The Blog

On 12 and 13 May 2026, Le Phénix, National Theatre of Valenciennes, hosted the first public presentation of Perception(s), an immersive environment created by Orbe and Contour Progressif. These two intense days marked the culmination of more than a year of research, prototyping and experimentation carried out with artists, researchers, accessibility specialists and a wide range of participants.

Presented alongside the performance On dirait que le soleil, the installation invited visitors to step into a living environment where light, sound, vibration and movement form a shared language. More than an installation to be observed, Perception(s) is a collective instrument that comes into being through the presence and gestures of everyone who takes part.

An Experience Where Bodies Become the Medium

As they move through the installation, participants discover, carry and reposition sensitive modules that respond to movement, vibration and sound. Interactions ripple through the space as waves of light, sonic resonances and tactile vibrations. Every gesture becomes an impulse, every encounter reshapes the behaviour of the environment.

Gradually, the installation ceases to be a scenographic setting and becomes a collective organism, brought to life by the bodies that inhabit it. Visitors are no longer spectators of an artwork; they become its performers, its partners and, in a sense, its co-authors.

Designing a Truly Accessible Experience

From the outset, Perception(s) has been guided by a single question: how can we imagine an experience that does not privilege one way of perceiving the world over another?

The project was developed in dialogue with blind and partially sighted people, Deaf and hard-of-hearing participants, neurodivergent and neurotypical people, as well as accessibility specialists. From the very beginning, we set out to create an environment in which multiple perceptual modalities coexist and enrich one another.

The feedback gathered during this first public presentation reflects this ambition:

“I really appreciated it in relation to my disability (I’m hard of hearing and partially sighted). I could really feel the vibrations and the sound of the rain — I loved that.”
— Mathilde, partially sighted and hard-of-hearing visitor

“What I really appreciated was that it was designed for partially sighted people, blind people and people with hearing impairments. The light effects, the Perception(s) workshop… it was astonishing.”
— Andrée, partially sighted visitor

These testimonies confirm that accessibility is not an additional layer applied to the artwork, but one of the driving forces behind its artistic conception.

A Major Milestone in an Ongoing Journey

This first public presentation marks an important milestone in the development of Perception(s), but it is by no means its final destination. The observations made over these two days are already informing the next iterations of the installation.

In the months ahead, we will continue to expand this sensory ecosystem while preparing new public presentations, residencies and collaborations.

We would like to warmly thank Le Phénix, the teams at Contour Progressif, all of our partners, and everyone who embraced the experience, shared their impressions and helped bring this first version of Perception(s) to life.