Three of the world's leading modern and contemporary art museums—The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Pompidou Center in Paris, and the (M+) Museum in Hong Kong—announced the formation of an international cultural alliance aimed at enhancing artistic and intellectual cooperation and expanding the exchange of artworks and museum expertise across three continents.
The announcement of the alliance was made on October 30, 2026, following the signing of a framework agreement in Hong Kong, attended by representatives from the three institutions, which includes the development of joint exhibitions and programs, the exchange of art collections, and the enhancement of cooperation in the fields of curatorial research, preservation, and restoration.
The agreement does not aim to merge the museums into a single entity; rather, it allows each institution to retain its independence and identity while expanding cooperative fields and benefiting from shared experiences and capabilities, establishing a long-term cultural partnership that goes beyond organizing temporary exhibitions to producing knowledge and protecting artistic collections.
The alliance brings together institutions with a notable cultural and artistic history; the Museum of Modern Art in New York was established in 1929, the Pompidou Center in Paris opened in 1977, while the (M+) Museum in Hong Kong began welcoming its audience in 2021. The three institutions share an interest in modern and contemporary art and in documenting creative transformations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
The collaboration includes long-term art loans that allow for the movement of artworks between the participating museums and their display within various cultural and research contexts, in addition to the exchange of expertise in the fields of conservation, restoration, and collection maintenance, contributing to the protection of artistic memory and ensuring its sustainability for future generations.
The leaders of the Museum of Modern Art described the alliance as resembling a network of reciprocal cultural embassies, allowing each institution to serve as a cultural gateway for the others and enhancing public access to their art collections across three continents.
According to data from the three institutions, they collectively receive approximately ten million in-person visitors annually, while their digital and internet audience reaches about 125 million people, providing the partnership with a broad scope for reaching a global audience.
This alliance comes amid the growing role of museums as cultural and knowledge institutions that go beyond the tasks of acquiring, preserving, and exhibiting artworks to include the development of research and educational programs, expanding the audience base, and enhancing dialogue between cultures, in a move that supports the global presence of modern and contemporary art.