Paris1972-Versailles2003

Ok while in Paris passed by several times and visited once, the area ambiance was my main motive to stop by over the years. I admit contemporary arts is not my forte, I am from an older era ::) However, this is one of the monuments to see while in Paris, a must. Therefore, let me give you an introduction to the Centre Pompidou or as we call it  the Beaubourg! 

The Georges Pompidou National Center for Art and Culture (CNAC), commonly known as the Georges Pompidou Center, or Centre Pompidou or the Centre Beaubourg or simply the Beaubourg is a polycultural institution born from the will of the President. Georges Pompidou, a great lover of modern art, created in the heart of Paris an original cultural institution entirely devoted to modern and contemporary creation, where visual arts would be associated with books, design, music and cinema. It is located in the Saint-Merri neighborhood or quartier, in 4éme arrondissement or district of Paris, between the neighborhoods of Les Halles, in the west, and the Marais, in the east.  On January 31, 1977, the Georges Pompidou National Center for Art and Culture was inaugurated by President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in the presence of Prime Minister Raymond Barre, Mrs. Claude Pompidou and numerous personalities. Later on February 2, it was opened to the public.

Within the National Museum of Modern Art / Center for Industrial Creation (MNAM / CCI), it has one of the world’s three largest collections of modern and contemporary art and the first in Europe. It also houses major galleries of temporary exhibitions, theaters and cinemas, and the BPI, the first public reading library in Europe. On either side of the square, two annexes house the IRCAM and the Brancusi workshop. 

At the end of 1997, after having celebrated its twentieth anniversary, the center closes its doors to be renovated in depth. Since its reopening on January 1, 2000, these changes have made it possible to exhibit more works and offer more dance, theater and music performances. The space dedicated to young people is also developed with the new children’s gallery where two exhibitions are presented each year. Since December 2003, Espace 315, located on the first level, south side (just before the south gallery), hosts, on 315 m2, contemporary artists. It is here that the winner of the Marcel Duchamp Prize is exhibited every year.

The main building, 166 meters long, 45 meters wide (60 counting the exterior escalator) and 42 meters high (52 meters on the square side), consists of eight floors accessible to the public of 7,500 m2 each, including two floors of basement (-1 and 0), the street floor being at level 1 of the mezzanine, a useful floor area of approximately 45,000 m2, given the voids of the first floors of the Forum and the courtyards located at 5th and 6th floors, which roughly correspond to the floor area. Nevertheless, the building actually has a total area of 103,305 m2 on ten floors, taking into account the technical and parking spaces that extend to the square, and not including the 600 m2 Brancusi workshop and IRCAM. The height between each plateau is seven meters under ceiling except that of the Forum which is ten meters. The upper floors offer a wide and wonderful view of Paris. It is reached by the diagonal of the external escalators which, crossing the entire zigzag façade, give the building its visual signature.

The museum is divided into section too long for me to describe fully here but these are ,the National Museum of Modern Art and the Industrial Creation Center, the Public Library Information; the Atelier Brancusi, on the square, and the IRCAM at place Stravinsky square. A specific building houses the Institute for Research and Acoustic Coordination / Music, including a gauge room and variable acoustics, studios, anechoic chamber and a media library. the offices as well as certain activities are distributed in four buildings in the immediate vicinity of the center.

Beyond the controversies aroused by an architecture that appeared daring before finding its place in the landscape and in the urban fabric of Paris, the Centre Pompidou has quickly established itself as an important success in terms of attendance, thanks to an attractive diversified programming and with staggered opening hours. The Centre Georges Pompidou rehabilitated in France the museum concept, which was in a state of collapse at the time of its creation, and its success was at the origin of the proliferation of museum institutions in the 1980s and 1990s. Arts always Paris!

The official Centre Pompidou: https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en

The Paris tourist office on the Centre Pompidou: https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71538/Centre-Pompidou

There you go folks another wonder of my Paris, in my belle France open to the world. And even if not my favorite (need to say this) it is a must to visit while in France! Centre Pompidou for what is due.

And remember,happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!