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Palais de Tokyo

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Through Paris

The building is separated from the River Seine by the Avenue de New-York, which was formerly named Quai Debilly and later Avenue de Tokio (from 1918 to 1945). The name Palais de Tokyo derives from the name of this street. The Iéna station on Line 9 of the Paris Metro is located very close to the museum.

History

The monument was inaugurated by President Lebrun on 24 May 1937, at the time of the International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life (1937). The original name of the building was Palais des Musées d'art moderne ("Palace of the Museums of modern art"). The building has since then hosted a number of establishments, projects, and creative spaces. Among them; le musée d'art et d'essai (1977–1986), the FEMIS, the Centre national de la photographie, and in 1986, the Palais du cinéma. The current contemporary art center opened to the public in March 2002, under the new name Site de création contemporaine ("Site for contemporary creation"), specializing in the emerging French and international art scene. It was overhauled and expanded in 2012, by the architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, who subsequently won the Pritzker Prize. With no permanent collection, it is "reputed to be the biggest non-collecting contemporary art museum in Europe", and produces all of its exhibitions.

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