Six weeks time, rue Bayard, in Toulouse, will turn into a real open-air gallery. 23 artists will exhibit in the windows of one of the main arteries of the Pink City, from October 16 to November 30, 2021.

A project carried by the association “Amitié Bayard”

Pierre Coutures, president of the Amitié Bayard association, worked for a long time to bring this project to life. ” I’ve been talking about it for 6-7 years. Local communities have understood what is at stake. We are doing a first edition with 23 artists, and 23 businesses exhibiting. “

The idea is clear: “to ensure that businesses exposed to the outside, and transform the street into a real street gallery. Ultimately, there should be 50 artists ”.

The idea is that someone who arrives in Toulouse, by one of the biggest entrances in the city, that is to say the station, takes the rue Bayard, because he knows that there is going to be something to see. The street is beautiful, there is attention paid to it. We want to drive the point home more by giving it a cultural appeal.

Pierre Coutures repeats it: “rue Bayard is the first city gate. It is very hotel-oriented, and in terms of tourism, the interest is enormous ”. But he is aware that these are collective efforts. “It’s a project that I was unable to carry out on my own. Hervé has the know-how, on the artistic part. “

A highlight and pretty names

The president of Amitié Bayard evokes Hervé Marty, cultural ambassador of Toulouse-Métropole. The latter recalls that ” we had 3-4 months to build this edition launch. We had to be efficient, especially since there was no artistic direction ”.

The highlight of this edition is Sunday, October 17. The street will be closed, and there will be three events: a Schuman square and one at the Winger café, all day. Finally, there will be one in front of Carrefour City, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will also be stands of creators, artists, craftsmen and a little dancing with the association “Elles dansent”.

Regarding the 23 artists, some are no longer to present in the world of graffiti: the Truskool, Sike, Snake, Mr 2700, Trome or Nero Without forgetting Chic and Cali, will be there. “Toulouse is second in hip hop and graffiti culture in France, behind Paris,” says Hervé Marty. There will also be four photographers.

“Create a community”

But this first edition must above all be synonymous with a launching pad. “This should, in the years to come, open the field of artistically possible, pursuit of the cultural ambassador. We will not be satisfied with the street-art or graffiti side, but we will open to photographs, of contemporary and, why not, to schools. “

The idea is to make Bayart’Street a long-term project. The objective is to have an exhibition in the maximum number of windows on the street, and why not develop in the neighborhood with a real tour, every quarter. We want to have a highlight every year on one of the weekends in September, where people would come and see something special.

Hervé Marty and Pierre Coutures do not forget the residents and the businesses. “On the closure that we are considering a weekend, there would be a garage sale on Saturday, and an art market, shops on Sundays. It’s something we want to develop for both parties. “

The two men also underline a last stake, just as fundamental, namely “to unite. We think that the cooperative spirit is what it takes. The idea is to support the street, culture in Toulouse. The launch takes place in a spirit of solidarity ”.

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