Artists & Farmers
Contemporary art program at Les Abattoirs, Musée - Frac Occitanie Toulouse in the Occitanie region from March to December 2024
In recent years, a number of artists have set out to break away from a representation of the rural world that sometimes borders on the epinal image, in order to understand the social, economic and environmental reality of today's farming worlds. They seek to better represent and understand those who are both at the center and on the margins of society, after having represented the majority of the French population for centuries, and who today exercise their profession between the contradictory injunctions of productivity and respect for the living.
While the post-Second World War era marked a decisive turning point for agricultural production in the West, which turned to an intensive, industrial model, the beginning of the 21st century marks a period of unprecedented change, in the light of a new awareness. This dialogue between art and agriculture conveys essential visions and words on the current challenges of working the land. This encounter between art and agriculture, which may seem surprising, is rooted in a long history of representations, marked in particular by the influence of an iconography that developed in the second half of the 19th century and that artists are reinterpreting today. They seek to reinvest the link to the peasant world, and attempt to "make the farm speak". Both witnesses and actors, they perpetuate the history of agriculture at the heart of art history.
Taking as its starting point the exhibition "Artistes et paysans. Battre la campagne" (Artists and farmers: beating the countryside) presented at the Abattoirs site in Toulouse, this proposal also extends beyond the walls, affirming "artgriculture" as a possible means of reconnecting with the territory. Conceived as an artistic journey through the Occitanie region, combining presentations of the Abattoirs' collections, artist residencies and productions, this program also highlights the creative energies of artists and collectives who have chosen to set up in rural areas. Together, these projects provide a sensitive cartography of artistic initiatives linked to contemporary rurality, and help to anchor them in the reality of Occitanie, France's leading agricultural region.
Programm (in French only): ARTISTES & PAYSANS
01 - Artists and farmers
Les Abattoirs, Musée - Frac Occitanie Toulouse, Toulouse (31)
From March 1 to August 25, 2024
02 - Transhumance
Le HANG-ART, Esquièze-Sère (65)
From April 19 to June 15, 2024
03 - L'amour, labeur, labour
Marco, Marciac (32)
From May 25 to July 8, 2024
Galerie Bleue, Saint-Mont (32)
From May 25 to October 15, 2024
04 - Humus Miraculum
Gardens of Cahors (46)
From June 1 to 30, 2024
05 - Soupe de cailloux
Museum and Cloister, Condom (32)
Lake and Spring, St Aignan (32)
Notre-Dame d'Esclaux, Saint-Mézard (32)
From June 8 to July 7, 2024
06 - Petites Mains
Musée Calbet, Grisolles (32)
From June 9 - December 14, 2024
07 - Alain Biet - Halleboteur
Draw2 Gallery, Caylus (82)
From June 15 to September 22, 2024
08 - Creux, samples et soleils
Galerie des Bains Douches, Hôtel Des Arts, Atelier DLKC, Saverdun (09)
From June 21 to August 31, 2024
09 - Charlotte Dumas - La Compagnie des Animaux
Maison Daura, Saint-Cirq-Lapopie (46)
MACGP, Cajarc (46)
From June 30 to November 17, 2024
10 - Sous la terre - Festival chez l'habitant
Saint-Paul-Cap-de-Joux (81)
From July 5, 6 and 7, 2024
11 - Cuyéou
Aulon (65)
From July 12 to September 30, 2024
12 - À table!
De Cazals, Rampoux, Frayssinet-Le-Gélat and Salviac (46) libraries and media library
From October 18 to December 13, 2024