HONG KONG — Three of the world's most influential museums of modern and contemporary art announced a sweeping cultural alliance on Friday, 30 October 2026, pledging to treat their vast collections as a shared resource spanning three continents.
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and M+ in Hong Kong said the alliance would see them develop exhibitions and programmes together, drawn from their collections, and deepen their collaboration in curatorial research and conservation. The announcement was made at M+ in Hong Kong's West Kowloon Cultural District by MoMA director Christophe Cherix, Centre Pompidou president Laurent Le Bon and M+ museum director Suhanya Raffel, who signed a Framework Agreement for the alliance at an event attended by trustees and stakeholders of all three institutions.
Illustration: Museum directors gather at a signing ceremony in a modern museum hall in Hong Kong. This is an AI-generated illustration, not a real photograph.
What Happened
Under the alliance, the three museums will co-develop exhibitions and programmes drawn on their collections and work more closely together on curatorial research and conservation. Each museum will retain its independence and distinct identity, the institutions said, while achieving together what none could accomplish alone.
The scale of the combined enterprise is striking. Together, the three institutions welcome 10 million visitors a year in person and reach 125 million people online, according to the announcement. Their combined holdings form what the museums describe as an extraordinarily broad, deep and interdisciplinary treasury of twentieth- and twenty-first-century creativity.
MoMA director Christophe Cherix described the museums as "embassies for one another", saying the alliance would give visitors direct access to the depth and breadth of all three institutions. "Beyond expanding our reach to an unprecedented level, the cultural alliance also deepens intellectual exchange, as we align our programming, organize joint exhibitions, preserve art, and unite audiences worldwide, allowing us to function as more than the sum of our parts," he said.
Centre Pompidou president Laurent Le Bon said no single institution could encompass the entire scope of global creativity, and that the alliance would, among other initiatives, enable long-term loans, deepening the presentation of key artists and movements. M+ director Suhanya Raffel said museums must evolve to reflect the complexity of the world, adding that M+ brings perspectives from Hong Kong and its region to the dialogue.
Background
Each of the three museums has, in its own era, proposed a new model for the museum that collects the art of its time. MoMA was founded in 1929, the Centre Pompidou in 1977, and M+ in 2021. Their origins and their geographical and cultural settings differ, but they share a commitment to education and to living artists.
Illustration: Three modern museum buildings in New York, Paris and Hong Kong connected as one shared collection. This is an AI-generated illustration, not a real photograph.
The alliance builds on existing bilateral partnerships between the institutions. In February 2025, M+ and MoMA signed a memorandum of understanding covering collection sharing, joint research and curatorial exchanges. Earlier in 2026, M+ and the Centre Pompidou announced a multiyear strategic partnership, with a memorandum signed on 15 May 2026 covering joint curatorial research, exhibition development and sharing, co-commissions and artwork displays, and collection exchange.
Reporting on the announcement by ARTnews, published on 30 October 2026, described the agreement as unprecedented in its scale and said the three institutions would treat their respective holdings as a shared collection, curated by staff spread across three continents. The combined holdings of MoMA and the Pompidou alone comprise hundreds of thousands of objects, in addition to extensive archives, while M+ holds approximately 8,000 objects, including a definitive collection of contemporary Chinese art donated by Swiss businessman Uli Sigg, according to that report.
The timing is also significant for the Centre Pompidou, which is currently closed for a five-year building restoration and is scheduled to reopen in 2030. The closure has already made unusual movements of artworks possible: MoMA's exhibition "Brancusi: The Artist and His Studio", on view from 25 October 2026 to 27 February 2027, draws on landmark loans from the Centre Pompidou, including sculptures from the Atelier Brancusi preserved in Paris.
Why It Matters
The alliance matters because it tests a new answer to an old museum question: how can institutions founded in different countries, and in different centuries, tell a story of modern and contemporary art that is genuinely global rather than merely Western? By pooling collections, research and curatorial expertise, the three museums aim to broaden how modern and contemporary art is understood, interpreted and experienced in an increasingly interconnected world.
For visitors, the practical promise is direct: works that once required a transatlantic or transpacific journey may soon appear in a gallery much closer to home, presented in dialogue with works from another continent. For artists, particularly those from Asia whose work is held by M+, the alliance offers a larger stage, with the museums saying they hope to create new opportunities for artists and audiences and to shape a more cooperative and sustainable future for museums.
For the museum world, the deal sets a precedent. Bilateral loans and touring exhibitions are routine; a standing, three-way commitment to curate holdings as one collection, overseen by a joint steering committee, is not. If it works, other major institutions may follow, and the idea of a museum collection as a fixed, place-bound treasure may give way to something more fluid — a shared resource that travels, converses and changes meaning as it moves.
Illustration: Visitors view modern and contemporary artworks from different cultures displayed together in a gallery. This is an AI-generated illustration, not a real photograph.
What Happens Next
The collection sharing will begin with several concrete initiatives, according to reporting on the announcement. From late 2027, a selection of major works from M+'s collection will be installed on long-term loan in MoMA's collection galleries. In 2028, a long-term Centre Pompidou gallery is set to open at MoMA, with similar plans in development at the other museums.
Over the next five years, the institutions will co-organise an exhibition exploring "the contemporary", featuring works from all three collections and presented at all three venues. Curators from the Centre Pompidou and M+ will also join MoMA's C-MAP programme — Contemporary and Modern Art Perspectives, a research programme established in 2009 to explore art histories beyond North America and Western Europe.
A joint steering committee, comprising the three directors alongside department heads and curators, will oversee priorities including exhibitions, collection sharing, research, conservation and professional development. The committee will meet monthly, with one major in-person meeting each year; the first such meeting takes place next month at MoMA, with subsequent annual meetings rotating among the three museums, according to the reporting.
Further details — including which works will travel first, and how the joint exhibition will be framed — are expected to emerge from that first steering-committee meeting and from the museums' own announcements in the months ahead. For now, the message from Hong Kong is clear: three museums, three continents, and, in the words of Laurent Le Bon, an ambition to be "more than the sum of our parts".
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FAQ
Which museums formed the cultural alliance?
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and M+ in Hong Kong announced the alliance on 30 October 2026.
What will the alliance actually do?
The three museums will co-develop exhibitions and programmes from their collections and collaborate more closely on curatorial research and conservation, treating their holdings as a shared collection while each retains its independence.
When will visitors see the first results?
Major works from M+'s collection are set to go on long-term loan to MoMA's galleries from late 2027, and a long-term Centre Pompidou gallery is planned to open at MoMA in 2028.
Why is the Centre Pompidou involved while it is closed?
The Pompidou is undergoing a five-year restoration and is scheduled to reopen in 2030; the closure has already enabled major loans, such as those for MoMA's Brancusi exhibition, and the alliance extends that cooperation.
How many people do the three museums reach?
Together, the institutions welcome 10 million visitors a year in person and reach 125 million people online, according to the announcement.
Sources
GEN DE ART, "MoMA, Centre Pompidou and M+ Form a Cultural Alliance", 30 October 2026; ARTnews, "MoMA, Centre Pompidou, and M+ Will Treat Their Holdings as One Collection in Unprecedented Alliance", 30 October 2026; M+ Museum, "M+ and Centre Pompidou establish a multi-year strategic partnership", 15 May 2026.
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