Alain Seban
President
Centre Pompidou

President of the Centre Pompidou since 2007, Alain Seban runs this French national cultural centre, which during its thirty-year existence has established itself as one of the world’s foremost institutions in the field of modern and contemporary art.

The Centre Pompidou is the third most visited cultural site in France after the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. With over 60,000 works, the Musée National d’Art Moderne (France’s national museum of modern art, housed in the building) holds one of the best art collections in the world, and the finest in Europe. The Centre is also home to Europe’s largest public reading library, and produces acclaimed programmes of performances, film, lectures and talks.

Standing in the very heart of Paris, the Centre Pompidou is one of the most iconic buildings of 20th-century architecture, designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers – both winners of the Pritzker Prize, architecture’s most distinguished award. It is recognised for its expertise as the world’s premier producer of temporary exhibitions. In collaboration with the leading museums of the world, the Centre’s exhibitions tour the globe and attract exceptional loans, negotiated on the strength of its unrivalled reputation, and the quality of its own permanent collection.

Seban assumed the role of president, after an illustrious career during which he was awarded Commandeur des Arts et des lettres, one of the highest awards in France. Seban’s numerous positions include Advisor for Education and Culture to the former President of the Republic of france, Jacques Chirac, special Advisor to the Minister in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as in the Ministry of Culture, Legal Advisor to the Association for the creation of the Quai Branly Museum and Secretary General of the Committee for the creation of a National Institute for History of Art.