Amiens Garden Festival Navigates Fragile Wetlands with Art and Ecology
The 16th Festival international de jardins des Hortillonnages d'Amiens is taking place in the historic marshlands of Picardy, located 150 km north of Paris, and will continue until October 12, 2025. This 393-hectare area has been home to cultivated islands since the Middle Ages, with only a few families still residing there. Founded by Gilbert Fillinger in 2010, the festival has presented 221 installations and drawn more than 620,000 attendees. In 2025, the Netherlands will be the featured country, unveiling new installations. Guests can navigate through 49 works, including 13 new for 2025, using electric boats. The festival earned the European Garden Heritage Network's 1st Prize in 2024. Noteworthy is 'Fragile Emergence' (2025) by Mirte Van Laarhoven, with a new departure point planned for 2026.
Key facts
- 16th edition of Festival international de jardins des Hortillonnages d'Amiens runs until October 12, 2025
- Site is 393 hectares of wetland formed by ancient course of Somme River
- Hundreds of islets cultivated since Middle Ages; originally ~250 hortillons, now a dozen families
- Festival conceived by Gilbert Fillinger, former head of Maison de la Culture d'Amiens, started in 2010
- 221 works, 340 landscape architects/architects/sculptors, over 620,000 visitors to date
- Netherlands is guest country for 2025 with 2 collectives and 2 sculptors
- 49 works on 22 islets, 13 new for 2025, accessed by electric flat-bottomed boats from Camon
- Won 1st Prize from European Garden Heritage Network in 2024
- Notable works: 'Fragile Emergence' by Mirte Van Laarhoven, 'Laocoon' by Vincent Mauger, 'Aquatique' by Vincent Bredif and Julien Fajardo, 'Mémoire d’arbre' by Yuhsin U Chang
- Free walking route on Île aux Fagots and Île Robinson with 'Le Jardin amphibien' by Chloé Mariey and Luc Léotoing
- 2026 edition will add departure point at rue de Verdun, traditional wooden boats for 12 passengers
Entities
Artists
- Gilbert Fillinger
- Mirte Van Laarhoven
- Vincent Mauger
- Vincent Bredif
- Julien Fajardo
- Yuhsin U Chang
- Chloé Mariey
- Luc Léotoing
Institutions
- Festival international de jardins des Hortillonnages d'Amiens
- Maison de la Culture d'Amiens
- European Garden Heritage Network
Locations
- Amiens
- France
- Picardy
- Paris
- Somme River
- Camon
- Port à Fumier
- place Parmentier
- Saint-Leu
- Île aux Fagots
- Île Robinson
- rue de Verdun