New York branch of the Centre Pompidou closed

PARIS

France’s Centre Pompidou, one of the world’s leading museums of modern art, confirmed on July 2 that its plans to open a branch in New York had been put on hold.

Class=”cf”>

The Paris-based museum, known for its colorful, tube-shaped building, was scheduled to open a branch in Jersey City, a suburb of New York, in 2027.

However, the exhibition has been “suspended until further notice,” the Pompidou said, confirming a US media report.

Local authorities considered the costs, which included about $18 million in public rehabilitation funds, to be too high, according to a letter published in the New Jersey Monitor.

This is a major blow for the Pompidou, as the museum is on the verge of closing for costly renovation work.

The French government will finance a five-year asbestos removal and renovation project with 262 million euros (281 million US dollars) starting in September 2025.

However, the center is also planning a 186 million euro redesign of its art spaces, for which it will have to rely on other sources of funding.

State auditors delivered a harsh verdict on the museum’s finances in April, saying the museum’s economic model was “difficult to sustain” and that the renovation project was “poorly managed and its financing was not secured.”

Class=”cf”>

The Centre Pompidou said that “discussions with the Mayor of Jersey City will continue in order to decide together on the continuation of the project.”

It was to be the fifth foreign partnership of the Pompidou, which already lends its name to art centres in Málaga, Shanghai and Brussels and also collaborates with the Louvre Abu Dhabi.