Artists at the beginning of the 20th century, from Dadaists to Cubists, were the first to acknowledge the merging of contemporary art and the artistic endeavor of non-literary societies. From later prehistory to the present, one artistic component has remained constant: objects/things with specific meanings, shared by people, indeed by all citizens. These meanings are constructed through dialogue between people/communities, artists and beyond, expressing different ways of thinking or being. Although perceived as intangible, meanings are rooted in objects and, most importantly, in the creation of new objects, creativity, aesthetics and emerging gestures (as witnessed through design intentionality and variations on a specific theme).One may recognize long-term traditions, not as a global set of meanings, but as a series of narratives shaped by gesture. This fundamental human trait recognizes in each historical period a convergence and sometimes the resistance of certain trends or traditions; this is GESTART.Tension between globalization and national or regional processes created profound dilemmas that Europe has to face and overcome. The project meets this by revisiting art as expressing the fundamental roles of insight, knowledge and action. It does so by fostering artistic dilemmas. It invites citizens to relate memory (heritage, knowledge, rigor and discipline) with artistic diversity (creativity, know how, affectivity and apparent indiscipline), enhancing converging dynamics that reinforce the European ideal, in times of uncertainty.In 5 European scenarios, over 30 mobile actors will gather object creators (artists and artisans) and, specialists (archaeologists and art historians) to create a visual discourse and to intervene in the cultural landscape, involving a public of at least 100.000. Mobility will foster interdisciplinary and intercultural stimuli and debate, designing an Ariadne’s thread, binding together past and future through present creativity.