Modderland
Modderland is a musical cycling festival that gives a female voice to the landscape of the Great War. Along historical sites in Heuvelland, international female artists perform intimate concerts, interwoven with stories and heritage.
More about this project
With Modderland, ‘Nouter Club brings music, heritage, and landscape together in a haunting total experience. During two editions of the cycling festival, five female artists from Belgium and abroad each gave a unique interpretation to the project.
Along cycling routes through Heuvelland—marked by the traces of the First World War—participants were taken past historical locations such as bunkers, craters, and cemeteries. At each stop, an artist performed an intimate mini-concert, with original work inspired by themes such as conflict, memory, loss, and resilience.
In total, ten women were central to Modderland, each with their own musical language and cultural background. Together, they formed a powerful, female perspective on a history that is still visible in the landscape.
The project connects past and present, nature and culture, and encourages reflection through music. The combination of cycling, listening, and pausing makes Modderland an intense and quietly reflective experience.
Those who missed the festival can still head out themselves: the full cycling route—or parts of it—remains accessible. Via the Heritage App (Erfgoedapp), you can relive the music and stories of the artists along the way, at the very spots where they once resonated.