Centre Pompidou

The Centre national d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou was the brainchild of President Georges Pompidou who wanted to create an original cultural institution in the heart of Paris completely focused on modern and contemporary creation, where the visual arts would rub shoulders with theatre, music, cinema, literature and the spoken word. Housed in the centre of Paris in a building designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, whose architecture symbolises the spirit of the 20th century, the Centre Pompidou first opened its doors to the public in 1977. After renovation work from 1997 to December 1999, it opened to the public again on 1 January 2000, with expanded museum space and enhanced reception areas. Since then it has once again become one of the most visited attractions in France. Some 6 million people pass through the Centre Pompidou's doors each year, a total of over 190 million visitors in its 30 years of existence.
In a unique location under one roof, the Centre Pompidou houses one of the most important museums in the world, featuring the leading collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe, a vast public reference library with facilities for over 2,000 readers, general documentation on 20th century art, a cinema and performance halls, a music research institute, educational activity areas, bookshops, a restaurant and a café. Unswerving in its interdisciplinary vocation and its core mission - to spread knowledge about all creative works from the 20th century and those heralding the new millennium - each year the Centre Pompidou holds thirty or so public exhibitions plus international events - cinema and documentary screenings, conferences and symposiums, concerts, dance and educational activities - many of which go on to other venues in both France and abroad.
Current exhibitions at the center:
Les inquiets
13 February 2008 - 19 May 2008
L'Oeil sur l'échelle, at the children's gallery
20 February 2008 - 30 June 2008
Louise Bourgeois
5 March 2008 - 2nd June 2008
Pol Abraham
5 March 2008 - 2nd June 2008
Kijû Yoshida
26 March 2008 - 19 May 2008
Vidéodanse
2nd April 2008 - 28 April 2008
Gordon Matta-Clark, Conical Inter-sect (Etant d'art pour locataire, Quel Con, Quel Can ou Call Can), 1974 (capture) © Centre Pompidou, Adagp, Paris, 2007 Le sens des voyeurs II, 2000 Tempera sur papier, Coll. Privée, Paris © ADAGP 2007 - Photo : Philippe Mayaux