Paul Ardenne Curates Le Printemps de Septembre 2012 with 'L'histoire est à moi!'

Paul Ardenne curated the 2012 edition of Le Printemps de Septembre in Toulouse, running from September 28 to October 21, 2012, under the title 'L'histoire est à moi!'. The festival featured around forty artists exploring how they appropriate history, often blending it with personal narratives. Ardenne, an art historian, explained his dual motivation: as a historian questioning how artists engage with past and present history, and as a curator drawing on personal mythology, influenced by Harald Szeemann. He noted a shift away from postmodernist revanchist attitudes toward history. Ardenne argued that contemporary artists no longer follow grand political narratives but instead produce diffracted, contaminated visions reflecting a global age, citing Kara Walker's playful engagement with racial prejudice and Waël Shawky's fantastical puppet retelling of the Crusades. He contrasted Kader Attia's monolithic work at Documenta with more diverse approaches. The festival avoided a prescribed path, mirroring the diversity of contemporary art. Ardenne also published an essay, 'L'Histoire comme une chair', with BdL-La Muette. The interview was conducted by Anaël Pigeat.