21st April - 28th October 2007

All We Need explores the world as a global market through the human efforts to dream, imagine and live a happy life. The exhibition shows, in particular through the fair trade example, alternatives in consumption and life styles. It provides reflections and proposals for action on the essential questions touching the future of mankind: which are our fundamental needs, and how can we satisfy them without endangering neither the survival of our planet, nor human rights?

Download a complete presentation of ALL WE NEED: awnpresentationenglishrevisited.doc

Human needs on a lonely planet

Human needs are the same everywhere. Chilean economist Manfred Max-Neef, recipient of the « Right Livelihood Award » also known as the « Alternative Nobel Prize » has identified nine basic categories of human needs:

• idleness (Relax)
• subsistence (Survive)
• freedom (Choose)
• affection (Love)
• identity (Belong)
• protection (Protect)
• understanding (Understand)
• creation (Create)
• participation (Stand Up)

For the exhibition, a tenth basic need has been taken into consideration, the need for transcendence (Dream), through which human beings try to overcome the material reality of everyday life by imagining a better world and an existence beyond human life.

While basic human needs are everywhere the same, the way in which humans try to satisfy them varies considerably with the cultural background and, obviously, especially in relation with the standard of living.

The inhabitants of the Northern hemisphere persist in researching their happiness through a multitude of goods of consumption. Alas, too often, this puts at risk the rights of other inhabitants of the Earth. Behind all those products, there are stories and destinies, which tell about limited planetary resources and unfair trade. It becomes clear that beyond the point of saturation, the superabundance of goods is damageable to the general quality of life.

The exhibition suggests a series of alternative concepts, ideas and answers to the eternal question of how to live a happy life. A life without asceticism or renouncement, but guided by a spirit of equity and planetary justice and by realizing that humanity has in fact only one Earth. Thus, the journey through the world as a global market becomes a voyage of discovery about the eternal aspirations of humanity towards universal happiness.

Additional information

Visitors will be given audio guides (either in German, French or English) through which they can individually choose all the information there is for the different pieces of art and media.

It will aproximately take 90 minutes to see the entire exhibition, but visitors are more than welcome to spend 2 hours or even more in this remarkable old vestige of Luxembourg's industrial past.

Opening hours:

21st April - 28th October 2007

• Tuesdays to Sundays from 11am to 7pm
• Late Night: Thursdays from 11am to 9 pm
• Mondays closed