From Beaubourg to America.
By announcing the opening in 2024 of an exhibition space near New York, the Center Pompidou seeks to promote its brand and develop its own resources, an approach encouraged by the State for fifteen years, in a context slowdown in the public wealth.
"It has been fifteen years that the reflection is carried out on the valuation of the intangible heritage"
, notes Cécile Anger, researcher in law at the Sorbonne and in charge of the brand and the patronage at the National Domain of Chambord.
Read also: Three years of closure for the Center Pompidou
The best-known example is the Louvre Abu Dhabi, inaugurated in November 2017. The agreement between Le Louvre and the emirate for a period of thirty years includes support from teams for the design of the museum and loans from the
“Brand”
of the Louvre and works of thirteen French national museums involved.
In these partnerships - the Louvre or the Center Pompidou -
“the brand is used to name the new museum,”
notes the researcher.
The establishment of origin provides
"an intellectual service, namely the knowledge and skills of its curators, restorers, mediation professionals"
, adds Cécile Anger.
"A museum is not profitable and is not intended to be"
Cecile Anger
What is the money collected for?
“A museum is not profitable and is not intended to be
,” emphasizes the expert.
Its commercial activities must serve its primary missions, namely the reception of the public and the conservation of works. "
The money earned through the partnership with Abu Dhabi (one billion euros, including 400 million euros for the sole concession of the name of the Louvre)
"made it possible to finance the construction of the reserve center [Louvre Paris] in Liévin"
, in the north of France, says Cécile Anger.
Emerging countries in the lead
France does not have a monopoly on these partnerships. Thus, the great London museum Victoria & Albert Museum has a gallery in its name in a museum near Shenzhen, a neighboring city of Hong Kong. The V&A assisted in the design of the Chinese establishment. The countries most interested in this type of partnership are emerging countries, argued the Court of Auditors in a report in 2019. It cited Brazil, China, the Gulf region and referred to a
“global museum market”
. In 2018, Emmanuel Macron and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed ben Salman, signed an agreement for a cultural and tourist complex on the archaeological site of Al-Ula, another form of enhancement of French cultural know-how.
Read also: The Louvre Abu Dhabi, a museum of the history of mankind
In 2015, the Louvre created a department called
“Louvre conseil”
designed to carry out consulting activities for other museums in France and abroad. Universcience (Palais de la Découverte, Cité des sciences) exports its
“La Cité des enfants” program
, intended for young audiences, to foreign establishments. Without forming partnerships like the Center Pompidou, the Musée d'Orsay sells exhibitions. Thus
“Monet, the landscape in question”
will be presented at the Artizon Museum in Tokyo next year. The Picasso Museum did the same and was able to finance its restoration work. But only establishments with large collections can undertake this type of project.
These loans are certainly the subject of criticism, but
"it is not a question of transfer"
, recalls Cécile Anger. France benefits from
"a protective legal regime"
:
"French law prohibits the transfer of works"
to be sold, for example, a practice that can be found in several major American museums.
