A five-year silence for Beaubourg
The Centre Pompidou, inaugurated in 1977 and designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers as a space open to everyone, has long stood as a beacon of modern and contemporary art in Paris. Nicknamed Beaubourg, it transformed its era by inviting all forms of culture and drawing an international audience. This year, the building entered a prolonged pause: a five-year renovation program that will fundamentally reshape the iconic site and its mission.
On September 22, the public bid Beaubourg farewell for now. Visitors spoke of a place that felt generous and full of surprises, with some admitting a touch of melancholy as doors closed on a chapter in Parisian culture. The closing marks not an end, but a pause before a new era for the city’s most visited modern art museum.
What is changing at Beaubourg?
Although the exterior remains recognisable, the interior is being radically redesigned. The renovation focuses on essential modernization: asbestos abatement, improved accessibility for all visitors, heightened safety, and a complete interior remaking to better display works and host livestreamed programs, performances, and large-scale installations. The nine public levels, connected by escalators, will welcome visitors to refreshed galleries and new spaces for study and research once the work is completed.
To carry out the overhaul, around 120,000 works have been relocated, many of them moved with care to storage or partner institutions. Some are temporarily reimagined in different contexts while the core spaces are reconfigured to meet contemporary museology standards. The scale of the operation underlines how central Beaubourg is to Paris’s cultural calendar and to the global conversation on modern art.
From Wall to Metz: a piece finds a second life
Among the works moved is the famed Le Mur Breton from the studio of André Breton, a monumental piece that traveled in crates to catapult the home of Parisian modern art into a new era. The Breton wall will have a second life at Centre Pompidou-Metz, where it is being shown as part of a broader exploration of Surrealist objects. Anne Horvath, curator of the Metz exhibition “Un dimanche sans fin,” notes that the piece comprises 255 individual elements, each with its own story and condition, requiring meticulous care to ensure meaningful presentation and optimal conservation.
This cross-pollination highlights how the Pompidou network can extend its legacy beyond Paris, turning Beaubourg’s renovation into a shared cultural project that benefits audiences in several cities.
A moment of reflection and a festival of renewal
The end of the Beaubourg era was punctuated by a major retrospective, Wolfgang Tillmans’ “Rien ne nous y préparait − Tout nous y préparait,” which asked visitors to consider a world where nothing is guaranteed. The closing days framed a dialogue about uncertainty and possibility that will shape the museum’s future identity. Meanwhile, the city’s eyes will turn to the temporary reopening planned for October 22–25, a three‑day celebration featuring performances by Christine and the Queens, Catherine Ringer, and Selah Sue, and a daytime fireworks display. The event will offer a festive glimpse of the cultural vitality that Beaubourg has long embodied, even as renovation continues.
The longer arc: what to expect after renovation
With 2024 attracting around five million visitors, the Centre Pompidou remains a cornerstone of Paris’s cultural life. The renovation aims to preserve this legacy while updating the museum’s infrastructure to welcome future generations. Expect improved accessibility for visitors with reduced mobility, enhanced safety protocols, and an interior layout designed to encourage more spontaneous encounters with art—echoing the original spirit of Beaubourg as a space “open to all.” The longer pause also invites a broader conversation about how modern museums operate in a rapidly changing cultural landscape.
Looking ahead
As Beaubourg prepares to reopen in stages, the renovation is not merely a construction project but a rearticulation of a public art space meant to serve diverse publics. The temporary relocation of works, the cross-city exchange with Metz, and the planned public programs signal a future where the Centre Pompidou remains at the heart of Paris’s artistic imagination, while continuing to engage the world with daring exhibitions and inclusive programming.
