Roselyne Bachelot was visiting Albi then Castres on Monday to discover its cultural gems and meet the organizers of festivals rather satisfied with the aid put in place.
It all started with a “it’s magnificent”, when entering the main courtyard of the Palais de la Berbie, which houses the Toulouse-Lautrec museum within its walls. Roselyne Bachelot, Minister of Culture, admires the first panorama of her Albigensian morning visit. She could not miss the “Goulue” and other creations of the painter. Patient, she observes, listens, discovers, accompanied by the mayor of Albi, Stéphanie Guiraud-Chaumeil, the two deputies Muriel Roques-Etienne and Marie-Christine Verdier-Jouclas, the vice-president of the Region, Claire Fita and the vice-president of the Department Eva Géraud. Rooms again and again, lots of stairs, an elevator that doesn’t work. Whatever, the minister benefits. The guest book is held out to her. “Meeting the immense Toulouse-Lautrec, in his admirable museum. The majesty of the halls magnifies the genius of an incomparable artist. »
It’s time to switch to Sainte-Cécile Cathedral. A short walk, under a drizzle from Calais, before entering the forecourt where the archbishop awaits. The Minister is advancing in this magical place, for the first time. She takes the time to see. For his coming, the great organs go into action. Intense moment. Then, it is the discovery of the heart of the canons, incredibly carved in stone. The story goes that Richelieu would have asked for a ladder to check if it was not plaster, so close to perfection was the work.
At its entrance, the organs of the Sainte-Cécile cathedral come into action
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A pleasure to be here
“It’s a pleasure for me to be in Albi, so much the wealth is confusing. I remind you that the cathedrals are the property of the State. We have put in place a recovery plan to renovate them, obviously improving their fire safety. It is essential for these monuments which belong to those who believe and who do not believe. »
The minister adds: “I met the mayor of Albi who financially did not make any particular requests of me. I learned that the city has the project, to create a new Lapérouse museum. This is a good thing. »
After the monuments and the discovery of the Mappa Mundi (a book listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site), it’s time for discussion with cultural actors from the Tarn, in the hall of the National Scene of Albi – Tarn.
A few moments before, the minister recalled “that the State injected 14 billion in aid during the Covid. No one has done so much. We saved the culture. »
Visit of the Toulouse Lautrec Museum in Albi
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A round table with cultural actors from the Tarn
In this round table, everyone recognizes the importance of these aids, “whatever the cost. Everyone speaks after the prelude of the director of the SNA, Martine Legrand, who recalls the importance of the structure, to develop culture throughout the territory. The mayor of Murat-sur-Vèbre, Daniel Vidal, decided to fight “against this desert in rural areas, by creating a future cultural center, while bringing the children of the town by bus, to enjoy stage shows national in Albi.
It is the turn of the president of the Puycelsi Festival. “We are very small, but we manage to wake up the village and make the children benefit from school. As a show worker, I wanted to say thank you, thank you, for supporting us financially during this complicated time of the pandemic. A thank you echoed by all. Follow Cordes-sur-Ciel, Vent d’autan and Pause guitar “For contemporary music festivals, you are the minister we dreamed of,” adds Alain Navarro. We had no contact with the ministry for twenty years. Today, you have listened to us, helped us. But let’s be on the lookout for 2022. There is no evidence that everything will go back to how it was. The minister smiled. ” Do not worry. I am very vigilant about these developments. But I can tell you one thing. The culture will live. »
The minister spoke with festival organizers.
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“An element of attractiveness for Castres”
“You are in a very beautiful city”, loose Roselyne Bachelot for the elected officials of Castres. After Albi, Roselyne Bachelot has indeed taken the road to Castres. It was in the Tarn sub-prefecture that she had lunch before visiting the Goya museum restructuring and expansion site. Work worth €8.5 million, started in July 2020 and which should be completed by the end of the year, which will give a new dimension to this first Hispanic art museum in France after the Louvre . “I wanted to salute this magnificent project. The building is exceptional, affirms the Minister of Culture after a guided tour provided by Mayor Pascal Bugis and the curator of the museum Joëlle Arches, recalling that “the State has provided a more than substantial subsidy of €2 million for these works “. This will be a very strong element of attractiveness for Castres. This will make it possible to highlight all the collections of this museum, a better museum route and better circulation to admire the works. A minister who appreciated “the very beautiful architectural ensemble” after taking a walk in the garden of the Bishop’s Palace and admiring the houses on the Agout. Before this visit, the Minister led a meeting with the elected officials, the mayor of Castres, the representatives of the departmental council and the regional council as well as the three deputies to take stock of the major cultural issues of the region and more particularly of the Tarn. . “A very fruitful meeting from which I came away with a lot of optimism. We see that culture is in working order in this department thanks to the involvement of the State, local authorities and associative actors. We took stock in particular of the festivals which are so important in the Tarn and which mesh in a very dynamic way the cultural activity of this department”, confides the minister who evokes “a fruitful stay”. We have helped the cultural sector a lot and it still needs to be supported in this way out of the crisis and to prepare for the future. “The opportunity also for Roselyne Bachelot to rejoice in the labeling last week of Castres City of Art and History issued by her ministry. “We raised our glasses with the mayor to obtain this label with a regional wine,” smiles the minister before leaving Castres, not without first taking a selfie with a construction worker who had asked her. “It’s good that she’s coming here. We do not talk enough about this Goya museum which is a jewel of Castres, says Jean Terlier, the South Tarn deputy of the presidential majority. We are talking about Soulages in Rodez. With this renovation, I hope that we will talk about Goya in Castres”. The various right-wing mayor Pascal Bugis was also satisfied with “this expression of interest” from the minister for this restructuring of the museum which houses “major works of world art such as Goya’s Junta of the Philippines”. “Since 1994, many ministers of culture have paraded hoping for this renovation”, indicates the elected official delighted that Roselyne Bachelot “transforms the test”.
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