The Walk: a participatory performative action across the borders of Europe

The chapter analyses the artistic action The Walk, performed across 9 borders by an international network of artists and citizens in support of asylum seekers. At the core of the performance is a giant puppet representing a little girl who walks 8,000 km from the Syria-Turkey border to the United Kingdom. Through this participatory march, The Walk attempts an act of spatial and urban decolonisation, designing an alternative public space. This paper analyses the case study by applying a practice-led approach combining Performance Studies and Migration Studies, and focusing on three main issues: the performative praxes of spatial politics, the relational process of creation, and the theatrical languages for a counter-narrative about migration.