She fought for several years to open her doors in July 2019 and is now calling for help for her survival. Dedicated to the most famous Toulouse singer, who died in 2004, Nougaro Housea barge moored in the Port de l’Embouchure in Toulouse, launches an online prize pool to raise 10,000 euros to carry out a costly overhaul and continue its cultural activity as a “living” place.
The funds will make it possible to finance the technical inspection of the barge, as well as maintenance work on the site, essential for the safety of visitors. In 2024, the barge, museum by day, performance and dining hall in the evening, must be overhauled. “Like all boats, the barge must be put in dry dock, in Ramonville, to p this overhaul, a sort of technical inspection,” explains Cécile Nougaro, the singer’s eldest daughterwho manages Maison Nougaro and welcomes visitors in the footsteps of his father.
“To take the barge to the hold, we have to partly dismantle it, in particular to p under the Pierre Paul Riquet bridge, at Matabiau level, which is low. The boat will then be rebuilt, while thinking about a solution so as not to relive this difficulty,” she explains. However, this refurbishment of the barge will cost more than the fundraising could bring in. Maison Nougaro must meet representatives of the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) and the Occitanie region to obtain financial support for the place which has received nearly 1,500 people since January.