Conceived by Clara Gari over the last twelve years, El Grand Tour has explored what happens when art leaves the exhibition hall, the stage or the auditorium and takes to the road. Clara Gari invites you to Grand Tour 2026.
“In 2026, we return to three territories that have marked us deeply: the Eastern Pyrenees, the Aragonese Pre-Pyrenees and the Ebro Delta. In these places, we have been hosted by extraordinarily hospitable people and have built strong bonds with local communities.
This is why, in our twelfth year, we have chosen three routes to walk once again, three places to return to.
The first journey (August 23-30) will take us through the Vallespir region on the northern side of the Eastern Pyrenees in France and the Alt Ter region, both situated along the French-Spanish border within a shared Catalan cultural territory. The Deriva Mussol collective has been invited to curate this journey, and Eva Marichalar Freixa will be in charge of the Grand Tour Library. Walker and choreographer Azu Momo and performer Ramon Villegas will also join us.
The September journey (September 2-9) will take place in the borderlands between Aragón and Catalonia, a region that is currently being repopulated by craftspeople, artists and new rural communities. Walking artist and geographer Beatriz Aisa will lead the expedition, during which we will meet artist Adriana Matzurytzyn, photographer Javier Selva and the puppet theatre company Trapusteros.
Artists, walkers, local inhabitants, musicians, writers and storytellers will share paths, meals, conversations and creative actions along the way.
Less focused on discovery than in previous years, this edition is dedicated to return, memory and documentation: revisiting places and people that have become part of our collective history, and gathering the traces of twelve years of walking together.
We also aim to document Grand Tour within the framework of the WALC project, bringing attention to the international exchanges, collaborations and shared learning that have developed with our partners since the project began.”
Within the hour long event, there will be a report on progress in the WALC project given by Geert Vermeire including a call for WALC Course led by Fred Adam.
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Walking Arts & Local Communities (WALC) is an artistic cooperation project, co-funded by the European Union, Creative Europe, starting in January 2024 for four years. With seven partners from five countries, WALC establishes an International Center for Artistic Research and Practice of Walking Arts, in Prespa, Greece, at the border with Albania and North Macedonia, backed up by an online counterpart in the format of a digital platform for walking arts.
WALC builds on the previous work of hundreds of artists and researchers already practicing Walking Arts as a collaborative medium, and having met at the significant previous walking arts events and encounters in Greece, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, and during online activities at walk · listen · create.
We acknowledge the support of the EU Creative Europe Cooperation grant program in the framework of the European project WALC (Walking Arts and Local Community).
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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