Unseen – A Sound Walk Along the Border
Unseen offers an immersive sound walk through the Briançonnais cross-border region. It invites participants to immerse themselves in the story of Blessing Matthew, who died at this border in May 2018. By following in her footsteps, the walk explores the local, regional, and transnational context surrounding her death through a sensory and emotionally resonant experience.
The Unseen project highlights some of the findings from the DisFrontAlp research project —“Alpine Borders and Migration Issues: A Study of Exiles, Missing Persons, and the Deceased”—through an audio walk created in collaboration with the Bandite collective. The walk offers an on-site immersion into the sequence of events that led to the death of Blessing Matthew, a young Nigerian woman, in May 2018—a tragedy that deeply affected the Briançon region and beyond.
The walk allows participants to confront the case of Blessing Matthew’s death, but also to situate it within the historical and geographical context of the “borderization” of the Alps, of which it is a part. Thus, it allows us to view his death not as the result of a single incident, but as the outcome of a context in which violence at the borders is systemic.
The project uses art to encourage the reclaiming of history and collective memory—specifically, the memory of those who have died at the borders and who have been rendered invisible in official historiography. The initiative also aims to encourage active public participation: by physically retracing a segment of the migration route that many people on the move traverse, participants become witnesses and guardians of the victims’ memory, and help build a chain of witnesses.
Photos: Mauro Ujetto
Sound Walk on February 7 and 8, 2026, in Montgenèvre, as part of the Commémor’Action to commemorate those who have died at the borders
Photos © Mauro Ujetto
Briançonnais Culture and heritage Migration and borders Populations and territories
Coordination
Cristina Del Biaggio
Pacte (UGA)
