Celebration of the Night: Collaborative artwork at the Astrovalberg Festival
- Auriane
- Sep 8
- 4 min read
There are projects that leave a lasting impression because they bring people together, they fuel collective creativity and they leave a lasting impression long after the festival. This is exactly what we experienced during the 5th anniversary of the RICE (Mercantour International Dark Sky Reserve) , which was largely celebrated at the AstroValberg festival in the south of France. I had the honour of leading a collaborative painting workshop using "Swedish painting" for three intense days, surrounded by locals, visitors, nature and star lovers.
And because the challenge was even greater this year, I responded to a rather unusual call for projects : to integrate the notion of fragment into the work. In other words, it was necessary to imagine a large artwork that could, once completed, be cut up and distributed to the different municipalities of the Alpes Azur community of municipalities. It was naturally the idea of the puzzle that emerged.
A giant puzzle to put together
A few days before the festival and just after the dismantling of the exhibition in VILLE, I had fun cutting 100 puzzle pieces of 25 x 25 cm from plywood boards with a jigsaw, the whole thing assembled and screwed onto a self-supporting panel of 1.20 m x 5 m to receive the collective work.
The idea was simple and poetic: to paint a large common work together, then allow each participating village to be offered a fragment, a piece of collective memory.
This gesture of sharing gave a new dimension to the experience: the artwork was not just an ephemeral creative moment, it became a living and traveling work, dispersed but always connected. Why not intended to be reunited for the 10th anniversary?
AstroValberg and RICE: celebrating the night
The setting couldn't be more inspiring. The AstroValberg festival has become a must-attend event for astronomy and nature enthusiasts. For several years, Valberg has established itself as a hotspot for stargazing, thanks to the RICE – International Dark Sky Reserve label. This prestigious label is only awarded to areas committed to preserving the night and combating light pollution.
The festival features lectures by researchers, workshops for children, guided telescope viewing, concerts under the stars... and, this year, a participatory fresco. It's only logical: art and science share the same taste for exploration, beauty, and wonder .
Swedish painting: a discovery that seduces
The medium chosen for this artwork was not trivial: Swedish paint. I had already talked about it in another article "Essentiel" and the complete recipe is available on the website of L'Odyssée de Raoul . This type of paint, 100% natural, offers a matte, deep finish, with sober and warm colors.
Participants loved discovering it: easy to apply, pleasant under the brush, it quickly achieves a uniform and luminous finish. Many left wanting to try it at home, to bring furniture or shutters back to life. This is also the magic of a participatory workshop: sowing desires, know-how, and new gestures.
Inspiration drawn from the landscape
On the way, even before arriving in Valberg, I fell in love with the Gorges de Daluis . This spectacular valley, nicknamed the "Colorado of Nice," is carved from a unique red rock: pelite . This stone, with its flamboyant shades, gives the landscapes an almost unreal character. In fact, this rock would make a very beautiful painting...
Moreover, one geological curiosity particularly struck me: a formation called "Women's Heads" . Perhaps a sign, an inspiration for a new painting in the Giants series!
The theme of the piece : the world of the night
The subject proposed for the collaborative painting fit perfectly with the spirit of the festival: the world of the night . Together, we therefore represented the emblematic nocturnal animals of the region:
Tengmalm's owl , small and discreet, but a true symbol of our alpine forests.
Bats, including the lesser horseshoe bat and the pipistrelle bat , are protected species and essential for the balance of ecosystems.
The Speleomante of Strinati
or the beautiful butterfly Isabelle de France
In the background we added characteristic landscapes:
The Daluis gorges , with their recognizable red stone.
A hilltop village , reminiscent of the villages clinging to the steep slopes of the Alpes-Maritimes.
Mont Mounier and the summit of Aspre , protective mountains and visual landmarks of the region.
The Caussols observatory , with its unique bubble architecture, designed by the architect Antii Lovag in the 1970s.
Finally, to enhance the whole thing, we painted a galaxy visible from the observatory , as well as several constellations , guided by the valuable advice of our scientific friends present at the festival.
A collective adventure
This project would not have had the same flavor without the energy and enthusiasm of all the participants. Children, parents, residents, and visitors alike—everyone was able to contribute their own touch, a gesture, a color. Some discovered Swedish painting, others enjoyed tracing astronomical details, and still others let themselves be guided by the inspiration of the moment.
I admit that I felt a little emotional when I took the pieces of the puzzle apart at the end of the festival because it was such a joyful moment that allowed us to create a bond, to open a dialogue about what surrounds us and to awaken our inner child.
This is why I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the Alpes Azur community of communes for their trust and to the communications team for their work, to the organizers of the AstroValberg festival for their welcome, to the passionate scientists who helped us make the stars more accessible, and to all the participants who brought this fresco to life.
Thanks to you, art, science and nature danced together under the stars!
Now ready to take on new challenges :)
See you soon,
Auriane
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