Louvre-Lens

The Louvre-Lens is a renowned art museum located in Lens, France, approximately 200 kilometers north of Paris. It is an annex of the Musée du Louvre and showcases objects from the Louvre's collections, which are lent to the gallery on a medium- or long-term basis. The museum was established as part of an initiative to make French cultural institutions accessible to those living outside of Paris. The museum's history dates back to 2003 when the Ministry of Culture and the Louvre Directorate launched a plan to build a Louvre satellite museum. Lens, a city with a history of mining and economic challenges, was chosen as the recipient city. The museum was designed by Japanese architectural firm SANAA in collaboration with New York firm Imrey Culbert, French landscape architect Catherine Mosbach, and museographer Studio Adrien Gardère. The museum is built on a 20-hectare former mining site and is designed to blend into the surrounding area with its low-profile structures. It contains 28,000 m2 of exhibition space and is near several World War memorials. The museum was officially opened on December 4, 2012, by President François Hollande and has since welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.