Toulouse International Art Festival Rebrands and Moves to June

The former Printemps de septembre in Toulouse has been renamed the Festival international d'art de Toulouse and shifted from autumn to June. The 2013 edition marks a transitional phase under artistic director Jean-Marc Bustamante, who outlines a new concept: a permanent international committee (chaired by Christy MacLear) will replace rotating curators, allowing multi-year planning. The festival reduces venues to eight heritage sites along the Garonne River, including Les Jacobins (with a Julian Rosefeldt installation), Musée des Augustins (Jorge Pardo redesigns the Romanesque capitals room), Hôtel d'Assezat (30 paintings by Howard Hodgkin, his first French show in 20 years), Hôtel-Dieu (Lindsay Seers video on the Camino de Santiago), Château d'eau (Emmanuel Van der Meulen), Musée des Abattoirs (Tony Smith with daughters Kiki and Seton), and Port Viguerie (Richard Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome, staying for a year). Bustamante aims for a counter-current festival focusing on established and historical artists rather than emerging trends, with deeper, long-term projects. The permanent committee includes P. Curtis (Tate Britain), Isabelle Gaudefroy (Fondation Cartier), Olivier Michelon (Musée des Abattoirs), Eckhard Schneider (Pinchuk Art Centre), and Philippe Vergne (Dia Art Foundation).