Inscribing Institutional Exhibition History: On the Centre Pompidou’s Catalogue Raisonné’s Project

The Centre Pompidou recently instigated a think tank to examine the history of its exhibitions, giving weight to the configuration of each show as a cultural artefact. This initiative aims to critically consider and facilitate the documentation and cataloguing of all of its exhibitions, with a focus on reviewing what past initiatives have been most successful. Each exhibition, then, is considered in terms of its various manners of inscribing cultural history. This article examines the initial stages of curatorial research at the Centre Pompidou, as well as offers a critical take on how the methodologies deployed by the institution have both enhanced the historical record of exhibitions and stimulated fresh thinking around display history.