We’ve already reported how the Centre Pompidou will close its doors in September 2025 for extensive renovations, with reopening scheduled for 2030.
Six long years of work are what it takes today to renew the iconic high-tech building designed in the 1970s by Piano, Rogers, and Franchini — a 20th-century landmark that once revolutionized the idea of the museum, turning it into an accessible, multidisciplinary space and the beating heart of an entire neighbourhood.
It’s a structural and necessary intervention, first and foremost — but one the Pompidou has managed to turn into an opportunity.
“Métamorphose” is the title chosen for this transition phase — a word that neatly sums up the new vision: the icon disappears, but the program remains (or perhaps more accurately: the icon transforms, the program multiplies). What could have been a simple temporary relocation has instead become an opportunity for deep reflection on the role of museums. At its core lies a realization: the idea of cultural centrality needs an update. The era of grand identity-driven buildings and starchitect-designed monuments is giving way to a new paradigm. Institutions are reimagining themselves as networks, no longer as containers.
A new awareness that gives rise to a curious paradox: as Beaubourg empties, the Pompidou expands.
It’s no longer about centralising, but rather about distributing. About experimenting with a cultural model capable of reaching different audiences in different contexts — even far from the heart of the metropolis. The new program unfolds as a dense constellation of collaborations: new openings, travelling projects, and strategic presences. It enters into dialogue with other places, inhabiting them temporarily, with a logic far removed from the expansionist mindset of the past, marked by global branding and permanent venues abroad.
But where does this metamorphosis actually take shape? Let’s find out, venue by venue, in a journey that takes us from the Parisian banlieues to European capitals, from provincial museums to new experimental spaces across Paris, Île-de-France, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Grand Palais, the Parisian flagship venue for the Pompidou's leading exhibitions
View gallery
During Beaubourg’s closure, the monumental halls of the Grand Palais will host part of the Centre Pompidou’s flagship programming, in a strategic collaboration between two pillars of French culture. The retrospective dedicated to Mohamed El Khatib was already staged in June; through July, visitors can see Fun Palace, a group show inspired by Cedric Price’s architectural utopia, supported by the Chanel Culture Fund. Upcoming exhibitions include shows dedicated to Art Brut, Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely, and a major exhibition called Henri Matisse 1941–1954, focusing on the artist’s final, explosive creative period. On the horizon: a much-anticipated solo exhibition on Francis Bacon, slated for 2027.
Lumière, the temporary address of the Public Information Library
Starting on 25 August 2025, the Bibliothèque publique d'information — the historic Bpi formerly housed on the lower floors of Beaubourg — will relocate to the Lumière complex, in the former Bercy shopping centre. This move reshapes the geography of public reading and cultural engagement in Paris, shifting it to a less central yet rapidly evolving neighbourhood.
Open workshop and Picasso Museum outside the city: the Centre Pompidou Francilien in Massy
The Massy venue, south of Paris, is the most ambitious project of this phase. Not just a storage facility, but a publicly accessible laboratory. Designed by French architecture firm PCA-Stream, the space will house 120,000 works, including part of the Musée Picasso’s collection. In addition to its logistical and conservation functions, it will serve as a site of museum transparency: visitors will be able to observe restorations, relocations, and archival processes. Among the technical partners is the Italian company Sintra, responsible for climate control.
Constellation: the Pompidou, but not in Paris
The Constellation program is at the heart of this season: a network of exhibitions, events, and collaborations that brings the Pompidou’s collection to unexpected places. Pom Pom Pidou in Lille, Couleurs! in Monaco, Maurizio Cattelan: Dimanche sans fin in Metz, Kandinsky at the Philharmonie, and Hors Champs, a new travelling iteration of the Hors Pistes festival. A constellation that dismantles the idea of a centralised museum and lights up across France.
The Pompidou, but not in France: the international venues
View gallery
But the Pompidou’s temporary geography extends well beyond France. In Shanghai, the partnership with the West Bund Museum — active since 2019 — continues. Meanwhile, in Brussels, after years of collaboration and preparation, 2026 will see the opening of KANAL – Centre Pompidou, a new multidisciplinary cultural hub housed in the former Citroën garage. In 2027, a new centre is also planned in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil — symbolically located at the intersection of three nations — further affirming the institution’s global and diplomatic ambitions.
Italy, too, is part of this international constellation: between 2026 and 2027, the Pompidou will present exhibition projects in Rome and Rovigo, marking the beginning of new collaborations with the Italian museum system.
Discover the must-see exhibitions and events in the gallery.
