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History of the Museum

When speaking of Création Franche it is important to note the work of Gérard Sendrey, its patron and guiding light. He, too, is an artist, one of the members of that movement to which we have been referring: His works have been part of the "Neuve Invention" of Lausanne since the 1980s. The town hall of Bègles provided him with a house, which at the time was about to be demolished, to serve as a studio for his own works. Here can also be seen private exhibitions containing the works of his colleagues and friends. Bernard Chevassu, a member of the consultative committee on Collection de l'Art Brut in Lausanne, asked him to create a gallery devoted to Art Brut and other related fields, which he did in 1988 with the establishment of the Imago gallery. This had the support of Michel Thévoz, the curator of the Collection. de l'Art Brut

Création Franche, the aim of which is to bring together both the gallery and the contents of the "Création Artistique Brute et Inventive" - the hope is to establish a permanent collection - , is, therefore, the fruit of two projects; that of Gérard Sendrey who wishes to continue publicising the works of Création Franche, and that of Noel Mamère, who became the new mayor of Bègles in 1989 and who hopes to make the town better known on the cultural front, especially in relation to its much larger neighbour, Bordeaux. Inspired by a taste for popular, unorthodox art, Noel Mamère has provided Gérard Sendrey with the financial and material means to create a new location, which will be more accessible to the public while resting true to the original spirit of the smaller Imago gallery.

Named a municipal museum in 1996, the Création Franche has continued to bring together works which have contributed to and enriched the permanent collection, and it has also worked in close association the Imago gallery. Its work is carried out within the framework French cultural bodies and those abroad, which concern themselves with the same kind of artistic creation. Today this location is a crucial reference point in the field of Art Brut and other related aesthetic fields, recognised and appreciated by art-lovers, collectors and creators the world over, who see it as an essential stage in their artistic education.