It is “the probable last” cultural event of Mix’Art Myrys on its Toulouse site on rue Ferdinand-Lassalle, in the Ponts-Jumeaux district, “as we don’t know what will happen this summer” , summarizes Joël Lécussan, the coordinator of the collective of artists who faces a new test of the long journey started in 1995 in the old shoe factory of Patte-d’Oie. This Saturday evening, exhibitions, concerts and performances animate the vast car park in front of the warehouses, which have been permanently closed for security reasons since the municipal decree of January 2021. A cultural and festive event to say: “We continue to exist”.

The move under consideration

But this existence, which now unfolds in a scattered fashion for artists, is always on hold. In October, during the same event, the collective had unveiled the track of an establishment in Ramonville in a former industrial building, accessible by metro, but whose location is still not revealed. The hypothesis, still valid, remains subject to its financial expertise. “We presented a study,” says Joël Lécussan, a study on a project, investments and operating costs, in which the county council participates. The file, the financial contours of which are not disclosed, was presented to the mayor of Ramonville, Christophe Lubac, the Sicoval, the Department and the Region. It covers an area of ​​2,500 m2, including a high hall and an outdoor space. “We are going to see how these partners position themselves,” advances Joël Lécussan cautiously. “We are on hold…”

With the Metropolis and the Capitol, on the other hand, the bridges have been cut for a long time. End of the subsidy, closing order… the elected officials have repeatedly affirmed on this occasion that, despite long years of support for Mix’Art, they can no longer pay up to what, according to them, the collective is asking for. In March, the Métropole voted to sell the land to the town hall, which wants to build a school there. The page of the site is therefore turned.

The collective still maintains a legal tussle with the community, which it has given formal notice to carry out the compliance work on the premises. And he is counting on a future hearing to highlight the “responsibility” of the Metropolis. Beyond that, Joël Lécussan denounces “a decline” in the place of culture in Toulouse. To be continued.