The Centre Pompidou in the Service of French Cultural Diplomacy

by Sebastien GOULARD

While the Paris site of the Centre Pompidou closed last September for renovation works scheduled to continue until 2030, the contemporary art museum is expanding its network of branches in France and abroad, the most recent being in Seoul. These new establishments contribute to France’s cultural influence, but this model remains fragile and highly dependent on local partnerships.

Branches in France to Boost Regional Development

As part of a decentralisation strategy, the Centre Pompidou opened its first regional branch in Metz, in the Grand Est region, in 2010. The project has been a success, as the institution is now the most visited modern art museum in France outside the Paris region. Nearly a quarter of its visitors are foreign tourists, mainly from Germany and the Benelux countries.

Building on this success, a new branch is due to open at the end of the year in Massy, south of Paris. The site will house part of the Paris museum’s collections during the renovation period, after which it will exhibit works currently held in storage, as well as pieces from the Musée Pablo Picasso. One of the objectives is to make the southern part of the Paris region more attractive to visitors and to establish it as a major cultural hub.

Establishments Abroad

Major museums around the world have recognised the value of opening new venues internationally and thereby establishing themselves as global “brands.” The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation was among the first to create overseas branches, showcasing its collections in architecturally ambitious buildings. After inaugurating the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1959, the foundation opened a new site, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, in Venice in 1980. However, it was in Bilbao that the foundation made headlines in 1997 with its bold architectural design, which would help build the international reputation of the Spanish city.

Since then, and in light of the success of such branches, several prestigious museums have opened new establishments abroad. Among the host regions, the Gulf countries stand out for having entered into partnerships with leading international museums. For these institutions, financial considerations are important, as is the opportunity to attract new audiences. For countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, hosting a branch of a renowned museum contributes to economic diversification. Since 2017, Abu Dhabi has hosted a branch of the Louvre Museum, which welcomed 1.4 million visitors in 2024.

The Centre Pompidou’s International Branches

The Centre Pompidou has also established new sites around the world, beginning in Spain with the opening of the Málaga branch in 2015. This venue displays nearly 80 works in a building known as “El Cubo.” It was created through a partnership between the Paris museum and the City of Málaga, although it remains a temporary project.

Also in Europe, the Centre Pompidou has established a presence in the Brussels-Capital Region through a partnership with the KANAL Foundation, leading to the opening of the KANAL-Centre Pompidou museum at the end of 2026.

In China, the Centre Pompidou entered into a partnership with the West Bund Museum in 2018 to cooperate through artwork loans, exhibition design, professional training programmes, and the presentation of Chinese artists at the Paris museum. Once again, this is a temporary agreement rather than the creation of a site entirely dependent on the French institution.

The establishment of these sites is decided bilaterally between the French authorities and those of the host country. Consequently, the expansion of the Centre Pompidou’s international activities depends heavily on diplomatic relations with host states. These new branches therefore reflect both France’s positive relations with certain countries and the willingness of local authorities to leverage the “Centre Beaubourg” brand to attract additional visitors.

In 2023, France and Saudi Arabia signed a partnership agreement for the opening of a Centre Pompidou branch in AlUla, a city in the northwest of the Kingdom that Saudi authorities seek to transform into a major cultural and heritage destination. Cooperation is already underway between the Paris museum and AlUla’s contemporary art museum. This opening forms part of a broader framework, namely the Franco-Saudi agreement on the development of AlUla and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 strategy. The French Agency for the Development of AlUla (AFALULA) was established in 2018, and Paris is therefore expected to play a major role in Saudi Arabia’s cultural ambitions for AlUla.

In Brazil, a Centre Pompidou branch is expected to open in 2027 in the state of Paraná, in Foz do Iguaçu, at the “Triple Frontier” between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. The region is already a major tourist destination thanks to the Iguaçu Falls, which attract nearly two million visitors annually. The museum’s opening will help diversify the local tourism sector and encourage longer stays in the region, much as has been envisioned for AlUla. Exhibitions organised at the institution will also highlight local artists, who in turn will help promote the culture of Paraná and Brazil on the international stage.

The Centre Pompidou in Seoul

Finally, the Centre Pompidou is also expected to open a branch in Seoul within the coming days. The Centre Pompidou Hanwha is the result of intensive cooperation initiated in 2016. As with the Málaga and Shanghai sites, this cooperation agreement, signed in 2023, will be temporary. Each year, over a four-year period, the Centre Pompidou will organise two major exhibitions at the Seoul venue, while exchanges will take place with South Korean contemporary artists.

Another branch is also being considered for Busan, the country’s second-largest city, by 2030. It would eventually replace the Seoul site and further enhance the institution’s international visibility.

South Korea has become a rapidly growing tourist destination; in 2025, nearly 19 million foreign tourists visited the country.

However, this cooperation has been criticised by certain artists and segments of the French and South Korean cultural communities because of the Korean project sponsor, the Hanwha chaebol (conglomerate). The group, which operates across virtually every sector of the South Korean economy—from finance to hospitality—is also one of the country’s leading defence manufacturers. Pro-Palestinian activists have accused Hanwha of supplying military equipment to the Israeli armed forces and engaging in “art-washing.” Such criticism could have repercussions for the image of the Paris museum both in France and internationally.

One of the challenges facing the Centre Pompidou’s international development model is its heavy reliance on local partners over whom it has only limited influence. In the case of its expansion into Seoul, however, the criticism directed at the partnership with Hanwha primarily reflects a lack of understanding among some European stakeholders regarding the structure of the South Korean economy and the pervasive role played by the chaebols within it.