From the Prairie des Filtres, a large park on the banks of the river, to the former La Grave hospital, passing through brick alleys, Saint-Cyprien – “Saint-Cyp” for the people of Toulouse – flourishes on the left bank of Garonne. It is in this district which has retained the soul of a small village that Le Nouveau Printemps is taking up residence, until July 2. The contemporary creation festival, heir to the Printemps de Septembre, which irrigated the entire city until 2021, is now refocusing on a single district, for budgetary reasons, after a significant cut in public aid.
Originally devoted to visual photography, this collective event presents pieces of art and architecture in the most diverse places. “We invite people to open the doors of multiple places: museums (Le Château d’eau gallery, Les Abattoirs), art centers, heritage sites, but also real estate agencies and public spaces such as the Saint-Cyprien market or the garden Raymond-VI… So that art interferes everywhere”, explains Eugénie Lefebvre, president of Nouveau Printemps.
Each edition is worn by a guest artist. This year, designer Matali Crasset is co-signing the program with the team. “With her panoramic view of the visual arts, she invited some thirty artists, but also thinkers and artisans, local associations and design schools. Also through personal creations, she offers a reflection on habitat and its uses, the question of the collective, communities and transitions.. »
At the Château d’eau, you can discover Matali Crasset’s models of domestic utopias, seven dwellings, the antithesis of the cocoon house, inspired by her readings by philosophers, ecologists and anthropologists. The designer also presents two micro-architectures to experiment with, on which you can sit or lie down, The square of the Garonne, in the garden of the Water Tower, and The Garonne windmill, in the Raymond-VI garden, inspired by the architectures that have made the history of the city, now forgotten. At the Abattoirs, you will find the totemic ceramics in sandstone by Claudine Monchaussé. The festival aims to be part of time. Most of the contemporary creations come from the reuse of existing materials and some of them will remain permanently in the city.
Le Nouveau Printemps, Saint-Cyprien district, Toulouse, until July 2. lenouveauprintemps.com
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