Almost every visitor to the Pompidou Centre sees it, probably without knowing its name – the Stravinsky Fountain and it moving sculptures in water. However, after 40 years of pollution and constant movement, major restoration was sorely needed.

And so it came to pass! After eighteen months of work starting in 2022, the entire installation has been restored to its former beauty and modernised. The sixteen sculptures look shiny and new!

We went down to take a look…

While you may not know the Stravinsky Fountain by name, you’ve probably seen pictures of its metal and resin sculptures turning near the Pompidou Centre.

One of the favourite free attractions of the city, the ensemble dates from 1983, which was just six years after the museum opened up close by. These sixteen sculptures come from the minds of Niki de Saint Phalle (who created the colourful ones) and Jean Tinguely (who made the black ones). Together, they evoke Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, hence the sculpture’s name.

For the restoration (which took 18 months and cost 2 million euros) The Nightingale, The Diagonal, The Elephant, Life and all the other sculptures were removed, packed up and taken the National Air and Space Museum in Le Bourget to be pampered by experts.

While they were away, the pool they were in was once again made waterproof, the electrical and hydraulic systems were restored, the water pipes were replaced… Even the metal bench that surround the water was renovated.

To future-proof everything, a water softener was added to the processing unit (the fountain works as a closed system) so as not to damage the sculptures, and it is now possible to vary the strength of jets depending on the wind or temperature.

Everything looks almost bran new now, and if you go down to see, you’ll also be able to admire some large-format street art by Shephard Fairy and Invader (the latter’s piece is difficult to miss).

It’s a free activity, perfect if you have kids, and close to our hotels, so go down and enjoy!

More photos of the restoration process that started in 2022 can be found here, and French-speakers can read the full story of how the fountain came to be here!

There are also a couple of new contemporary audio works available to follow on-site (put on your headphones and open the links on your smartphone once you’re there):

— Sept contes de la fontaine, with author Hélène Frappart accompanied by music from Mikel Urquiza, and

— L’eau la colonne le fer, an electronic work in three parts featuring author Laura Vazquez and music by Sivan Eldar

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The Stravinsky Fountain is here