First artistic march for the climate in the streets of Paris for LA MAGMA
On 11 June, artists and a public of creative souls were invited to take up the forms of citizen mobilisation to express their commitment to the living world in the streets of Paris. Greenline Foundation, Collectif Minuit 12 and Le Bruit Qui Court co-organised this first artistic walk for the climate, which drew nearly 1,000 people.
“You can’t stop a people from dancing”. In front of the Académie du Climat, the Collectif Minuit 12 launched this movement with a magnificent and rousing choreography to “dance the anger of our era”. The stroll was punctuated by a number of other artistic performances, including readings of texts by Georges Sand accompanied by Patrick Scheyder’s piano, Adèle de Boisgrollier’s dance to the notes of cellist Bertrand Séné, and texts by slammers Lemofil and Sendo and Symte Biose. The “Résiste” choreography by Bruit Qui Court also conveyed the message of the stroll in music and movement, which vibrated between the different performances to the sound of the Batucada Batukapte or the techno of MC danse pour le climat, by the Approximative Sound System.
“Art is all around us”: this intergenerational march, full of energy, emotion and joy, revealed the mobilising and transformative power of art, which can and must help us to move our society towards more concrete action for the climate.
This artistic walk is the culmination of several weeks of mobilisation, which have been marked by a number of high points:
THE PRODUCTION OF THE SHORT FILM “You can’t stop a people from dancing”.
“On n’arrête pas un peuple qui danse” is a short film by the Collectif Minuit 12, supported by the Greenline Foundation.
Founded by female dancers, the body is the raw material of creation for this collective, who share with us their motivation for this project: “If the urgency of climate change is not sufficiently heard, then we need to create more loudly.
Dancing all the more ardently. Imagining, choreographing, sculpting, affirming the victory of life over absurdity. This film is part of the Magma Project: an invitation to artists to mobilise for the living”.
“To imagine is to raise the tone of reality” (Bachelard).
THE STUDENT WORKSHOPS
In April-May 2023, the Collectif Minuit 12 invited art school students to come together for four workshops exploring the role of artists in ecological activism. The aim of these inter-school groups (Duperré, Ecole Boule, Eicar, etc.) was to work on concrete creations that could then be presented at the collective exhibition at the Académie du Climat or during the MAGMA walk on 11 June.
MAGMA FESTIVAL
For the whole of the previous week, the LA MAGMA tour was prepared at the Académie du Climat, which hosted a number of artistic events:
FACE Workshop: Anti-face make-up
As part of the Nuit Blanche on Saturday 3 June and the MAGMA Festival, an anti-facial recognition make-up workshop was run by artist Jeanne Meens. A number of demonstrators then took up these creations as part of the march on Sunday 11 June.
Group exhibition, artist reception desk
The MAGMA Project exhibition brought together the work of artists from art schools. The exhibition was the culmination of a series of workshops with students on the subjects of climate, biodiversity and social justice. Set designer Léa Terrien presented works by Fanny Bézie, Sasha Pacual and Théo Bérard.
Immersive Arbre-Soleil experience with ONYO
L’Arbre-Soleil is an original fiction created by Onyo that plunges you into the heart of an enchanted forest to experience the regeneration of a tree. The installation allowed you to experience a new relationship with the living beings that cohabit the forest.
Sitting in a circle with their eyes closed and headphones on, some twenty participants enjoyed this immersive experience.
Activist creative night with YES WE CAMP
To prepare for the march, Yes we camp organised a rally to make signs, slogans and flags in a festive atmosphere.
Theatre – Improvisation match with CHUTES LIBRES and IMPRO ERARD
The Chutes Libres and Impro Erard theatre groups brought the courtyard of the Académie du Climat to life with a lively improvisation match, in front of an audience of nearly 80. Themes such as “Career transition in 2050”, “We are Nature defending itself” and “Artists take power” challenged our actors, who had to co-create improvisations for a few minutes. At the end of this lively match, the points awarded by the audience over the course of the evening were tallied: the two troupes finished on an equal footing.
Collaborative writing workshop with FUTURS PROCHES
Conceived and run by Futurs Proches, this workshop of imagination and co-writing of stories enabled the 12 participants to question our future around the theme: What if, in 2050, artists changed the way we see and interact with living things?
These writers for a night helped to create new narratives, both to project themselves into the world to come and to spark off new ones.
MAGMA artistic performance
This new creation was an artistic performance that brought together more than 20 dancers and the Curieux orchestra to promote the commitment of artistic communities to the protection of living things. Nearly 300 people listened to Miyazaki’s music played by the Curieux orchestra and marvelled at the choreography created by the Collectif Minuit 12, taken from the short film “On n’arrête pas un peuple qui danse” mentioned above.
The organisers would like to extend their warmest thanks to all the partners, artists and volunteers involved in the MAGMA Festival.
