Invited to the Kiddy Smile press event, which was held on February 5 at the Fondation Cartier in the presence of many journalists, I had the opportunity to discover and better understand the complete program of the exhibition "Le Nouveau Printemps." This event will take place in Toulouse from May 23 to June 22, 2025 and promises to be an unmissable event, centered on the themes of love and family.
“Faire famille,” an artistic exploration of solidarity and inclusion, is an exhibition rooted in art and identity, organized at the Bibliothèque d’Étude et du Patrimoine de Toulouse. This celebration of identity, inclusivity and solidarity, curated by visionary Yandé Diouf, draws deeply on Kiddy Smile’s journey, to explore what it means to “faire famille.”
Who is Kiddy Smile?
Kiddy Smile is a multi-talented French artist of Cameroonian origin, DJ, singer, dancer, fashion designer and filmmaker. He has performed alongside Madonna in 2023 and Grace Jones in 2024, walked for Jean-Paul Gaultier in 2020, and performed at the closing ceremony of the Paris Paralympic Games. Committed to social and environmental causes, he aims to create spaces for the liberation and amplification of marginalized voices.
Some thirty artists have been carefully selected for this edition of "Nouveau Printemps." Among them, we can mention: Brandon Gercara, Angelica Mesiti, Roméo Mivekannin, Ndayé Kouagou and Marie-Claire Messouma Malambien. The choice of these artists reflects its commitment to inclusivity and diversity.
The focus on inclusivity, diversity and sustainability is truly heartening. The festival is committed to reducing its environmental impact while providing a platform for poetic and empathetic works. It celebrates artistic expression in all its forms, with a strong desire to promote inclusive and sustainable values.
At the press event, Yandé Diouf presented her vision and mission, to build bridges between artistic disciplines and audiences, by highlighting stories that are often invisible or ignored. Her goal is to transform oppressions and denials into creative forces. She highlighted the importance of houses in ballroom culture, these chosen families that offer refuge and support to the excluded. Led by mothers who guide and protect their children, these houses are spaces of freedom where everyone can assert themselves without fear.
The exhibition does not just trace history, but evokes the power of houses to bring together to question the way we create chosen families. How can individual trajectories converge to form a collective? This question is at the heart of this exhibition.
The event also highlighted the importance of diversity and inclusivity. The works on display give voice to stories from the margins, often invisible or ignored by mainstream society. These testimonies, essential to our understanding of the world, disrupt our benchmarks and redefine the notions of community and belonging.
"Faire famille" does not just show works of art, it offers a shared reflection on our places and trajectories. The artists explore old or new links that connect individuals to territories, stories and History. They come to disrupt the benchmarks to trace new cartographies of identities and relationships, inviting the public to rethink our individualities in a common framework.
It invites us to question our certainties and explore collective strategies capable of transforming oppressions into creative forces. By highlighting stories from the margins, this exhibition enriches the collective reflection on our identities and journeys, thus celebrating diversity and solidarity through art.
This festival promises to be a celebration rich in creativity, diversity and social and environmental commitment. Its commitment to inclusivity, cultural variety and the artistic expression of often overlooked voices is remarkable. The theme of love and family, combined with a diverse selection of talented artists, guarantees a rich and emotional experience for participants. The fact that this event is taking place in Toulouse, with a strong focus on environmental sustainability, adds an extra dimension that deserves to be celebrated.
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