The creation of a Centre Pompidou in Foz do Iguaçu, a city in the Brazilian state of Paraná, was initially slated to open in November 2027, then rescheduled for 2028. Now, the project has been pushed back again, until 2029.
The new museum will be designed by Paraguayan architect Solano Benítez, but the bidding process for the construction has yet to begin. A spokesperson for the Pompidou told The Art Newspaper that the projects is “in the technical preparatory stages for the bidding process” but no date has been confirmed.
Delays have been attributed to the complexity of the project and its scale—the building will be more than a hundred thousand square feet—and to a recent change in government. Begun under the administration of Carlos Massa Ratinho Junior, the project is now under the purview of Sergio Moro, who was elected governor of Paraná on October 4. Benítez suggested last week that the Pompidou foresaw potential difficulties with the change in leadership and encouraged him to complete his designs before the election. “They wanted me to complete it in six months, but it took me a year,” he said.
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Moro, a former federal judge known for the Lava Jato investigation, pledged to see the project through. The Pompidou spokesperson confirmed the state’s dedication to building the museum, saying, “The goal is to ensure that Centre Pompidou Paraná is established as a state cultural policy, rather than merely an initiative tied to a specific administration.”
Situated in Triple Frontier—a border formed by the convergence of the Iguazú and Paraná rivers, where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay meet—the museum will spotlight South American art and the unique cultural dynamics of the region. It will be built near the road leading to Iguazu Falls, the largest waterfall system in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site.