Forest Nights at Fontainebleau

How do you get involved in forest preservation today? In 1853, the painters and artists of Barbizon, thanks to their awareness and mobilization, achieved the unprecedented feat of having the Forest of Fontainebleau protected by imperial decree as an Artistic Reserve. This is what the exhibition “Théodore Rousseau, la voix de la forêt” (Theodore Rousseau, the voice of the forest), currently on view at the Petit Palais and the Musée des peintres de Barbizon, reminds us of.
Since then, the public’s attachment to this iconic massif has grown steadily, and Fontainebleau has remained a witness to French forestry, at the crossroads of public, scientific and silvicultural concerns. At a time when forests are threatened more than ever by climate change and loss of biodiversity, the Fontainebleau massif once again illustrates the major forestry challenges of this century: 50% of its trees are now showing signs of decline.
170 years on, foresters, scientists, artists and citizens, each in their own way, continue to mobilize to preserve forests and share them better. They are brought together in a collective program that offers a range of forestry initiatives, artistic visions, scientific research, naturalist curiosities and eco-somatic experiences to discover, experience and live to the rhythm of the forest.

For the Nuits des forêts, forestry initiatives, artistic visions, scientific research, naturalist curiosities and eco-somatic experiences are brought together in a collective program offering a range of creative outings to discover, experience and live to the rhythm of the forest. Each walk will be guided by a well-known expert in his or her field, and punctuated by a variety of talks. By crossing approaches, developing our knowledge and listening to these great creatures, we can better defend and protect them.

A program supported by COAL, the leading association for art and ecology:

SATURDAY JUNE 8 at MONT USSY

CREATIVE DAYTIME STROLLS

• 4pm-7pm: Vivre en vivant: explorations of the forest with Alexandre Butin, forester & Malena Beer, choreographer.
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• 4pm-7pm: Listening to the deep time of the forest, a sensitive and poetic journey into the imaginary world of the Fontainebleau forest, with Michael Jasmin, archaeologist and deep ecology facilitator, and Aurélie Thoreau, ecopsychology practitioner.
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• 5pm – 7pm: Des oiseaux et des hommes, an exploration of avian fauna, with Hugo de Vergès, ornithologist and Idriss Damien, flute and birdcall player.
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ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES

• 4pm: FOUGERE TALES: Sandra Lorenzi, artist, will reveal the song of the ferns. Gathering around the fire, fanning the embers so that the words light up, the vigil continues, but here the ferns replace the fire, the slings replace the embers and the forest replaces the evening. Read more
• 5pm: PARENT – CHILD WALK: DISCOVERING THE PLANTS OF THE FOREST, with Natalia Santos, a specialist in wild edible plants. On this playful walk, we’ll awaken our senses to explore the fascinating world of wild plants.
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EVENING SHOWS

• 7-8pm: Wild edible plant tasting aperitif, with Natalia Santos
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• 8pm- 8:45pm: Idriss Damien, the flautist with a soft spot for birds, takes us on a sonic journey around breath, between waking dream and suspended contemplation.
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• 9-10pm: Résistances Poétiques, recital by Cyril Dion x Sébastien Hoog
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NOCTURNAL EXPERIENCES

• 10pm: Chauve Souris walk, with Alexandre Butin, chiropterologist
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• 10pm: meditative journey under the trees, with healer Anaïs Goenièvre
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SATURDAY JUNE 8 À BARBIZON

• 3pm: Reading by Anouk Lejczyk, author of Copeaux de bois: carnets d’une apprentie bûcheronne (Wood shavings: notebooks of an apprentice woodcutter)
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SUNDAY, JUNE 9, BARBIZON

• 2:30 and 4:30 pm: Forest walking tour, In the footsteps of Théodore Rousseau, with Gérard Bayle-Labouré , from Les Amis de la Forêt de Fontainebleau
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• 3pm: guided tour of the exhibition Se souvenir de Théodore Rousseau at the Musée départemental des peintres de Barbizon
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SATURDAY JUNE 15, BARBIZON

In the footsteps of Théodore Rousseau: changing landscapes from yesterday to today

With the Musée des peintres de Barbizon

DAYTIME

• 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Grand randonnée Par Monts et par Bois
  
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• 3pm-4.30pm: Stroll Evolution of landscapes and struggles to preserve them, from yesterday to today, with Igor Babou, anthropologist and professor of social sciences at Paris Cité University, & Pascal Villeboeuf, President of the association Sauvez la forêt de Fontainebleau.
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• 5pm-7pm: Charcoal drawing workshop, with Sarah Cheveau
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IN THE EVENING

• 8:30pm: Concert by Naïssam Jalal Quest of the invisible
  
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SATURDAY JUNE 15, AT THE BARBEAU RESEARCH STATION, BOIS LE ROI, FRANCE

• 10 and 2pm: Hike – meeting with Daniel Berveiller and Claire Damesin, Barbeau station researcher.
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Find out all about the program on nuitsdesforets.com