Besoin d'A(i)rt !

The 2026 edition will focus on the question: “Why do we live here, and not elsewhere?” This theme invites reflection on all aspects of living: attachment to a place, individual and collective journeys, diversity of viewpoints, and coexistence of differences.

The artistic disciplines—music, dance, theater, puppetry, and hybrid forms—respond to each other and create unexpected encounters, highlighting the plurality of practices and the richness of exchanges. Artists are at the center of this approach: as bearers of imagination and know-how, they open up spaces for discovery and encourage the breaking down of barriers between perspectives.

Spectators, sometimes distant from culture, become actors in the encounter: they allow themselves to be surprised, meet their neighbors, and participate in a shared moment where everyone's expression is valued and respected. In this sense, the festival contributes to the exercise of cultural rights by allowing everyone access to creation, artistic participation, and cultural diversity.

The festival will be designed as a veritable cultural street, where movement, discussion, and collaboration become ways of inhabiting the space. “Inhabiting” takes on multiple meanings here: inhabiting one's art, one's village, a memory, or a shared moment; learning to live with others and celebrating the diversity of experiences.

Through this approach, Besoin d'a(i)rt makes the performing arts a vehicle for social connection, promotes artists, democratizes access to culture, and contributes to the cultural and social vitality of our rural area. True to our credo “seeing is believing,” the festival will continue to surprise, create encounters, and open the doors of art to everyone, here in Sombreffe.

Implicitly, this program shows us that inhabiting a place is not limited to physically living there. It means investing in a space with our emotions, our creations, our rituals, and our interactions with others. Each show offers a unique way of questioning our presence here, discovering the richness of the places we inhabit, and celebrating the uniqueness of each “here.”