Il était une ville

When you arrive, a pedestrian crossing with new rules makes walking across the road more fun, before you are then invited to transform the buildings’ façades using coloured shapes. An apple tree, an evocation of the dream of having orchards in the city, has questions on the theme of nature in the urban space written on its fruit. Families can pick them up and share them on a bench designed for all sizes and postures, while sound pipes let you listen to the thoughts of the pupils who participated in the project – also available on this page. Sara de.Gouy has incorporated an original participatory approach with the public into her artistic process. The artist developed this project in collaboration with two second-grade classes from a Parisian elementary school during a series of workshops in the spring of 2024. During these sessions in preparation for the future exhibition-workshop, the pupils observed their surroundings, reimagined objects and urban spaces, and worked alongside the artist to envision the city of their dreams.

Further along the route, there is a garden with astonishing plants, representing the city as a place of growth where you can create your own imaginary flowers and makeshift structures. In the centre of the garden, a large hut with a starry sky invites you to continue your dreaming for a while in peace and quiet and to be enveloped by the scents of nature. In this eco-friendly city, children climb the city's rooftops to operate wind turbines and play with water lilies, insects and fish in a mirror pool fed by raindrops. The city of the future exists in harmony with living things and natural elements, such as the sun, rain and wind.