Modern art goes to the provinces

Tomorrow's inauguration of the Centre Pompidou-Metz in eastern France will mark "the first ever decentralisation of a major cultural institution in France," reports La Croix. At the same time, the move will not have a negative impact on the accessibility of art in the French capital, because, as the daily notes, "the new facility will provide a venue for the exhibition in the provinces of the vast modern art collections maintained by the over-burdened Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, which is currently forced to keep large numbers of works in storage." For Le Monde, the new museum "strikes a note of optimism for France's cultural industry, which is beset by funding troubles." With a forecasted 200,000 visits per year, the centre in Metz "will put paid to the idea that prestigious works of art should only be kept in capital cities," adds La Croix. The inaugural exhibition Masterpieces?(from 12 May to 25 October), which Le Monde hails as "an inspiration for a critique of museums and a rereading of history" will feature 800 works of modern art, including 700 on loan from the Centre Georges Pompidou.