MoMA, Centre Pompidou and M+ form alliance to broaden art history, announce 2028 Kandinsky show
Three museums from New York, Paris and Hong Kong have formed a cultural alliance to challenge Western-centric art narratives. They announced a joint Kandinsky exhibition in 2028, a 2027 symposium, and ongoing research collaboration.
The Museum of Modern Art in New York, Centre Pompidou in Paris and M+ in Hong Kong have formed a landmark cultural alliance aimed at broadening how modern and contemporary art is understood worldwide, challenging the long-standing dominance of Western perspectives.
The partnership, announced at a dialogue in Hong Kong coinciding with M+'s fifth anniversary, brings together institutions from three continents in a shared commitment to "decenter" the traditional art historical narrative. Concrete initiatives include a joint Kandinsky exhibition at Centre Pompidou and M+ in 2028, a research symposium titled "What is Contemporary?" at MoMA in May 2027, and ongoing collaboration in curatorial research, conservation research and professional development across the three institutions.
"This diversity is so rich, so powerful, and our institutions will bridge what that means through our collections, through the stories in those collections," said Suhanya Raffel, museum director of M+. Christophe Cherix, the David Rockefeller director of MoMA, said the alliance allows the museums to think about the world "not from one perspective" and to push the field "in a new direction." Laurent Le Bon, president of Centre Pompidou, framed the collaboration as a shift from talk to action: "We will keep our identity. But the sum of what we are going to do is more than each of us."
The directors said bringing their teams together had already generated unexpected ideas, with a shared contemporary exhibition concept emerging organically from their discussions. Against the backdrop of a global museum boom, Raffel described museums as "spaces to bridge" offering safe environments to encounter ideas and histories. Le Bon noted that amid constant talk of artificial intelligence and virtual worlds, "people want to see real things" — and the goal is "not bigger institutions, but better experiences."
On security, the directors were unequivocal. "We will never compromise on security," Raffel said, describing the alliance as a family in which institutions look out for one another. As M+ marks five years, Raffel said the alliance opens new possibilities: "We can dig deep and share in a way that we hadn't thought possible. I feel extremely optimistic about what's to come."
