Archives
09.28 -- 10.14.2001
The Printemps de Cahors, established ten years ago, has attracted much critical and public acclaim, and is now a key fixture on the contemporary art calendar.
With its move to Toulouse, capital of the Midi-Pyrénées region, and the fourth largest city in France, it has been renamed as the Printemps de septembre.
With its student population of 100,000, Toulouse is a youthful city, and the Printemps de septembre, with its policy of free and unrestricted access to contemporary culture, aims to combine innovation, celebration and educational outreach.
The concept of the Printemps de septembre is unique. It presents the work of international artists in historic venues and sites, creating an exhibition trail, which will be transformed by the play of light and projection during the Nuits Blanches.
This year, twenty-five artists from around the world, including our guest of honour, David Lynch, are showing in Toulouse at the invitation of Val Williams, curator of exhibitions. Stéphanie Moisdon-Trembley has invited ten artists working with video to show at Bemberg Foundation and is also responsible for the outdoor projection of the Media City project. Isabelle Gaudefroy has selected the programme of the Soirées Nomades, bringing together works from dance and performance, together with DJ evenings.
Unique in Europe, this celebration of contemporary culture gives the region of Toulouse a new opportunity to express its youthfulness, its vitality and its creativity. A series of complementary exhibitions is also being shown at the Abattoirs in Toulouse, at the Centre Photographique in Lectoure, at the Cimaise et Portique arts centre in Albi and, of course, in Cahors.
I would like to thank Philippe Douste-Blazy, deputy mayor of Toulouse and former Minister of Culture, who had the desire and expressed his willingness to host this festival in the pink city.
Marie-Thérèse Perrin
President of Le Printemps de septembre