SENTIMENT OCÉANIQUE FESTIVAL

DISCOVER THE FULL PROGRAM

Sentiment Océanique is a four-day festival created by COAL to mark the Année de la Mer (Year of the Sea) and the^3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), a major global event that will bring together heads of state, governments and over 15,000 researchers, scientists, associations and institutions in Nice next June to reach what we hope will be a historic agreement on ocean protection.

Against this decisive backdrop, COAL spotlights committed artists whose work bears witness to the richness and diversity of the Earth’s largest ecosystem, during four days of rich programming combining exhibitions, shows, workshops and encounters. The festival’s scientific partner, the Pythéas Observatory for the Sciences of the Universe (CNRS, AMU, IRD, INRAE), will be joined by oceanologists and protectors of the seabed.

This program, to be held on the remarkable site of the Fort du Mont Alban, is associated with the Biennale des Arts et de l’Océan and is supported by the City of Nice’s Department of Art and History. Ville de Nice.

A SENTIMENT OCÉANIQUE

The ocean is our geographical, dreamlike and political horizon. A landscape without stable character or boundaries, in perpetual motion, a place where everything changes without anything really changing, at once entirely concrete and almost abstract, the ocean seems to go beyond its geographical definition to designate a sensitive experience, profoundly intimate and yet widely shared. An experience that summons what Romain Rolland called “sentiment océanique” (“oceanic feeling”), this emotion that annihilates temporality and space, and that immerses us in a great whole. Although essential to the planet’s equilibrium, the ocean is under increasing threat from climate change and biodiversity loss: warming, rising sea levels, acidification, pollution, overexploitation… even though it plays a vital role in regulating the climate and sustaining life, both ecologically and economically. Three billion people depend directly on its resources, making it a major geopolitical issue between cooperation and conflict.
Mysterious and little-known, explored to less than 5%, it feeds our imaginations, from ancient myths to future projections, symbolizing both origin and the unknown, exile and hope.

A FOUR-DAY FESTIVAL FOR THE OCEANS

Exhibition – shows and concerts – science bar – workshops & experiments – ocean flavours

Conceived as a voyage of exploration through the abundance and variety of oceanic issues and the artistic forms that address them, this four-day festival offers a collective moment of discovery.

The event invites you to observe, to observe, listen to and understand underwater life, to immerse oneself in the long time of the oceans, to taste its flavors, to meditate with its energies, and to commit oneself to it, in the shared fervor of art and music. The program is supported by the artists and animated by a professional network of excellence in the field of art and ecology, in the continuity of the actions undertaken by COAL over the last 15 years.

EXHIBITION

Encounter with bioluminescence

In the Fort du Mont Alban

An unprecedented plunge into the heart of the abyss, as if aboard a shipwreck, a rocky cavity or a submarine, the exhibition at the Fort du Mont Alban plunges visitors into an experience and encounter with bioluminescent marine organisms. Living manifestations of light have always been a powerful source of wonder for mankind. Whether on land or at sea, living organisms capable of bioluminescence have been a source of fascination and inspiration since time immemorial. Over the next few days, we’ll be offering an encounter with these living organisms through the mediation of artists.

This unique and moving immersion in the bluish light of photo-bacteria and its elusive imaginary world is orchestrated by the five artists: Antoine Bertin, Jeremie Brugidou, Cameron Gainer, Nadia Merad Coliac, Elvia Teotski as well as specimens from the abyssal zone from Bloom. Exhibition curated by Christopher Yggdre.

SHOWS AND CONCERTS

Several artistic performances will highlight the relationship between man and the ocean. The Collectif Minuit 12 will present Récifs, a show committed to marine protected areas. Vocal ensemble Les Voix Animées will take the audience on a musical journey celebrating the sea as a timeless source of inspiration.

THE SCIENCE BAR

A chance to meet some of the world’s leading scientists, activists and artists ocean artists

In partnership with the Pythéas Observatory for the Sciences of the Universe (CNRS, AMU, IRD, INRAE)

The Bar des sciences, a relaxing afterwork to help you rethink the world (for the better), invites you to chat with scientists, artists and representatives of civil society about the major issues facing the oceans today, over a drink. Hosted by Natacha Triou, journalist and producer of France Culture’s “La Science CQFD” program, these interactive gatherings make scientific knowledge accessible in a convivial atmosphere, encouraging reflection and commitment to preserving the marine world.

WORKSHOPS & EXPERIMENTS

From seaweed cooking to bioluminescent imagination, from a sensory walk to the discovery of water-related plants to seabird observation, these moments will invite the public to reconnect with nature through creation, the senses and knowledge.

In an exceptional location
THE FORT DU MONT ALBAN

In collaboration with the city’s Ville d’art et d’histoire department, we have chosen an exceptional heritage site to host the event: the Fort du Mont Alban.

It’s one of the town’s little-known treasures, open only a few days a year on Heritage Days. With a 180° view of the sea, the Fort, overlooking the Old Port, is immersed in nature. For the festival, we’ll be taking over its four casemates, roof and perimeter.

Built in the 16th century at the instigation of Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, the Mont Alban Fort served as the border between the Savoy and Nice states, and was occupied by military troops from time to time.

Strategically placed between the Château de Nice and the Citadelle de Villefranche, it dominates the entire Côte d’Azur, and the panorama from its terrace is simply incredible. The Mont Alban fort has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1909 for the enclosure, 1913 for the surrounding walls and ditches, and 1923 for the 250-meter zone on which it is built.