Renowned Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang will stage a spectacular artistic farewell following the Centre Pompidou’s closure on September 22, 2025, as the museum embarks on a five-year major renovation.
To commemorate this historic transition, the Centre Pompidou will host an extraordinary public performance titled The Last Carnival on October 22, 2025, coinciding with Art Basel Paris. Conceived by Cai in collaboration with his custom artificial intelligence model, cAI™, the event will feature a monumental daytime fireworks display that will unfold across the museum’s iconic façade.
Curator Jérôme Neutres described the event as a milestone moment for both the artist and the institution. “For the first time in its history, the Centre Pompidou’s façade becomes a monumental painting,” Neutres said. “Cai delivers his most profound and complex work yet, in dialogue with both AI and the Parisian public.”
The Last Carnival will be presented in three acts: The Banquet, The Dawn of AI, and The Last Carnival, each representing a symbolic chapter in the evolution of art and technology. Rather than serving as a nostalgic farewell, the performance will reimagine the Pompidou’s closure as an artistic detonation toward the future.
The 20-minute public spectacle will include approximately seven minutes of fireworks, complemented by bursts of colored smoke, light effects, and moderate sound levels. Organizers have confirmed that fire safety officers and medical staff will be present throughout the event, and that all pyrotechnic materials are produced in Europe and meet European safety standards.
The performance serves as a vibrant prologue to the museum’s next chapter. Beginning in spring 2025 and continuing during the renovation, the Centre Pompidou will bring its multidisciplinary programs and collections to various regions in France and around the world through its cultural initiative, Constellation.
Through The Last Carnival, Cai Guo-Qiang transforms the Centre Pompidou’s temporary closure into a powerful statement on renewal, turning the moment of parting into an explosion of color, creativity, and collaboration between art and artificial intelligence.