Set to open on May 22 after a long delay, François Pinault's $170 million museum project The Bourse de Commerce — Pinault Collection is finally ready for the public in Paris.

While limits to tourism during the pandemic may keep visitor numbers low in the short term, the new museum on the Right Bank will be a huge draw for a look at the renowned contemporary art collection that the 84-year-old French billionaire has amassed over forty years.

Pinault's collection, an exceptional ensemble of over 10,000 works by almost 400 artists, features paintings, sculptures, videos, photographs, audio works, installations, and performances. According to Town & Country, Black artists will be featured in the inaugural exhibition, noting that "among the collection’s highlights are a number of works by notable young Black artists who grapple with the legacies of slavery, colonialism, and discrimination." 

The Bourse de Commerce — Pinault Collection has ten exhibition galleries, including a Studio dedicated to video and audio works, as well as freer forms, outreach spaces and an Auditorium for conferences, meetings, screenings, concerts, and events.

The Bourse de Commerce was restored and transformed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando (TAAA – Tadao Ando Architect & Associates), NeM agency / Niney et Marca Architects, and the Pierre-Antoine Gatier agency. Work began in 2017 and was completed in February 2020.

The building incorporates four centuries of architectural and technical feats: the first free-standing column in Paris, erected in the 15th century for Catherine de’ Medicis’ palace; the vestiges of a granary impressive for its circular 18th-century design, which was capped in 1812 with a massive metal and glass dome; and the building modified in 1889 to become the “Paris Stock Exchange.”

Japanese architect Tadao Ando’s contemporary architectural contribution seamlessly combines these elements with a new style. He said, "...the spatial layout of the Bourse de Commerce consists of concentric circles and is designed to create an intense and more subtle dialogue between new and old.”