Pompidou National Art and Cultural Center: the largest museum of modern art!

Published on : 17 May 20213 min reading time
Paris has many renowned cultural centres. Among them is Georges Pompidou National Art and Cultural Center. It is the largest museum of modern art in the country. But what do we really know about this national heritage? The following passages will tell you more. 

History of the cultural centre

Georges Pompidou National Art and Cultural Center was built under the wishes of President Georges Pompidou. The former head of state was passionate about modern art and he wanted to create an original cultural centre in the heart of Paris, specially dedicated to modern and contemporary art. Located in the 4th arrondissement of the capital, Sébastien Loste’s team took on the management of President Georges Pompidou’s programme. Following an international architectural competition, under the presidency of Jean Prouvé, the architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers were appointed to lead the construction of Georges Pompidou National Art and Cultural Center. The inauguration of the art museum took place on 31 January 1977, in the presence of the president’s wife, Claude Pompidou. Robert Bordaz was the first president of the centre.

Description of the art museum

Georges Pompidou National Art and Cultural Center is located on the site of the former insalubrious island. The main building is 166 metres long and 45 metres wide. It is divided into two parts, the first of which is the infrastructure and consists of three levels containing the technical and service facilities. The second part of the centre consists of seven levels, including the terrace and the mezzanine. Most of the centre’s activities are concentrated on these levels. Each colour serves as a visitor code and is assigned to a particular function. For example, blue for air conditioning and young for electricity.

Several cultural activities

Georges Pompidou National Art and Cultural Center also has several exhibition galleries, including a bookshop and a document consultation area. The art museum hosts various cultural activities, including art exhibitions. A recent example is the Henri Matisse exhibition, “Matisse, comme un roman”. Among other things, various festivals are organised in the Pampidou Centre, as well as live performances and cinemas. You can also discover educational activities, conferences, debates and meetings. In short, more than 60 cultural activities have been organised at the Georges Pompidou National Centre for Art and Culture since its inauguration. The centre welcomes more than 2 million visitors every year.

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