This is not a museum: The Centre Pompidou, 40 years in 2 films

The Centre Pompidou will not be a museum, but a living, moving space dedicated to art. In short, this is the message that its designers Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano had subtly woven into this facade of tangled tubes, leaving the interiors free to better serve the exhibitions that, for 40 years, have stopped there for a weekend or a season, and with which they won in 1971 the competition launched by President Georges Pompidou for the art centre that would bear not only his name but also his posterity. On 10 January, no less than five generations of ministers, including the current Minister of Culture and Communication Audrey Azoulay, Aurélie Filippetti and artists such as Orlan and Laurent Grasso joined Serges Lasvignes, president of the Centre Pompidou, to preview the premiere of the Centre Pompidou, This is not a museum (written by Jean-Marc Gosse and Fabrice Bousteau, directed by Jean-Marc Gosse) and La folle aventure du Centre Pompidou (written and directed by Julien Donada), two films retracing the eventful birth of this art centre, which became a major player in the international art scene in the same way as the MoMA or the Tate Modern. Born in the framework of urban rehabilitation projects after the events of 1968, the Centre is one of the epicentres of the revolt. Young people were fighting for more freedom. Since its conception, this libertarian and emancipated spirit has been felt in this place of predilection for artistic expression. Conceived as an evolutionary building reflecting the values that its young architects, barely thirty years old at the time, qualified as a monster in 1977 and even announced in dismantling by the satirical newspaper Gorafi, today it is still a place where novelty, art and culture express themselves. Thanks to him, they wanted to make culture more fun and above all more accessible. This goal has remained unchanged for 40 years. This screening evening was thus an essential stage in a “year” of celebration – from November 2016 to the end of March 2018 – whose echoes will be felt throughout France. Indeed, it is an off-centre anniversary that will be celebrated through some forty places in France. Thus, whether you are in Lille, Nice or Rodez, you can admire exhibitions, see dance shows or performances, all developed by or in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou.