Jardins de la Paix: 40 peace gardens along WWI front line by 2027

The Jardins de la Paix (Gardens of Peace) project, initiated in 2018 by the association Art & Jardins under director Gilbert Fillinger, is creating a network of 40 art gardens along the former Western Front of World War I, spanning over 1,200 kilometers from Belgium to Alsace through regions including Pas-de-Calais, Somme, Ardennes, Marne, Meuse, Moselle, Vosges, and Haut-Rhin. The gardens serve as memorials to the Great War and all wars, offering spaces for reflection and promoting peace. Notable contributors include Studio SDARCH Trivelli&Associati (Italian Garden of Peace in Metz dedicated to women as peacemakers), Collectif Escargo (Canadian artists/designers), Thilo Folkerts (German Garden of Peace), Lorenza Bartolazzi, Luca Catalan, Claudia Clementini (Italian Garden of Peace), Studio El Achak (Moroccan Garden of Peace), and Helen and James Basson (English Garden of Peace, Chelsea Flower Show winners). In November 2025, new gardens will be inaugurated, including an Indian Garden of Peace and an Algerian Garden of Peace by Sophia Amrouche. The project integrates themes of environment, sustainable agriculture, migration, and memory, while boosting local tourism and economic development.