Toulouse. Route de Seysses, the Dell’Arte association is fighting to find a new location
“For years, we have been patient to obtain a new location, protests Nicky Tremblay, founder and director of the Dell’Arte association, located in the Grand Mirail and installed for several years, on the floor of a building of “a surface of 70 m2 for twelve people (plus the public). I’ve had enough of waiting. So we decided to temporarily settle in a 500 m2 room made for us, preempted by the municipality at 212 route de Seysses. For this, we organized Thursday noon an Inaugu’Action to settle that we are ready. But very quickly, we were dislodged by the national police. After years of meetings, letters, appointments, broken promises, we remain condemned to 70 m2! So without violence, we dared to have a decent place!”
A new premises for which the City of Toulouse has a project according to Dell’Arte. It should soon host a senior restaurant “although there is already one, in Papus, one kilometer away. However, if we settle in this new space, we could merge the two places by organizing a senior day per week. We I also submitted this proposal to the mayor of Toulouse on Thursday evening for an urgent hearing request. Jean-Luc Moudenc was very courteous. To be continued…”.
On the side of the town hall, it is indicated that “this premises must be demolished and then rebuilt to standards, in order to accommodate associations such as Dell’Arte”.
Created in 1997 by Nicky Tremblay and Karim Djelassi, artists and social workers, the Dell’Arte association, approved by the State, is both a space for meetings and intercultural exchanges but also a support structure for young people. in an integration contract.
“We have been present in the territories for almost thirty years and the results are there, believes Nicky Tremblay. We do not want to close. However, if the situation does not resolve, this remains the only solution”.
Since Thursday, following the evacuation, a petition has been circulating to support the association. Fifty signatures have already been collected. “Dell’Arte is necessary for the development of the district, where culture is sorely lacking. All the associations are doing badly. We cannot ask that citizen action move and at the same time limit their budgets”