Cultural center of Georges Pompidou in Paris. Georges Pompidou Center in Paris Georges Pompidou Center in Paris on the map

(Centre Georges-Pompidou), the ex-president of France, is located at Rue Beaubourg, 9. An extremely atypical creation by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, erected in 1977 to spite all classicists and lovers of antiquity. The concept of the building is intended to emphasize that this is the center of contemporary art: the communications turned outwards do not allow you to forget about this even for a minute.

Exhibition and sections

The main wealth of the Center is its Public Library, which occupies three floors and contains, in addition to books and periodicals, thousands of audio discs and documentaries. Admission is free (from the courtyard), but only ticket holders will be able to climb the escalator to , from where you can admire the nearby beauties of Paris and the famous Beaubourg.

One of the reasons for this popularity is the variety of pastimes available here. So, on the second floor of the Georges Pompidou Center, there are two cinemas where retrospectives of film classics are shown. Visitors have the opportunity not only to immerse themselves in this sphere of art - cinema, but also to rest their tired legs so that after the session they can continue the excursion.

The extravagant Atelier Brancusi theater is located in the basement and introduces viewers to new trends in the field of acting and scenography. There are workshops where professionals work with young creators.

For the hungry, catering outlets of three price categories are open: a budget snack bar on the second floor, a slightly more expensive cafe on the mezzanine (right escalator from the main entrance), and for gourmets - Georges, where you need to reserve a table.

You can purchase art objects, art albums, design books, and souvenir posters on the ground floor in the Printemps design boutique or upstairs in Flammarion Arts Bookstores (these are the 4th and 6th floors). In the vicinity of the museum, the carnival does not stop all year round: people perform, sell their paintings, and crowds of traders guarantee that no one will leave without some cute trinket.

Tickets to the Pompidou Center

The cost of visiting the Pompidou Center depends on age:

• For adults - 14 euros (museum and exhibitions).
• Minors do not require a ticket.
• For persons from 18 to 25 years old - 11 euros.
• On the first Sunday of the month, admission is free for everyone.

If you want to not only look at the exhibitions, but also learn more about contemporary art in general, we recommend

The Center Georges-Pompidou, built in 1977 and one of the most impressive buildings of the 20th century, immediately caused fierce controversy.

However, over time, having won recognition from both professional critics and the general public, the Georges Pompidou National Center for Art and Culture has become one of the most recognizable and famous tourist attractions in the city.

Excellent permanent exhibitions of contemporary art, as well as bold avant-garde exhibitions, attract huge numbers of visitors. Thanks to the building's architects, Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, the conventional wisdom of what an art gallery should look like was turned on its head.

Abandoning the idea of ​​a museum as a closed treasure chest and wanting to create something more open and accessible, the authors of the project stripped the building of its usual shell and made all the bones of this complex organism visible.

The entire infrastructure was taken outside: cables and wires of elevators, as well as other life support systems of the building. Painted a certain color depending on their function, they encircle the outside of the building, covering it with snakes and ladders, which overall gives a rather incongruous impression.

Not so long ago, the building of the Center underwent significant reconstruction, as a result of which it acquired a special shine: the space for exhibitions was increased, excellent lighting appeared, openly fashionable cafe, as well as a restaurant on the top floor.

Much to the regret of tourists, the escalator on the outside of the building, which was used to get up and see the magnificent views of the city, no longer operates for free; now only those who have an entrance ticket to the museum can use it. The Georges Pompidou National Center for Art and Culture does not have a magnificent entrance - only a spacious sloping square where street musicians, magicians, mimes, portrait painters, not to mention the homeless, like to gather.

Inside, on the second, third and fourth floors, is the Public Library, which has an excellent collection of 2,500 periodicals, including international press, 10,000 listening CDs and 2,200 documentaries.

What can you find at the Georges Pompidou Center

National Museum of Modern Art

The museum houses a permanent collection of works of art, consisting of more than 1,300 works by such recognized personalities of the 20th century as Kandinsky, Picasso, Modigliani, Matisse, Miro.

Temporary exhibitions tend to be very progressive. So, in recent years, Nan Goldin, Yves Klein and Sophie Calle exhibited here.

Cinemas and theaters of the Pompidou Center

On the second floor of the Center Georges Pompidou there are two cinemas, the program of which largely consists of retrospectives of certain directors and periods in cinema.

Here you can see the best of Martin Scorsese and Jean-Luc Godard, and expand your knowledge with fascinating themed excursions.

The extravagant Atelier Brancusi theater

3). On the second floor of the Pompidou Center library there is the most modest and budget establishment of the entire complex, intended for those who want to quickly relieve hunger. This is a snack bar with sandwiches and snacks.

Panoramic view from the Pompidou Center

On the top floor of the Pompidou Center there is a wonderful observation deck, which offers amazing views of Paris. In order to get there, you need to go up to the second floor and take the elevator there or use the escalator.

The last option (escalator) is the most preferable, since during the ascent you can fully enjoy the non-standard architecture of the Pompidou Center. If you have a ticket to the museum, you can get to the top floor for free.

Boutiques at the Pompidou Center

1). Below there are several Flammarion arts bookstores; above, on the 4th and 6th floors, you can buy interesting books on design and art history, as well as posters and gifts.

2). The Printemps designer boutique, located on the ground floor, is a real paradise for connoisseurs of designer creations.

Interesting facts about the Pompidou Center

1). The Pompidou Center is the third most popular cultural attraction in all of France! Only such recognized heavyweights as Louvre And Eiffel Tower .

2). On the square in front of the Center Georges Pompidou, you can listen to bards, watch performances by traveling artists and circus performers, and also buy paintings by local artists.

3). On the right side of the Pompidou Center is Place Stravinsky, on the territory of which there is a very unusual fountain, also named after the composer.

4). In 2012, the Pompidou Center was visited by over 7 million people.

5). The Pompidou Center houses the Institute for Research and Coordination of Acoustics and Music.

Useful information for tourists

Actually Center Georges Pompidou is located on Place Georges Pompidou in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, in the area also known as Beaubourg. The entrance to the Center's public library is from the courtyard.

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Metro: Rambuteau or Hotel de Ville RER: Chatelet - Les Halles
Working hours: from 11:00 to 21:00, closed on Tuesdays
Entrance: 12€, 9€ from 18 to 25 years old, under 18 years old free.
Ticket only to the observation deck - 3 €.
Website: www.centrepompidou.fr

The Pompidou Center, located in the Beaubourg quarter of the fourth arrondissement of Paris between the famous ancient quarters of Les Halles and Marais, is undoubtedly considered the pearl of French modern art. Built in 1977, the “National Center for Art and Culture named after Georges Pompidou” (this is what the Georges Pompidou Center is officially called), which surprised Parisians instantly dubbed Pompisaurus and Beaubourg for its too original shapes and designs, annually attracts millions of tourists from all over the world.

And the history of the creation of this complex, similar to a multi-colored glass and metal space plant, is no less interesting than its appearance itself.

French President Georges Pompidou, already at the very beginning of his reign, decided to take a course towards the complete modernization of France, and of course, his political program needed a visual symbol of modernization. Then the resourceful president announced a competition for the most original architectural design for the building of the Museum of Modern Art.

The competition received 681 projects from 49 countries, of which the jury was most impressed by the innovative project of Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. The authors proposed moving all technical structures outside the perimeter of the building and thereby freeing up the maximum usable area. The project was approved unanimously, and on December 31, 1977, at midnight, the new museum was inaugurated.

When the building's covering fabrics were torn off at the strike of the clock, a monster was revealed to the surprised gaze of Parisians, with all the pipelines, elevators, escalators and fittings being routed outside. Water pipes were painted green, ventilation blue, electrical wiring yellow, and elevators and escalators red.

The people of Paris were shocked. This ultra unusual building did not at all resemble a museum, even one of modern art. Conservative Parisians did not want to put up with Pompisaurus spoiling the architectural ensemble of their elegant city, and at first the most active citizens even staged pickets near the building. But after just a few months of the museum’s operation, it became a favorite place for tourists.

The Parisians realized that the center of Georges Pompidou did not disfigure their city, but, on the contrary, added a modern zest to it, to which millions of tourists are drawn as if for a breath of fresh air.

But the center attracts tourists not only with its extravagant appearance.
Today the Pompidou Center is 5 floors, two of which are almost entirely devoted to a rich public library with millions of books, disks, video files and microfilms. There are more than 60 thousand volumes of dictionaries alone! There is also literature in Russian, although all this is available only within the Center - you cannot take anything home. There are monitors for watching films and language phones for listening to audio recordings - come and enjoy.

On the ground floor of the Center there is a cinema - a venue for film festivals. The fifth floor, the Grande Galerie, mainly houses temporary exhibitions, while the third and fourth floors are occupied by the Museum of Modern Art.

The Center's collection includes almost 60 thousand works by more than five thousand authors. Absolutely all types of contemporary art are presented here: painting, sculpture, design, photography, architecture, video, performances and installations. And not so long ago, the first comic book appeared here - the original of one of the pages of the story about Tantan, written by the artist Hergé in 1956.

Even if you are more than skeptical about non-standard forms of art, do not deny yourself the pleasure of visiting the Pompidou Center - in addition to our contemporaries, works by great masters of the last century are exhibited here. Among them are Picasso, Matisse, Duchamp, Kandinsky, Chagall...

Children will also have something to do: there are art workshops for them, where your child can enthusiastically get dirty with paints or sculptural clay.

And when you take the escalator to the very top, you will see the whole of Paris - from Notre Dame Cathedral to Montmartre Hill!

It is worth mentioning separately the indescribable atmosphere surrounding the Pompidou Center. Immediately after the opening, the Center began to attract the most progressive youth and intellectuals, and artists, traveling circus performers, musicians and performers often gathered on the square in front of the center. International theater festivals are regularly held near the extravagant Stravinsky Fountain near the Center.

The Pompidou Center was created to support contemporary art in all its forms - painting, sculpture, music, dance and other areas. French President Georges Pompidou was the initiator of its creation, but did not live to see its opening. The museum is located in the Beaubourg quarter, located between the Les Halles and Marais quarters. Therefore, its second common name is Beaubourg.

How to get to the Pompidou Center

• Metro – Rambuteau or Hotel de Ville station
• RER – station Chatelet – Les-Halles.

Opening hours of the Pompidou Center in 2019

• Every day except Tuesday from 11:00 to 22:00. Exhibitions close at 21:00
• Box office closes an hour earlier
• Tuesday - day off
• On Thursdays, temporary exhibitions are open until 23:00
• The museum is closed on May 1

Ticket prices to the Pompidou Center in 2019.

• For adults – 14 euros (museum and exhibitions)
• For children under 18 years old - free (regardless of citizenship)
• For persons from 18 to 25 years old, EU citizens, visiting the museum is free
• For persons from 18 to 25 years old, non-EU citizens, visiting the museum and exhibitions - 11 euros
• Admission is free on the first Sunday of the month for all categories of visitors

Story

According to the president’s plan, the space being created was to contain museums, a library, a cinema hall, a children’s art studio, bookstores and a cinema, which would contribute to the rapprochement of professional and street art. It was necessary to create a place of rest, accessible not only to the intelligentsia, but also to any Parisian.

The project of the then unknown architects Italian Renzo Piano and Englishman Richard Rogers was most suitable for this purpose.

The building they created was opened in 1977 in the Beaubourg quarter. This building is impossible not to notice. Most of the communications - elevators, escalators, exhaust shafts - are displayed on the facades and painted in cheerful colors.

A space was created where not only a select part of the French, but also ordinary townspeople could hang out.

The constructed building caused heated debate. The prefect forbade the creation of a building with large ventilation shafts that would spoil the appearance of Paris. Only after he gave his soul to God were Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers able to bring their project to life.

The idea of ​​​​creating a space open to everyone was implemented to the fullest. People come here to look at something interesting, and also to create themselves.

The main attraction that even haters of this building like is the outdoor escalators, which were previously free to ride. Now you have to go through security, but visiting the building is worth the money. Moreover, it will take an effort of will to force yourself to leave this space.

There are exhibitions here that people from other countries come to see, and the exhibits at the center itself are a short course in the history of modern art. To visit the local library, you don’t need any documents; you just need to stand in line at the entrance.

The idea of ​​not showing art, but producing it, is also embodied in the entire external space around Beaubourg. Instead of the usual monumental entrance found in museums, the architects created a square where guests are entertained by clowns, mimics, jugglers, fire eaters, singers with guitars and souvenir sellers.

You can look at the entire Beaubourg space while sitting in the most popular Cafe Beaubourg, located on the corner of the square.

In front of the Saint Merry Church is the famous Stravinsky fountain.

Structure of the Pompidou Center

The Pompidou Center resembles a multi-layered cake - on its levels are located:

• Level 0 – Children's gallery, cloakroom, ticket offices, post office and bookstore
• Level I – cinema, cafe and furniture store Printan
• Levels II-III – library (cinema, video, audio) and cafe
• Levels IV-V – National Museum of Modern Art
• Level VI – temporary exhibitions, bookstore, observation deck and restaurant.

Modern Art Museum

The National Museum of Modern Art of France is located on levels IV and V. In total there are more than 1,400 works, but even after the renovation this represents only 3% of the existing exhibits, the total number is more than 40,000.

• Level V displays works from 1905 to 1960 - Art Modern from Fauvism to Abstract Expressionism: works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Fernand Léger, Wassily Kandinsky, Max Ernst, Paul Poplock and Mark Rothko. For reference: Fauvism is a movement in French painting of the early 20th century, characterized by brightness, saturation of pure colors and simplification of form.

• Level IV exhibits art from 1960 to 2007, from pop art to the present day. For example, the works of Andy Warhal, Yves Klein and Jean Tinguely. There are works by Russian artists - Vladimir Dubossarsky and Alexander Vinogradov.

Among the exhibits are works of painting and sculpture, installations, and industrial design.

To the left of the main entrance is a branch of the museum; it is located in the former workshop of the French sculptor of Romanian origin Constantin Brancusi, a representative of the abstract style in sculpture.

Virtual walks

Official website of the Pompidou Center

The Pompidou Center is a must-see for lovers of contemporary art arriving in Paris for tourism or business purposes.

In 1977, a new attraction appeared in Paris - a center of culture and art, studying contemporary art in all its forms - dance, plastic arts, painting, sculpture, etc. Despite its young age, the center quickly gained popularity among both Parisians and city guests. Today, this center, named after French President Georges Pompidou, is one of the most visited places in the French capital (only the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower are more often visited).

In 1969, President Pompidou decided to build a multifaceted cultural center in the Beaubourg quarter, which is located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The center was supposed to give a new impetus to the development of previous cultural projects that were never fully realized. These included such ambitious ideas as the construction of France's largest public library, as well as the rehabilitation of the national museum of modern art, which was experiencing an acute shortage of resources and huddled in the side wing of the Tokyo Palace.

In addition to the public library and the relocation of the Museum of Modern Art, it was planned that the new center would unite other areas of contemporary art research. The Center for Research in Contemporary Musical Creativity was headed by Pierre Boulet, who had left France several years earlier in protest at the state of modern music. Another department of the new cultural center dealt with decorative and applied arts, and François Matei took over its leadership.

When the French government announced a competition for the best architectural project, 681 applicants from 49 countries applied for participation in it. The winners of the competition were Italian Renzo Piano and Englishman Richard Rogers. The innovative project they proposed involved placing most of the engineering structures (escalators, elevators, pipelines, etc.) outside the building, which made it possible to make the most efficient use of the building's internal area. The architects also proposed painting each type of communication in its own color. All electrical wiring was painted yellow, elevators and escalators - red, water supply and ventilation pipes - blue and green.

The grand opening of the center took place on January 31, 1977. Despite the protests of some critics who compared the center to an oil refinery, the architectural innovation was very well received by Parisians.

In addition to the permanent exhibition, the center annually held specialized exhibitions, thanks to which its popularity grew rapidly. During the first 20 years of operation, the center received over 150 million visitors, so its reconstruction was required. It was decided to expand the exhibition area by developing the external territory, and in 1997-1999 the area of ​​the center increased to 100,000 square meters. Some organizational changes were also made; the center’s activities included cinematic direction, conversational genre and live shows of contemporary performers.

On January 1, 2000, the renovated Pompidou Center opened its doors to the general public, and again it was a stunning success. In 2000, the center received an average of about 16,000 visitors daily.

What to visit at the Pompidou Center

This largest European collection of its kind includes more than 60,000 exhibits from various types of art, which fill 40 exhibition halls. Painting and graphics, sculpture and architecture coexist here with design elements and installations. The earliest exhibits in the museum date back to 1905. Every year the exhibition is replenished with the latest works of art. The upper level of the museum (5th floor of the Pompidou Center) is dedicated to the period 1905-1960, the floor below exhibits works dating from 1960 to the present day.

The upper level of the museum introduces us to such art movements as cubism, fauvism, surrealism, expressionism, etc. Here you can see masterpieces of the late Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, Kandinsky, Malevich, Chagall, projects of architectural buildings made in the Bauhaus and functionalist styles, as well as sculptural compositions. The lower floor of the exhibition is dedicated to such movements as new realism, pop art, and experimental art.

Nowadays, in order to remain a museum of contemporary art, and to overcome competition with new, avant-garde exhibitions opening in Paris, the Pompidou Center is constantly updating its collection. For example, in 2015 it was replenished with paintings by Salvador Dali, Andre Breton and Raoul Hausmann.

As the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art increases every year, the possibility of moving part of the collection to the Palais de Tokyo in the west of Paris is currently being considered.

It is better to plan a visit to the museum in advance. The tour in English is available only once a week – on Saturdays. However, you can attend private excursions with a Russian guide by booking in advance.

Minors can visit the museum for free every first Sunday of the month. For those who visit Paris often, there is an annual subscription. The museum's day off is Tuesday. Purchasing a comprehensive ticket will give you the opportunity to visit not only the permanent exhibition, but also temporary exhibitions.

Spaces for temporary exhibitions are located in the South Mezzanine on level 1, as well as in the Grande Galerie on level 6. On average, these premises host 25 exhibitions per year. Each of them invariably becomes the brightest event of world culture.

Since temporary exhibitions are designed to reflect contemporary art even to a greater extent than the main collection of the museum, the curators approach the formation of the program with all responsibility. Throughout the year, you can visit both thematic exhibitions (dedicated to a particular art direction) and personal exhibitions of the most advanced creators of our time. Artists such as Yves Klein and Nan Goldin exhibited here.

As well as the permanent exhibition of the museum, the exhibitions cover a variety of branches of art - painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, contemporary decorative and applied arts, design elements and much more.

Public Information Library (BPI)

Two floors of the Pompidou Center are dedicated to the Public Information Library (Bibliothèque publique d’information). Books, periodicals, films and other types of information are stored here on all possible media, including the most modern technologies. The library's book collection is 350,000 volumes. Also here you can familiarize yourself with a collection of 24,000 titles of periodicals, 2,000 films, a large number of voice and music recordings, maps and plans, as well as foreign television channels - and this is not a complete list of information stored in the library. Scientific seminars, discussions, creative meetings and film screenings are held at the BPI.

The main principles and mission of the library are to ensure maximum accessibility of up-to-date information for everyone, active participation in the cultural life of the country, cooperation with other cultural institutions to create a unified information and research center. Following its objectives, the library annually updates not only its collections, but also its technical base, giving visitors more opportunities to access information. For example, there are language labs here where you can conduct foreign language classes. It is worth noting that the reading rooms are equipped with special equipment for the blind and visually impaired.

The main contingent of BPI visitors are Parisian students. 2,200 reading places and 370 places for working with multimedia sources cannot always accommodate everyone, especially since admission to the library is completely free. Therefore, it is better to come here in the late afternoon, after 18.00.

Two cinema halls of the Pompidou Center are located on its 2nd level. It regularly hosts retrospectives of films by the most iconic film directors of the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as film screening programs thematically united by a specific period in the history of cinema, or various genres of modern cinema. The cinemas of the cultural center are the basis for holding major film festivals.

The basement of the cultural center houses 4 theater stages. Of course, it is difficult to call this theater in the traditional sense of the word. There are no stages or curtains, no stalls or amphitheater. These are premises that meet the needs of the modern understanding of performing arts, where high-quality, relevant and fashionable theatrical products are produced. The brightest and most advanced directors, actors and set designers work here - such as Louis Lagarde and Pierre Leon.

These venues host not only dramatic performances, but also dance performances, music concerts, non-traditional theatrical exhibitions, non-standard excursions, as well as conferences, seminars and discussions.

Institute for Research and Coordination of Acoustics and Music (IRCAM)

IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique) is part of the complex of the Georges Pompidou cultural center, but is located in a separate building on Stravinsky Square.

It is one of the world's largest public research centers that examines music not only from an artistic but also from a scientific point of view. Musical sensuality meets the latest technology here. The institute defines its activities in three main areas: creativity, research, and broadcasting. Works created within the framework of IRCAM activities can be heard in the program of Parisian concerts and musical performances in different countries of the world.

How to get there

Ticket price

• Adult: 14 €
• Reduced: 11 €