Centre Pompidou

In 1969, French President Georges Pompidou envisioned an ambitious construction project that would bring together a large public library and modern art museum into one cultural institution to draw visitors to Paris. Following an international competition, architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers were selected for their bold concept that was rooted in structural expressionism. Eight years later, Centre Pompidou welcomed the first visitors into Musée National d'Art Moderne and Bibliothèque publique d'information. The museum began staging influential exhibitions of 20th-century art, and slowly expanded its collections of modern and contemporary art. 

In 1992, the newly created Department of Cultural Development started to program live performances, lectures, film screenings, debates, and symposia for the public. Several decades and renovations later, Centre Pompidou stands as a premier fine-arts institute, home to an exceptional architecture and design collection, and one of the continent's most popular cultural venues.