The evening opened with the screening of the documentary Clown Nez C’s Air, focusing on the clown project at the psychiatry department of the Centre hospitalier de Niort. This therapeutic program brings together patients and caregivers around the creation of a show, notable for its clowns crossing the "fourth wall" to interact freely with the audience during performances.
Laurence Fort, the program's director, and several troupe members subsequently shared their experiences.
François-Xavier Caillet, founder of the Pôle du Tison association based in Poitiers, presented the art therapy workshops offered, including music, poetry, drawing, painting, and collage. Artists and health professionals welcome individuals with diverse physical, developmental, or psychological disabilities, asserting that everyone has a right to artistic expression.
A demonstration of adapted instruments followed, allowing both children and adults with disabilities to express themselves through music.
The event included a Q&A session where the public could ask questions to Laurence Fort, three troupe members – Jean-Baptiste Marsault, Maxime Maupetit, and Nathalie Micou – and François-Xavier Caillet.
The evening concluded with a slam poem performance by Patricia Larrignon, a poet and peer health mediator at the Réseau Réhab of Niort hospital.
Moreover, one does not choose an illness But I can decide what I do with it I can choose what I create, what I read, what I dance, what I write, what I watch, what I listen to, what I live…
The Weeks of Information on Mental Health (SISM) continue until October 18th. Their 37th edition, from October 5th to 18th, 2026, is themed "For our mental health, let's open ourselves to the arts."
In the Niort region, other events were offered, including exhibitions, open days at GEM Au fil de la Mosaïque, a parade on Jacques-de-Liniers square, an information stand at the Niort market, and a traditional dance at Prahecq.
The local health contract (CLS) for the Niort region is jointly led by Niort Agglo and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Health Agency (ARS), aiming to reduce territorial and social health inequalities.
