With two impressive performances at the Alte Feuerwache Cologne, this year’s edition of The ROOTS & ROUTES Experience concluded on July 30. The piece “Memorial of a Goldfish”, developed by 27 young artists from six European cities, brought dance, theatre, music, media art, and spoken word into a dense, intense dialogue.

At its core was an engagement with memories: individual, collective, societal. The piece posed questions about the value of remembering, the role of artistic freedom in dealing with real conflicts, and the responsibility of art within the tensions of political and historical reality.

Alongside the impressive artistic result, as so often, it was above all the shared time that formed the heart of the project: two weeks of intensive collaboration, shared experiences, and growing connections across language and cultural boundaries. After the final performance, the farewell was accordingly emotional – carried by mutual respect, closeness, and the feeling of having experienced something essential together.

Special thanks go to all participants for their openness, energy, and trust in the artistic process – as well as to the international partner organisations from the ROOTS & ROUTES network: CCC/Florence, Blues Dernegi/Istanbul, Les Tetes de l’Art/Lille, Marseille, and for the first time also City of Women / Mesto žensk/Ljubljana as a new, valuable cooperation partner.

The full recording of the show as well as a cinematic insight into the project period will follow shortly – but for today, here are already the official photos of the performance!

The ROOTS & ROUTES Experience 2025 is a project by ROOTS & ROUTES Cologne e. V., funded by the EU Erasmus+ Youth programme, the Child and Youth Development Plan of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, and the City of Cologne.