We proudly present Lucas de Man as the opening keynote speaker of MFW16
It is with great pride that we announce Lucas de Man as the opening keynote speaker of MFW16. Lucas is a creator, concept developer, presenter, theater maker and director. As part of his art project “In Search of Europe”, Lucas travelled along with a journalist, filmmaker and cinematographer throughout Europe, in search of a Europe of co-existence. This quest exposed the Flemish theater maker to different people, cultures and ideas. Lucas tells the story of his journey in his program ‘De man door Europa’.
On his trip through Europe, Lucas says, “There are people all over the world like me. In every country there are people who are fighting for a cause, and who have the guts to actually do something about it. Despite our differences, we are all part of the struggle. That makes the loneliness bearable and, most importantly, it connects us and enables us to continue.”
During his travels through Europe, Lucas experienced hands-on how powerful ‘Connactivsm’ can be. In Italy he met with Giorgio de Finis, initiator of the project ‘Metropoliz’. ‘Metropoliz’ is an old salami factory in Rome where 200 immigrants and poor Italians live together. Top artists from across the country donated their creations to ‘Metropoliz’ to transform it into an art gallery. The strategy behind ‘Metropoliz’ is to lure people in to see the art, and then let them meet the refugees. In this way, people are connected to each other. In addition, the art also provides a form of protection as no one has yet dared to clear out ‘Metropoliz’.