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“A Suitcase for the Final Journey” is the title of a striking art project that invites people to reflect on the finitude of every life and to gain clarity on what is truly essential to each individual. A total of about 150 people – women and men, old and young, artists and artisans, celebrities and ordinary people – packed the suitcase that might accompany them on their journey out of this life. Interest was also high in the U.S. following initial partial exhibitions – reason enough to now bring the project to the U.S.
The question was: What would the identical suitcases, provided to each participant, ultimately contain? Would they hold similar or entirely different things? Sentimental or practical items? Memories or equipment? The contents are as diverse as the people and their biographies, as the dreams and worldviews of those who packed them. Taken together, they create a moving, fascinating portrait of what is truly close to us – or what we truly wish were close to us.
Phillip Engels' impressive documentary about the project also generated a great deal of response. It was first broadcast on ARD in 2006 and has been repeated several times since. 1.56 million viewers tuned in for the premiere alone.
The traveling exhibition has been shown in many locations over the past years – throughout Germany, but also in Moscow, Vienna, and Lucerne. In 2016 and 2017, the Goethe-Institut brought the exhibition to Mexico City and Hermosillo.
For 2026, exhibitions in Forchheim (Upper Franconia), Helmstedt (Lower Saxony), and Chemnitz (Saxony) have been requested or are in the planning stages.
Most recently shown:
Am Freilichtmuseum 1, 47929 Grefrath – as part of a special exhibition on the theme "Living with Death – On Farewell, Death, and Mourning" (five suitcases from the exhibition). Organizer: Kreis Viersen.
Every suitcase for the final journey fascinates through the intimate, touching glimpse into the soul of the person who packed it. Everyday objects, keepsakes, the results of a creative engagement with one's own mortality…
The suitcases have been traveling through Germany, Europe, and the world since 2006.
Grefrath, 03–09/2024, Niederrheinisches Freilichtmuseum
Bad Pyrmont, 03–04/2022, Museum; Neunkirchen-Vlyn, 09/2022, Catholic Church St. Quirinus
Planned exhibitions were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2021, some suitcases were damaged by flooding; most were repacked or reconstructed.
Eltville im Rheingau, 10/2020, Basilica of Kloster Eberbach (FineArts)
Cologne, 03–04/2019, Church of St. Bernhard in Longerich; Chemnitz, 10–11/2019, Jakobi Church
Lebach, 04–05/2018, Parish Church of the Holy Trinity and St. Mary; Bremen, 09/2018, Church of Our Lady; Nordhorn, 10–11/2018, St. Augustinus Church
Portland, USA, April 5-8, 2017 – as part of the ADEC Annual Conference (Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront, Portland, OR, USA)
Hermosillo (Mexico), 02–05/2017, Museo de Arte Sonora
Mexico City 10/2016–01/2017 – Museo de Arte Popular
Karlsruhe, 04/2016, St. Stephan; Herford, 06/2016, Petri Church; Mexico City, 10/2016–01/2017, Museo de Arte Popular
Schwerte, 03/2015, St. Thomas Morus Church; Bad Neuenahr, 11/2015, Augustinum Senior Residence
Luenen, Vienna (MuseumsQuartier), Hann. Muenden, Beckum, Iserlohn-Letmathe, Haan
Lucerne, Switzerland, 01/2013 – St. Karli Kirche
Moscow (Central Exhibition Hall "Manege")
Siegen, Offenburg, Salzbergen, Erding
Muenster, Neustadt/Wunstorf, Moers, Leonberg, Dueren, Cloppenburg, Berlin (Chapel of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church)
Soegel, Bremen, Giessen, Potsdam, Bornheim-Sechtem, Munich
Korschenbroich, Cologne, Bergheim, Limburg
Muelheim a.d. Ruhr, Vreden, Bochum, Grefrath, Neuruppin, Duesseldorf, Heidelberg, Frankfurt
Cologne, Osnabrueck, Hanover, Ribnitz-Damgarten, Herzberg-Elster, Wuppertal, Wolfenbuettel
Cologne (Exhibition Grounds), Hamburg (St. Petri Church), Krefeld (St. Cyriakus Parish Church Krefeld-Huels)
May 19, 2006: Opening at the Private Mourning Academy Fritz Roth, Bergisch Gladbach