Festival Convivencia
With Horizons d’eaux, a journey through contemporary arts along the canal du Midi
The Convivencia Festival’s floating world music stage is celebrating its 30th anniversary!
A daring musical journey at a leisurely pace of 5 km/h along the Canal du Midi, transforming each stop into an extraordinary cultural experience. This anniversary edition coincides with the Canal du Midi’s 30th anniversary of its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Two anniversaries linked by water and by this outstanding universal value: making heritage a space for peace, sharing and dialogue between cultures.
An unmissable summer event where Convivencia brings together the vibrant music of some twenty countries and territories to create unifying, lively and human moments in an idyllic setting.
To mark the occasion, Les Abattoirs is launching a new artistic trail entitled ‘Horizons d’eaux’, designed in partnership with Voies navigables de France (VNF), the Convivencia Festival and numerous cultural and tourism stakeholders from the regions through which the canal flows.
This programme forms part of the European Relight project, which explores how contemporary art can reveal and showcase cultural, natural and landscape heritage. Acting as a true link between towns, villages and landscapes, the Canal du Midi becomes a meeting place where history, the environment and contemporary artistic practices converge.
Félix Blume. À l’Unisson
A commission for the boat Tourmente, the floating stage of the Convivencia Festival
À l’Unisson is a monumental sound installation by Félix Blume taking the form of a 6.5-metre-long foghorn. Part sculpture, part musical instrument and part audible signal, it becomes the very voice of the Canal du Midi. Crafted from iron and brass, it evokes river vessels, wind instruments and the memory of the landscapes it passes through.
Whilst sailing, the horn rests on the barge’s deck; during performances, it rises towards the sky like a giant tuba. Activated at various stages of the journey, it accompanies the festival’s progress and reveals the region’s sonic dimension.
Inauguration on Saturday 27 June at 7.00 pm, Montech (Tarn-et-Garonne)
Stops along the route:
Sat 27 June Montech (82)
Mon 29 June Ramonville St-Agne (31)
Wed 1 July Toulouse (31) as part of Clutchorama
Thu 2 & Fri 3 July: Toulouse (31)
Sun 5 July: Castanet-Tolosan (31)
Tue 7 July: Ayguesvives (31)
Thu 9 July: Gardouch (31)
Sat 11 July: Castelnaudary (11)
Mon 13 July: Villesèquelande (11) – meet Félix Blume in the garden of the lock-keeper’s house from 4 pm to 5 pm
Wed 15 July: La Redorte (11)
Thu 16 July: Homps (11)
Sat 18 July: Le Somail (11)
Mon 20 July Colombiers (34)
See the programme of stops: convivencia.eu
View the exhibition programme: Horizons d’eaux 2026