Chinese headwear found in Paris provides inspiration
The Centre Pompidou-Metz
MúzeumCafé 42.
One of France’s most important showcases of modern and contemporary art, the Centre Pompidou-Metz, is located in Lorraine, near the German and Luxemburg borders. As a significant institute of French cultural life, it functions not as a museum in the legal sense, nor in practice as an exclusively exhibition space. It is much more than that. Its founders intended it to be the first national public institute of cultural decentralisation, the mission of which would be to spread all forms of modern and contemporary arts to the French provinces. The Centre Pompidou-Metz was destined to be not simply and primarily responsible for traditional museum functions, in terms of exhibitions, but to inspire and mediate a lot of creativity for the French and the international public. In this the institute is able to obtain help from the Paris Centre Pompidou’s colleagues with their almost 40 years of professional knowledge and experience, network of connections and – last but not least –75,000 artworks comparable to the rich collections of New York’s MoMa and London’s Tate Modern. Its equal status is reflected in its independent academic and cultural activities, its exhibitions and its organisation of accompanying events. The founding of the institute was announced in 2002 as part of the decentralising project. The location was open to tender application and the competing cities were Lyon, Caen, Monpellier, Nancy and the eventual winner, Metz. The official establishment of the partner institute of the Paris Centre Pompidou took place in January 2003. It is said that the architect commissioned with the design found some Chinese headwear in Paris and its pattern of weaving so caught his fantasy that it became the inspirational source for the building’s unique roof structure.