Major tourist attraction set to close in Paris
As Paris builds for the Olympic Games from July 26, one of the city’s stellar cultural institutions and architectural wonders is preparing to wind down.
Centre Pompidou, a contemporary art gallery, will be subject to incremental closures in the northern autumn before a complete shutdown - except for a temporary visitor centre -next year.
Centre Pompidou with its red “caterpillar” escalator.Credit: Getty Images
Designed by Pritzker Prize laureates Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers and opened in 1977, the building is renowned for its high-tech architectural style, signature pops of primary colour and a “caterpillar” escalator running diagonally up a facade.
But it was never intended - by the architects, at least - to be a permanent edifice. Work is scheduled to reconfigure, re-engineer and restore the building, which will keep it closed for at least five years.
As the scaffold goes up (even though the centre already looks scaffolded), it will cloister a remarkable collection of 150,000 modern art pieces from the likes of Andy Warhol, Man Ray, Jackson Pollock, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall and Frida Kahlo.
The Stravinsky Fountain next to Centre Pompidou.Credit: Getty Images
Many of the centre’s great works will make appearances elsewhere during the closure under the Centre’s Constellation program, with reports suggesting this will form part of the strategy to fund the $500 million-plus project.
The mixed-use STH BNK By Beulah development in Melbourne, due for completion in 2027, will contain a Centre Pompidou “cultural partnership”, with a 3000-square-metre gallery space hosting associated exhibitions, workshops and cultural events for young people.
The post-modern structure completed in 1977 is one of the most recognisable landmarks in Paris. Credit: Getty Images
The projected opening date in Melbourne coincides with Centre Pompidou’s 50th anniversary year, when the original Paris institution will, of course, be closed.
Centre Pompidou and a spokesperson for the developer, Beulah, said nothing had been confirmed regarding sending artwork to Australia during the closure. But Beulah “looks forward to working with the Centre Pompidou team on the curation of its Melbourne location as part of the future STH BNK By Beulah project”.
Centre Pompidou-Metz, France, west of Paris, as seen from the esplanade in front of it. This is a branch of the Pompidou Centre.Credit: Getty Images
What is confirmed, is that parts of the collection will be shown elsewhere in France; the Centre Pompidou-Metz, 330 kilometres west of Paris and designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, will be a main beneficiary.
So too will Paris’s Grand Palais, reopening next year after a four-year restoration. Other locations include San Francisco in the US and other European centres such as Amsterdam. The Pompidou also has a presence in Shanghai, China. There’s a centre opening in Seoul, South Korea, in 2025 and one in New Jersey, the US, in 2027.
With past travelling exhibitions drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors from Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo, art lovers in Melbourne may just get a piece of the Pompidou pie. See centrepompidou.fr
Sign up for the Traveller newsletter
The latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now.