THE VENUE — WHY LIÈGE?

The École Supérieure des Arts de la Ville de Liège in Belgium will be the host of the IP. Liége, the city that is often referred to as the “Latin City of the North”, and the Walloon Region mark the starting point for the theme of migration. The city and the region have experienced several migration flows: migration for bread, migrant workers (especially mineworkers) as well as political and economic fugitives. This way the local culture overlaps with the immigrant culture that was brought along from Southern and Eastern Europe as well as from North and Central Africa. The cultural blending of this region is very much a reality and has a long tradition that entails tensions as well as enrichments.

“Liége is one of the original centers of the coal and steel industry in continental Europe. As early as 1720 the first steam-engine on European mainland was put into service in a coal mine near Liége. From here, the industrialization spread across the entire continent. The effect of this was a flood of uncontrolled immigration from Flanders, Italy and North Africa, which is still reflected in the city’s population structure today. Most notably, the headquarters of the steel-producing enterprise Cockerill-Sambres are located near Liége.“

At the same time as the migration flows took place, art experienced, as elsewhere, an awakening of the artistic disciplines towards more interdisciplinarity throughout the 20th century. The blending of cultures through migration, the globalization of information and the development of interdisciplinary, artistic practices shape the history and art of our time.

The Forum in Liège will be dealing with these historic, social, cultural and artistic aspects.