Art lovers will have to arm themselves with patience because the Parisian giant will not reopen anytime soon. Closed to get a makeover, the Center Pompidou will remain so for five long years until 2030. Announced on Wednesday May 10 by the Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, this modernization and asbestos removal project is estimated at 262 millions of euros.
In the middle, the news did not surprise many people. Remained in the boxes of a Roselyne Bachelot Minister of Culture, the project, originally planned between 2023 and 2027, coincided with the fiftieth anniversary of the structure. Change of minister, change of plan: the move and the gradual closure will therefore begin in the fall of 2024, when the capital will have digested four weeks of Olympic excitement. Having become essential due to the corrosion and wear and tear of the building, the work will make it possible to “sustain survival” collections of modern and contemporary art but also vast exhibition spaces and a very large library, insisted the minister.
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Renovation, asbestos removal from facades, fire safety, energy optimization or accessibility for people with reduced mobility… so many projects that should start in early 2026. For its reopening, the Center Pompidou will exhibit hanging rooms redesigned in a “multidisciplinary perspective”. New spaces for young people are planned, as well as the expansion of its library. This Beaubourg 2.0 wants to be able to stand up to the Bourse du commerce and its brand new building or the Louis Vuitton Foundation and its impressive modern setting. The National Museum of Modern Art, inaugurated in 1977 in the heart of the capital, had never been renovated. Since its opening, it has welcomed some 300 million visitors, Rima Abdul Malak said at a press conference.
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This total closure, however, comes in full resumption of attendance, after several years of emptiness, created by the health crisis linked to Covid-19. To ensure that the heritage it houses remains accessible, the Center Pompidou has joined forces with its branch in Metz, with which it has strengthened ties. An Ile-de-France conservation and creation center is also due to open in Massy in 2026, when work begins.
