walking fad that has taken over the West? Can walking cure today’s ills?

This is the question the project “All roads lead to Schengen” aims to explore. Centered around the figure of the eternal migrant – from the Wandering Jew to women migrants at Calais, passing through traveler communities – this exhibition, comprising works by ten contemporary artists, as well as a wide selection from historical archives, is complemented by numerous walking tours between Metz and Schengen.

Ursula Biemann, <i>Sahara Panels</i>, 2005 Collection 49 Nord 6 Est – Frac Lorraine, Metz (FR) © the artist — **Top**: Justine Blau, *Schengenland*, 2011. Photo Roger Wagner © the artist. **Above**: Ursula Biemann, *Sahara Panels*, 2005 Collection 49 Nord 6 Est – Frac Lorraine, Metz (FR) © the artist

“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!

Marta Caradec, Metz en Algérie, Akbou, 1, 2013. Collection 49 Nord 6 Est – Frac Lorraine, Metz (FR) Photo : R. Villaggi © M. Caradec

Marta Caradec, Metz en Algérie, Akbou, 3, 2013. Collection 49 Nord 6 Est – Frac Lorraine, Metz (FR) Photo : R. Villaggi © M. Caradec

Bouchra Khalili, Mapping Journey

Beat Lippert, Duplication

Tania Mouraud, HCYS ?, 2005. Collection 49 Nord 6 Est – Frac Lorraine, Metz (FR) Photo : Rémi Villaggi © Adagp, Paris, 2015

May 22 – October 04, 2015
All roads lead to Schengen
Artists: Ursula Biemann, Justine Blau, Marta Caradec, Marco Godinho, Bouchra Khalili, Beat Lippert, Tania Mouraud, Claudia Passeri, Mathieu Pernot, Zineb Sedira
In collaboration with: Association Amitiés Tsiganes, Collectif d’Accueil des Solliciteurs d’Asile en Moselle, d'Lëtzebuerger Land, Inter Service Migrants-Est, La Cimade, Musée de l’Image, Épinal, Service départemental d’Archives de la Moselle
FRAC Lorraine
1bis Rue des Trinitaires, Metz

All roads lead to Schengen

The exhibition at FRAC Lorraine aims to rewrite the history of movements and struggle from women’s perspective to raise awareness and challenge hasty opinion.

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