Centre Pompidou to Open First South American Outpost in Brazil
Set to launch in 2027.
Summary
- The Centre Pompidou has announced the opening of a new museum in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, set to open in November 2027, marking its first institution in South America.
- The design for the $240 million USD project will be helmed by Solano Benítez, integrating sustainable design techniques to compliment the surrounding Iguaçu Falls.
The museum will host an array of exhibitions, research opportunities and cultural programming.
As the Centre Pompidou readies its five-year closure starting this September, the Parisian institution is amping up its global presence with a forthcoming satellite location in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, set to launch in November 2027.
The museum will be situated near Iguaçu Falls, a UNESCO World Heritage site nestled in the “Triple Frontier” of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. This marks the Pompidou’s first permanent branch in South America, with outposts in Shanghai, Málaga and Metz already under its belt. Additional branches for Brussels, Seoul and Jersey City are also currently underway.
Centre Pompidou x Paraná will feature exhibition galleries, research spaces and a central public plaza designed to foster community engagement through events, screenings and cultural festivals. Showcasing selections from the Pompidou’s vast 150,000-object collection, programming will focus on celebrating the diversity and depth of South American contemporary art.
The $240 million USD will be designed by Paraguayan architect Solano Benítez. Known for his sustainable design ethos, Benítez, the 2016 winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, will lead a seamless integration between the architecture and the surrounding natural landscape, offering stunning views of the nearby falls.
Meanwhile in France, the Paris home base will close for five years starting this September for a $280 million USD renovation. The overhaul, overseen in part by France’s cultural ministry, will upgrade energy systems and modernize the building’s original 1997. Prior to the closure, a Wolfgang Tillmans show will be mounted in the museum’s library.
