Art Museum to Open in 63 Building in 2025
Hanwha Group is bringing the world-renowned modern art museum, the Centre Pompidou, to Korea.
On the 19th (local time), Hanwha and the Centre Pompidou signed a memorandum of understanding at the Centre Pompidou in Paris to establish and operate the 'Centre Pompidou Hanwha Seoul' (tentative name), with Shin Hyun-woo, Chairman of the Hanwha Cultural Foundation, and Laurent Le Bon, Director of the Centre Pompidou, in attendance.
Shin Hyun-woo, Chairman of the Hanwha Cultural Foundation (left), signed a memorandum of understanding on the 19th at the Pompidou Center in Paris with Laurent Le Bon, Director of the Pompidou Center, agreeing on the establishment and operation of the "Pompidou Center Hanwha Seoul" (tentative name).
Hanwha will open the museum in the 63 Building in 2025 and will be guaranteed the operating rights of the Centre Pompidou in Korea for four years from the opening date. Hanwha has been pursuing the attraction of the Centre Pompidou since 2018, and this marks the final fruition of those efforts.
Hanwha will hold two special exhibitions annually featuring masterpieces by representative artists from the Centre Pompidou’s collection, and will pay the Centre Pompidou brand royalties, artwork loan fees, and consulting support fees each year. In addition to exhibiting the collection, Hanwha plans to hold two separate annual exhibitions that align with the modern and innovative image of the Centre Pompidou and operate a children’s museum to serve as an art experience education center for children.
The museum’s design will involve world-renowned architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, known for his interior designs of the Louvre Museum, the British Museum, and Incheon International Airport. The 63 Building will undergo interior remodeling to include approximately 1,000 pyeong (about 3,306 square meters) of exhibition space from the basement to the fourth floor, along with various auxiliary facilities.
Located in Paris, France, the Centre Pompidou is famous as a complex cultural facility housing a museum, performance halls, theaters, libraries, bookstores, and cafes. The museum is one of the three major museums representing France alongside the Louvre and Orsay, and is considered the largest national modern art museum in Europe.
Its major collections include modern art works by Chagall, Matisse, Kandinsky, Picasso, as well as masterpieces by renowned artists widely known to the public such as Francis Bacon, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol. The Centre Pompidou has operated overseas branches in partnership with Malaga, Spain since 2015, and Shanghai, China since 2019.
The operation of the Hanwha Centre Pompidou will be managed by the Hanwha Cultural Foundation. In addition to attracting the Centre Pompidou, the foundation plans to carry out various activities to support the domestic art scene in the future.
Chairman Shin Hyun-woo stated, "We will continuously showcase world-class masterpieces and cutting-edge contemporary artworks in Korea, discover and support global emerging artists, and contribute to the sustainable development of the cultural and arts sector. We will strive to make the Centre Pompidou a new cultural and artistic landmark in Seoul and a place that delivers differentiated inspiration to the next generation."
Director Laurent Le Bon also said, "Recently, Korea has rapidly emerged as the hottest art market in Asia, especially with high interest and participation from the younger generation, making it a cultural and artistic hub with unlimited growth potential. We will actively cooperate with Hanwha to ensure that the values of creativity and innovation pursued by the Centre Pompidou contribute to the development of the Korean art scene."
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