Stëmme vun der Schmelz

As part of the ‘our archive - your story’ project and on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the exhibition space ‘Waassertuerm + Pomhouse’, the CNA presented 'Stëmme vun der Schmelz' in homage to the former industrial site and its workers.

140 years after the foundation of the first fully integrated steelworks (including blast furnaces, steel- and rolling mill) in the country, the time seemed right to look back on this pivotal era in the Grand Duchy’s history; to let the memories of this period live again through the words of the people who witnessed it, to archive and retell these stories.

In this exhibition, the visitor got to meet 19 witnesses who were kind enough to share their experiences of everyday life in and around the steelworks with us – reminiscences of a time when Dudelange was hailed as the ‘Forge du Sud’.

Guided along by the laborers who worked here, visitors embarked on a multimedia tour of a landscape shaped for more than 100 years by this organism made up of steel and iron, discovered the many different jobs and professions involved, and found out what really went on at Dudelange’s ‘Schmelz’. 

Colophon 

Exhibition commissioner: Daniela Del Fabbro

Curators: Daniela Del Fabbro, Michel Feinen, Sandra Schwender

Project management and coordination: Daniel Del Fabbro, Marielle Kaufmann and Sandra Schwender

Scenography: Anouk Schiltz

Lights, audiovisual installation: Armand Quetsch

Technical staff: Dirk Berghmans, Michel Goldschmit, Armand Quetsch, Alexandre Useldinger

Camera crew: Alain Goniva, Sam Hastert, Carlo Thiel

Editing, video montage: Michel Feinen, Carlo Thiel

Mobile creation: Max Mertens

Sound design: Michel Feinen

Mixing and sound installation: Yves Melchior, Philippe Mergen

Portrait photography of the witnesses: Armand Quetsch

Communication: Marielle Kaufmann, Anne-Laure Letellier, Manou Muller

Research and archival work: Myriam Kraemer, Manon Pinatel, Viviane Thill

Video Translations: Viviane Thill

Photography, documentation: Romain Girtgen

Graphic Design: Cropmark

In the framework of the European capital of culture – Esch2022 and with the support of Ville de Dudelange

Special thanks to the witnesses

Gust Barthels, Johny Bontemps, Eugène Chelius, Claude Diederich, Lucien Feinen, Charles Hosch, Mario Igniti, Ed. Kickert, Gérard Klamm, Vic. Kolb, Marc Kuhler, Fernand Kunsch, Arsène Lallemang,
Michel Lamesch, André Laux, Metty Loos, Valentin Olinger, Aloyse Schartz, Roby Theisen,
John Vesque, Bellino Vittorelli.

Special thanks to

DKollektiv, Anny Feltrini, FerroForum, Fonds du longement, Frédéric Krier - Archives OGBL, Claude Kugeler, Luxembourg Center for Architecture (LUCA), Menn Marinov, RTL, Anne Wies, Paul Wurth and the entire team of the CNA.