The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain is a space for artistic dialogue and experimentation that places the relationship between creation and exhibition at the heart of its institutional project, working in close collaboration with artists. Since its creation in 1984 by Alain Dominique Perrin, then-President of Maison Cartier, it has exhibited artists from all walks of life, breaking down barriers between practices and fields of thought.

Built over the years through a groundbreaking international programme, the Fondation’s collection reflects its multidisciplinary nature and the breadth of themes addressed in direct connection with contemporary issues. The Fondation Cartier carries out its activities and commitments with the ambition of making contemporary creation accessible to as many people as possible. Through exhibition projects and a programme of encounters and debates, performances, and lectures, it creates bridges between places of creation and fosters a genuine space for multicultural dialogue.

In Paris, in October 2025, the Fondation Cartier opened its new site at 2 Place du Palais-Royal, in the heart of the capital, right across from the Louvre. Housed in a Haussmannian building dating from 1855, the interior has been entirely reimagined by architect Jean Nouvel. The dynamic architecture consists of five platforms adjustable to eleven different heights, allowing for numerous combinations of volumes, verticalities, and modulations of light, multiplying the possibilities for programming.

With 8,500 square metres of space accessible to the public, including 6,500 square metres of exhibition space, the architecture acts as a scenographic device serving a wide spectrum of visual arts, photography, film, craft, performance, live shows, and science. More than just scenographic propositions, these spaces explore their social potential as places for exchange and sharing. In keeping with contemporary issues related to landscape, urbanism, and ecology, the Fondation Cartier will be an actor in its neighbourhood and city, with its very architecture imbued with the history and context of Paris.

This architectural project is a manifesto of Jean Nouvel’s contextualist approach, his reflection on exhibition spaces and their place in the city. The large bay windows on the ground-floor set an immediate dialogue with Paris, while the arcades, designed along the Rue de Rivoli by architects Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine under Napoleon I, anchor the building in the district’s architectural harmony.

In line with the Fondation Cartier’s ongoing reflection on exhibition design since its creation, the aim is also to create innovative formats that respond to the challenges and missions of a cultural institution rooted in the 21st century. New types of group exhibitions will take advantage of the building’s architectural possibilities to create visual connections and pathways that cannot be created elsewhere. Each artistic project will offer a renewed experience of the building, placing it at the heart of the curatorial reflection.

The audience policy has been reinforced as a result, with an ambitious offer that sits in line with the programming. In addition to a redesigned and enriched cultural mediation programme, the Fondation has created La Manufacture, a 300-square-metre space for education about art and through art, for all ages and profiles. Opening in Spring 2026, it places the intelligence of the hand at the heart of its approach, drawing inspiration from traditions of transmission through gesture as a pedagogical basis for its workshops, educational projects and creative programme series.

Two other spaces enrich a contemporary artistic programme open to the polyphony of 21st century modes of expression: an auditorium where performances, concerts, and shows will be presented, alongside a rich programme of encounters and debates, enabling creatives to engage in a dialogue as extension or counterpoint to the exhibitions; and a new bookstore which, alongside titles on multidisciplinary themes, will prominently the Fondation Cartier’s own publications and works produced in close collaboration with the artists.

To mark the inauguration of this new venue, the Fondation Cartier is presenting Exposition Générale, a selection of iconic works and fragments of exhibitions that today constitute the main thrust of its Collection. Distinguishing itself through the unique principles guiding its development and enrichment year after year, it traces more than 40 years of international contemporary creation.

With no preexisting collection, it is essentially composed of works created and presented as part of the Fondation’s rich programming, ranging from established artists to relatively unknown talents, yet to be discovered. This collection has always acted as a driving force for creation, with the Fondation Cartier enabling artists, through its commissions, to carry out projects specifically conceived for it - sometimes at odds with their preferred practices or on the occasion of first monographs. As part of Exposition Générale, live performances and spoken word events will take place alongside the Collection’s works in the exhibition spaces, with projects focusing on fashion, dance, and music.

Unleashing a world of possibilities, this new venue welcomes the public with open arms, focusing on the need to transmit, question and exchange through innovative educational programmes and shared aesthetic experiences. The Fondation Cartier is shifting in scale and reinventing itself in order to experiment and share with artists and audiences alike ever new ways of conceiving art.

The Manufacture

Opening Spring 2026, the Manufacture is a 300-square-metre space devoted to craft and creativity. Its name means “factory” in French, but in fact pays tribute to the term’s etymology: “made by hand”. Here, all are invited to learn through gestures of making and doing. With its focus on the intelligence of the hands, the Manufacture draws from traditions of conveying knowledge through gestures, in the manner of craftspeople, as the educational basis for its workshops, learning projects, and series of creative programmes.

Beyond these methods, the techniques and materials of different art professions are at the heart of some of the flagship programmes, combining craftsmanship and contemporary art. The Manufacture invites young artists to oversee the workshops, sharing their explorations and experimentations by making and doing.

The Manufacture encourages collective and participative practices in order to foster learning conditions based on dynamic interactions. There is a focus on alternative and popular education methods (such as collective reading workshops) and more informal learning approaches (such as online tutorials) as well. In keeping with the Fondation Cartier’s commitment to openness to all audiences, the Manufacture is strongly devoted to art education through art-based action for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

Details

The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain 
2 Place du Palais-Royal

Hours: Closed on Monday; 11:00 - 22:00 Tuesday; 11:00 - 20:00 Wednesday to Sunday

Credits

© Martin Argyroglo
© Fabrice Hyber / Adagp, Paris, 2025 © Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe, Sans titre, 2023 / © Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe, Hii hihama oru keki tuo (Culebra subiendo un arbol), 2023
© JUNYA.ISHIGAMI+ASSOCIATES, Sydney Cloud Arch, 2018 © Luiz Zerbini, Natureza Espiritual da Realidade (détail), 2012
© Andrea Branzi / Adagp, Paris, 2025, Gazebo, 2008
Photos © Marc Domage

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