Les Choux de Créteil is a documentary, social and personal project that photographer Wendy Huynh has been working on since September 2020, starting with the 50th anniversary of the district in September 2022. It is currently still ongoing and will take the form of a third exhibition and a book.

The aim of this project is to tell the story of the history and life of the Choux district by highlighting its residents. It aims to show that the history of architecture is defined above all by the human experience at the heart of the district.

We decided to give the floor to the residents of the district: those who are at the heart of Les Choux, those whose daily lives put into practice what historians and theoreticians are trying to write about this urban and architectural project in Créteil. These residents are the ones who tell the story of the architecture of Les Choux. These meetings were an opportunity to gather accounts of their developments and their past lives in the district, to draw their portraits and collect their personal archives.

This project is still in progress, and will continue with a third exhibition and a self-edited publication bringing together all our research, archives, photographs, interviews and personal accounts. We will be inviting researchers, sociologists and architects to complete and develop the subject. Our ambition is to be a reference and a manifesto on this district, as well as a tribute to the work of Gérard Grandval.

Families and residents opened the doors of their homes to us, sharing their stories, memories and anecdotes. There was a strong sense of attachment to their neighbourhoods, wonderful stories of friendship between neighbours and, above all, a sincere vision of the city as a whole. These meetings were an opportunity to hear about their developments and their past lives in the neighbourhood, to draw their portraits and collect their personal archives.

CHARLES PEGUY SCHOOL AND
THE DRAWING COMPETITION 1998-2022

In 1998 Gérard Grandval, the Charles Péguy school and Créteil town hall organised a drawing competition called ‘Dessine-moi le Palais’ (Draw me the Palais), encouraging pupils to illustrate their neighbourhood. As part of this drive to improve the area, the children are being asked to draw pictures of their surroundings. The drawings, which are also accompanied by poems, add a psychological and creative dimension to these urban spaces. The drawings and photos taken at the school were kept by Gérard Grandval, an archive that we recovered and digitised. We also contacted former students to find out what they have become today, and drew their portraits.

We have been in contact with the heads of the Charles Péguy and Blaise Pascal schools with a view to organising a new competition in 2022, incorporating other artistic disciplines such as photography, sculpture and writing. It will be an opportunity to celebrate 50 years of Les Choux and pay tribute to Mr Grandval. The aim of the new competition is to encourage children to contemplate the environment around them with pride and become aware of the uniqueness of their city.

INITIATIVES UNDERTAKEN :

- meeting and taking photos and videos of 22 former and current residents, associations and shopkeepers in the district
- research into municipal and personal archives by Gérard Grandval
- organisation of a drawing competition with the two local schools
- visits to the district and a show flat
- meeting Gérard Grandval and his family

PARTNERS :
Créteil Town Hall, Charles Péguy & Blaise Pascal schools, Cité de l'Architecture, Archives Municiples & Départementales, Conseil d'Architecture et d'Urbanisme du Val-de-Marne, syndic IN'LI des Choux, SEMAEC, École Architecture Paris Val-de-Seine

EXHIBITIONS & PROGRAMMATION
- Quartier des Choux, Créteil, September 2022
- International Youth Union, 75018 Paris, November 2022

PRESS:
- Libération, Konbini, Mint Magazine