Kiddy Smile Curates Le Nouveau Printemps Festival in Toulouse

The third edition of Le Nouveau Printemps, an annual contemporary art festival in Toulouse, France, opened on May 22, 2025, and runs until June 22, 2025. Curated by Kiddy Smile—a prominent French DJ, producer, dancer, voguer, and LGBTQ+ activist—the festival takes over the historic Saint-Sernin district. The theme revolves around love and "families of choice," with a central exhibition titled "Faire Famille" at the Chapelle des Cordeliers. Kiddy Smile, known for his roots in Chicago house music and the Parisian ballroom scene, brings a focus on social justice and queer identity. The festival features 39 local and international artists, including Roméo Mivekannin, whose work inspired by Rembrandt and Caravaggio is shown at Inessential Space. Other venues include the basilica of Saint-Sernin (a UNESCO World Heritage site), universities, a film school, and the archaeological museum. The festival was founded in 1991 as Printemps de Septembre by Marie-Thérèse Perrin, wife of the founder of the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, which remains the main sponsor. It was held in Cahors for 10 years and in Toulouse for 20 before rebranding as Le Nouveau Printemps in 2023. Previous editions were curated by designer Matali Crasset (2023) and filmmaker Alain Guiraudie (2024). Festival president Eugénie Lefebvre emphasizes that each edition invites an artist from a different discipline to reimagine a different neighborhood.