the essential
A strong relationship was established between the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists and the town of Lisle-sur-Tarn, where they went once a year until 2012. Ten years after the attacks, those who worked with them remember.
On the table at the Raymond-Lafage museum, she placed Charlie's front pages, drawings and other memories of the cartoonists' visit to Lisle-sur-Tarn. Anne-Marie Carassus, the director of the establishment, is in the company of Robert Plageoles, poet winemaker. At her side, her husband and Jérôme Sié, designer of Rabastens. The small group is preparing the tribute which will be paid in Lisle-sur-Tarn to the cartoonists of the satirical weekly, from January 7 to 12, 2025, ten years after the attack which struck the newspaper's premises leaving 12 dead and 11 injured. .
DDM – Patrick Guerrier
Hanging on Anne-Marie's chest are pines in memory of those who fell under the bullets of terrorists. Ten years later, it is with laughter that everyone remembers this human adventure which forever linked the small town of Tarn to the cartoonists. Laughter is the bond that united them for five years. From 2008 to 2012, 5 years of exhibition around press cartoons during which Wolinski, Cabu, Charb, Honoré, Tignous and all the others will come to recharge their batteries in Lisle-sur-Tarn as one returns on vacation to meet up with friends.
Wine and words
At the origin of this meeting, chance, the love of wine and good words. In 2007, Anne-Marie Carassus prepared an exhibition on the theme: “From stomach memory, nourishment before the revolution”. The idea was born of a tasting conference around wine and cocoa. The winemaker-poet Robert Plageoles and the pastry chef Michel Belin are in demand. Before the arrival of a third thief, the cook Lucien Vanel. A dinner debate is planned. “How about a drawing by Wolinski for the menus?” says Lucien Vanel, who is a friend of the designer. Bet held. This is where the somewhat crazy idea of considering a Wolinski exhibition at the museum was born. “He's not going to come to the asshole of the world! Wolinski has already refused Martin Malvy twice”, then president of the regional council, the cook begins by saying. But a few days later, he called the museum manager to tell her: “Take a ticket to Paris, we’re going to meet Wolinski!”
No sooner said than done. With the agreement of the mayor at the time, Jean Tkaczuk, she went to Paris in the company of Lucien Vanel to meet Wolinski at his home. An unforgettable encounter for the Lisloise which will end at the table of Cavanna, Lipp brasserie. “Tell me about your museum,” Wolinski asked him before putting two large drawing boxes in his hands. “Come down with that. Give me a nice show and I’ll come!” Anne-Marie Carassus takes the plane with 300 drawings under her arm without any insurance and fear in her stomach. “In fact, there were 900 drawings. He knew that. That's how the adventure began with the first Wolinski exhibition.”
“We are free here”
His passage has left its mark. In the guestbook of the Château de Salettes where he lived. “He found the place too quiet. He said it stressed him out.” This is not the case for his tastings with Robert Plageoles who introduced him to Gaillac wine and the dialect. “I gave him the book A Bisto De Nas, remembers the winemaker. He was a man of contact like all his friends. In the joy of sharing conversations, he always said: we are free here, free to think, free to draw.
Wolinski agrees to be the sponsor of the following edition. For Anne-Marie, it cannot be otherwise: we need Cabu. “It’s no easy feat,” Wolinski said. “He’s the purest of us.” The magic of Lisle-sur-Tarn will work. The head of the museum is back in Paris. She will meet Cabu and the whole team, participate in editorial conferences. “It was the time of Obama's election. I remember, at Cabu's, he was looking for drawings on the floor.”
2009 will be the year of the Cabu/Wolinski retrospective. Then, Charb arrived with Jul and Wiaz, Riss but also Luz and Honoré. Charb who will take charge of the programming including “Les 1,000 Unes de Charlie” where the whole team will be there. Everyone will happily take part in the signing sessions and the creation of 4 or 6 hand drawings during epic and late press conferences once they have left the table with Robert Plageoles. The museum will break all attendance records. A friendship was born between Charlie and the city of Tarn. “Each time, Charb said he didn’t want to leave. Here, they forgot their worries, their worries about the risks they were running.”
From this January 7, 2015, Anne-Marie and Robert do not want to talk too much. They remain the memories. “I hope that where they are, they hear us,” concludes the winemaker.
Tribute to Charlie
From January 7 to 12, 2025, the Raymond-Lafage museum in Lisle-sur-Tarn will pay tribute to the five Charlie Hebdo cartoonists murdered ten years earlier during the attack on the newspaper's premises in Paris on January 7, 2015. Wolinski , Cabu, Charb, Honoré and Tignous were all received at the Raymond Lafage museum between 2008 and 2013 during exhibitions which were given to them dedicated. The tribute will take the form of an exhibition which will present photos, videos, objects, dedications and original drawings, memories of their time in Lisle-sur-Tarn.
On Friday January 10, the museum will welcome four press cartoonists, Sié, Giemsi, Biz and LeRouge, as well as Jean-Paul Tibéri, friend and biographer of Cabu. Hélène Honoré, daughter of the deceased cartoonist, will participate with them in a round table on freedom of expression and freedom of the press. This evening will be an opportunity for everyone to share their anecdotes and remember these great artists together, over a friendly drink.
The “L'Embarcadère” art gallery in Lisle-sur-Tarn will, for its part, offer an exhibition dedicated to freedom of expression through the drawings of two designers Sié and Jhano. The opening and a signing session are planned for Saturday 11th from 5 p.m. The exhibition will be on view until March 2. The gallery is located at 19 rue Saint Louis, Lisle-sur-Tarn.
