Statues en Marche is French for statues on the Move and is also the name of the biggest festival in the world for the ‘living statues’, street artists who pretend to be statues and who delight the public with special performances.
In Europe it is not uncommon to see them in the cities, people who dress up as statues, sometimes so cleverly done that is difficult to distinguish them from their real stone counterparts.
Those men and woman are true performers in every sense of the word, it takes them sometimes hours to put on make-up and months to design their costumes. They are seen as artistic freaks in most places, but nowhere in the world are they highlighted than in the small Belgian village of Marche-en-Famenne in the French-speaking part of Belgium.
The first edition in 2017 was a gigantic success with participants from all over the world and 30.000 visitors. The small village was invaded by artists, tourists and instead of the usual French all languages could be heard.
Statues en Marche succeeded in attracting street performers from all parts of the globe, some of them were more than two days on, the road to get there, for those particular street artists it was an absolute must to participate.
This festival has all the right cards to grow into an international festival of big proportions, in Belgium, they know what they are talking about, they already succeeded to put the famous Tomorrowland on the global map and there are more artistic festivals in the summer than anywhere else in the world.
Spectators are surprised to learn that some costumes weigh up to 25 kg and that the make-up is good for two or three hours sitting still in total concentration, to become a living statue you have to sacrifice a lot of time, patience and money.
The most spectacular thing about those men and women is the fact that sometimes they do not move and can stand still up to thirty minutes, often in the burning sun without any shade or refreshments. It is not only copying statues it is passing through energy and emotions to the spectators.
The festival is more than a street festival it is poetry in evolution, it teaches the kids and adults to dream of into wonderful stories or even imaginary countries. The 2018 edition promises wonder, magic, incredible costumes and devoted performers. Those people deserve more recognition than a simple title ‘street artists’ they are universal performers that bring magic in the streets and the hearts of people.
All Photo Credits: Yves Herman/Reuters