In 1977 the Beaubourg established a new cultural phenomenon in which museums’ pool of visitors was significantly increased, reaching unprecedented numbers. Its success was the start of an important period of studies on museological institutions and their publics.

Two of the most important figures of this period were Roberto Rosselini — who’s film Le Centre Georges Pompidou (1977) is on view in occasion of Editoriale — and the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. Invited by the Centre Pompidou to celebrate and study the phenomenon, Bourdieu and Rossellini both arrived at conclusions which shared a similar skepticism. In fact, Rossellini and Bourdieu expressed how the democratization of art and of culture could not solely be calculated based on numbers.

Below is a television report of Télévision Française from the period, with an interview to Pierre Bourdieu.