A Voice for the Canal du Midi

For the 2026 edition of the contemporary art trail “Horizons d’eaux,” artist Félix Blume proposes a monumental and dynamic installation: an 8-meter-long foghorn mounted on the Convivencia festival barge. Blending river heritage with contemporary creation, this work will literally give a voice to the Canal du Midi.

A sonic landmark for the region

A native of the Minervois region, Félix Blume grew up to the rhythm of the passing barge Le Tourmente and the Convivencia festival. With this project, he aims to transform sound into a tangible object that accompanies navigation. The idea is simple yet powerful : to restore a strong sonic identity to the barges, whose horn sounds have become standardized over time.

The foghorn, a sculpture with two faces

The installation, crafted from recycled metals (copper and brass) to echo the hulls of boats, takes on two distinct configurations:

• In navigation mode (horizontal) : The horn rests on the deck, reminiscent of classic foghorns but on a monumental scale.
• In concert mode (vertical) : Suspended from the boat’s crane, it rises toward the sky like a giant snorkel, appearing to levitate above the barge.

A technical and acoustic feat

Crafted in the uZine workshops in Graulhet in collaboration with metal artists Anzu Wicks and Ricardo Angeles, the 8-meter-tall structure will weigh between 150 and 200 kg.

In terms of sound, the work incorporates a real foghorn. Thanks to its size, the sculpture acts as an acoustic horn, projecting low frequencies that can be heard from a great distance. It will be activated sparingly and only at specific times — during departures, arrivals, or when passing through locks — in order to preserve its evocative and poetic power.

A Project Rooted in Reuse

True to an eco-friendly approach, Félix Blume is prioritizing the circular economy for this project. A large portion of the materials will come from recycled metals (tanks, used sheet metal) sorted by the Tarn-based company Atout Fer.

Starting June 27, 2026, this “musical trumpet” will mark the festival’s milestones, inviting audiences to actively listen to the river landscape and its history.

The Artist

Félix Blume (France, 1984) is a sound artist, field recordist, and sound engineer. He currently lives in a small village in the south of France, where he grew up. He has carried out numerous projects in Mexico, Brazil, and other Latin American countries.

Félix Blume shapes sound as a material to create his sound pieces, videos, performances, and installations. His creative process is often collaborative, involving local communities. 

He uses public space both as a place for experimentation and as a venue for presentation. Listening is at the heart of his practice, inviting the audience to grasp the imperceptible and fostering encounters through sound. His work draws attention to the beings around us—from the buzz of a bee to the footsteps of a turtle or the song of crickets—as well as to the dialogue between humans and the natural or urban contexts they inhabit. The artist is interested in myths and their contemporary interpretations, and in what voices tell us beyond words.

Her sound pieces have been broadcast on radio stations around the world, as well as at numerous international festivals and exhibitions.

Félix Blume was awarded the “Paysage Sonore” Prize (2018) for his video-sound piece *Curupira, Beast of the Woods* and the “Pierre Schaeffer” Prize (2015) for his work *Les Cris de Mexico* at the Phonurgia Nova Awards festival. His film Lumières du Désert won First Prize for International Short Film at the L’Alternativa CCCB festival (2021) and the Grand Prize for Video Art at the Côté Court festival (2021). 

He has presented his work at international festivals and museums such as the Thailand Biennale (Thailand), Manifesta, Museo Reina Sofia, LOOP Barcelona, CCCB Barcelona (Spain), Centre Pompidou, Domaine de Kerguéhennec (France), CTM Berlin (Germany), Berlinale Forum Expanded (Denmark), Rotterdam IFFR, Sonic Acts (Netherlands), Donau Festival (Austria), Tsonami Arte Sonoro (Chile), Fonoteca Nacional, Ex Teresa, and Laboratorio Arte Alameda (Mexico), among others. 

His works are part of the collections of the Centre National des Arts Plastiques, the Musée Réattu (France), the Universidad Autónoma de México, the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes de México (Mexico), and Klankenbos (Belgium), among others.

The Relight Project

Les Abattoirs, Museum – Frac Occitanie Toulouse is a beneficiary of the European Sudoe program, which is shared with Spain and Portugal. Titled RELIGHT and supported by the Banco Santander Foundation, this project—running from 2025 to 2027—aims to transform cultural and natural heritage with the goal of developing sustainable tourism. This initiative seeks to strengthen collaboration between rural and urban areas within rural regions of southwestern France, northern Spain, and Portugal, through the implementation of artistic and cultural projects developed in consultation with local stakeholders. One of these projects will be carried out along the Canal du Midi, transforming this heritage into a laboratory for sustainable cultural tourism, a testing ground for artistic experimentation, and a driver of regional development for years to come.

The Canal du Midi and the Convivencia Festival

The year 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the Canal du Midi’s inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List and the founding of the Convivencia Festival. This dual milestone offers a unique opportunity to highlight the natural, historical, and cultural richness of this major waterway, which traverses a wide variety of regions in Occitanie. To mark the occasion, Les Abattoirs aims to reignite an artistic initiative focused on promoting the Canal du Midi and its surroundings through the “Horizons d’eaux” exhibition, in partnership with Voies navigables de France.

Horizons d’eaux

Following the 2016 merger of the Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées regions, the two FRACs of Occitanie, with support from the French government, the Occitanie Region, Voies navigables de France, and the Convivencia Festival, a floating stage for world music, have conceived a journey through contemporary and performing arts entitled Horizons d’eaux. The Canal du Midi, a major 17th-century engineering feat and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, brings together two regional collections around various themes related to the canal in exhibitions held along its banks. It also serves as a source of inspiration for monumental artistic productions on the boats La Naïade and the Tourmente, Convivencia’s floating stage. 

The 30th Anniversary

For this anniversary edition, Les Abattoirs is organizing a new Horizons d’eaux itinerary in collaboration with cultural and tourism partners from the Canal du Midi region. Conceived as an artistic itinerary, this program brings together, around a floating artwork, exhibitions—drawn notably from the Abattoirs’ collections—presentations of works in public spaces, and a cultural program, all rooted in the history of the Canal du Midi and the unique characteristics of the regions it traverses, with a particular focus on its natural environment.