Des eaux et des rives: a tale of research and creation

The aim of this research-creation project is to show – through the sensitive side – different ways of interacting with water, getting to know it, using it and relating to it, beyond the technical-economic and political issues at stake. It is based on the collection of accounts of the knowledge and practices of local residents and agents, often rendered invisible by public action mechanisms. The field of investigation is the Diois region, upstream from the Drôme valley, typical of rural and mountain margins.

The project focuses in particular on the ways in which local residents organize themselves to find, manage and share water (drinking water, canals, local policies), and on changes in representations and practices for retaining water in soils and on slopes, by associating animals and plants.

The research-action is based on a dialogue between scientists, documentary filmmakers and artists. The project is conducted in association with a sound documentarist (Caroline Fontana, who directs and produces the work), an illustrator (Yann Degruel), and geographers Samuel Pinjon and Sabine Girard (Lessem), based on initial fieldwork carried out by La bande sonore in 2024. In 2025-2026, the aim is to continue the field survey and to promote and disseminate this interdisciplinary work and its results.

The survey is presented in the form of an interactive sound map (25 short sound bites and 15 longer sound narratives, which will be gradually added to). The project has benefited from the contributions of Emilie Belmont (in charge of water at the Diois community of communes), Nicolas Guichard (multimedia artist and developer) and Bernard Fort (audionaturaliste and acousmatic music composer).