Season April - December 2026

Press kit

With renovation works about to begin on the Beaubourg Plateau, this promises to be an exceptional season.

It is an unprecedented chapter in the institution’s history, with three new sites opening in France and internationally in the space of a few months. In May, Centre Pompidou Hanwha opens in Seoul, and this fall the public will get a preview of Centre Pompidou Francilien – fabrique de l’art during a “Prelude!” over three weekends, before the first major exhibition opens in March 2027. And lastly, in November, KANAL–Centre Pompidou will mark a new milestone for the institution in Brussels. Three openings, one ambition: to invent new ways for Centre Pompidou to make its presence felt.

Among these, Centre Pompidou Francilien represents a key transformation. In the works since 2019, it was designed to be a new kind of space, with storage for the largest collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe as well as areas open to the public. Visitors will have the chance to go behind-the-scenes at the museum, see the various stages in the life of an artwork and visit the storage spaces themselves, which will be accessible at certain times. The October “Prelude!” will offer an opportunity to discover the building designed by Philippe Chiambaretta in its almost original state, before the works are moved there permanently.

In Seoul and Brussels, Centre Pompidou’s international vision is being consolidated as well. The goal is not to export a certain model, but to bring it into contact with other art scenes and audiences. Centre Pompidou in Málaga and Shanghai have paved the way, building on new projects with their own identities. The national collection is also pursuing its outreach beyond these spaces, through a partnership with the Royal Commission for AlUla in Saudia Arabia and exhibitions organised with H'ART Museum in Amsterdam, Fundación “La Caixa” in Spain, and now the Arkas Foundation in Izmir, among others. This international presence is also giving rise to remarkable scientific collaborations. In 2026 and 2027, Centre Pompidou will work with the Museum of Modern Art and Philadelphia Museum of Art on a project devoted to Marcel Duchamp. Major artworks and joint research will form the basis of a polymorphic exhibition, which will take on a unique guise at each venue: in New York in spring, in Philadelphia in autumn and at the Grand Palais in March 2027.

Speaking of the Grand Palais, the Constellation program will continue to be firmly established there with exceptional scope, co-produced with GrandPalaisRmn. “Matisse, 1941-1954” brings together artworks from all around the world, shedding light on the painter’s greatest period of artistic freedom. In May, the retrospective devoted to Hilma af Klint will give the French public a long-awaited chance to rediscover this artist. Then in autumn, “Cézanne et nous”, created in collaboration with the Musée d’Orsay, will measure Paul Cézanne’s decisive influence on artists to this day.

In Paris, Constellation will also inahbit other sites and disciplines. At the Bibliothèque Richelieu, the drawings of Louise Bourgeois will enter into dialogue with the Bibliothèque Nationale de France’s collections. At Ircam (the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music), “Anthony McCall. Light” will bring together visual art, music and research for the ManiFeste festival. At the Pantheon, “Vies minuscules”, named in tribute to Pierre Michon’s novel, will give monumental visibility to invisible existences, accompanied by a vibrant program of readings, cinema, theatre and music.

This multidisciplinarity is a key part of the entire program. Cinema will be in the spotlight, with retrospectives devoted to Pedro Almodóvar, Céline Sciamma and Alain Gomis. Hors Pistes / Hors Champs unfolds in Fabrice Hyber’s Valley and Extra! takes over the Grand Palais. The Festival d’Automne in Paris will feature a piece by Sébastien Kheroufi, among others, and carry on Centre Pompidou’s longstanding commitment to intellectual engagement with an “Evening School”. There will be essential spaces for study and research at the Bpi (Public Information Library), now installed in the Lumière building, and soon the Kandinsky Library, which will open on the same site in September.

2026 will also be a year of anniversaries for two major artists. 50 years after his death, Alexander Calder will be celebrated during the Ar(t]chipel Festival in the Centre-Val de Loire region, while a major exhibition at Centre Pompidou-Metz, as well as a shared tribute by 22 partner museums, will celebrate the centenary of François Morellet’s birth.

During this period, the Constellation program will continue to reach far and wide in France, with “Kandinsky face aux images” at LaM in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, “La mer est ton miroir” in Auxerre, “Suivez le fil !” in Toulon, “Vasarely et l'architecture” at Fondation Vasarely in Aix-en-Provence, and “Musée sentimental” at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, in connection with the Contemporary Art Biennale. There is also plenty for younger audiences, with Studio 13/16, mille formes in Montpelier and MuMo continuing their development and showing that transmission remains a central part of the project.

While Centre Pompidou is reaching out beyond its walls, the Beaubourg Plateau will be transformed into a worksite. The initial preparations and installations are getting underway and works will begin in the summer. The Maison Pompidou is already open to visitors, with an exhibition dedicated to the colors of Centre Pompidou, while Ircam continues its program uninterrupted.

The word metamorphosis is truly fitting, as a tangible reality. It is not a pause, but an active and collective transformation. All over France and around the world, Centre Pompidou is devising new ways to make its presence felt, true to its original spirit: a site in movement, focused on creation and the public.