Cultural Satellites in the Works

The Centre Pompidou's satellite in Libourne would, per an article at Artnet, "mirror plans already well on their way for a Centre Pompidou satellite in Malaga, Spain," that is set to run for five years starting March 2015. The museum would be built in a 40,000-square-meter building that housed a military academy until five years ago, and would come with a €5.8 million price tag, with €1 million coming from Libourne.

For what would be the Smithsonian's first permanent exhibition space outside the United States, the institution announced they are "exploring the possibility of opening an exhibition space in London at the new cultural complex being developed at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, site of the 2012 Olympics," and dubbed "Olympicopolis." If built, the 40,000-square-foot gallery would open in 2021 with spaces for permanent and temporary exhibits and other activities. London Mayor Boris Johnson and the London Legacy Development Corp. have secured initial contributions of $50 million to construct the facility and entice the museum to become part of the post-Olympics development.

These announcements come at a time when a number of institutions are planning or building satellite museums, following the trend established by the Guggenheim in Bilbai, Spain: The Guggenheim is planning a satellite museum in Helsinki, Finland, and one in Abu Dhabi designed by Frank Gehry; the Louvre is building the Louvre Abu Dhabi designed by Jean Nouvel, coming three years after SANAA's Louvre Lens; and construction is set to start this year on the V&A Museum of Design in Dundee designed by Kengo Kuma.