Brussels

The new KANAL: 40,000 square metre museum city

A 230 million investment for the contemporary art centre. Agreement with the Centre Pompidou for development and management. It will open in November

by Giorgia Basili

29 April 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The Pompidou Agreement
The spaces and programming of the new contemporary museum

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The new centre KANAL - Pompidou is taking shape in the spaces of the former Citroën garage: a building site that is still open, but already full of ambition. On the occasion ofi Art Brussels we visited the site and met the management. The numbers immediately give the measure: 40,000 square metres in total, 12,500 of which are allocated to galleries, and a staff of around 110.

The site was purchased in 2015 for €25 million by the Société d'Aménagement Urbain on behalf of the Brussels-Capital Region. Work began shortly before Covid and, between the pandemic and the political crisis - with the Region without a fully operational government since the 2024 elections - the delays have been contained: 'only two years', as artistic director Kasia Redzisz points out. The opening is set for 28 November 2026.

The Pompidou Agreement

The total investment amounts to 230 million euro, entirely borne by the region. More controversial is the question of the operating budget: initially planned at 35 million per year, it has been progressively reduced. After political controversy and inaccurately circulated figures, today there is talk of declining funding: 28 million in 2026, 24 in 2027, 22 in 2028. The future, beyond 2028, remains open and will be subject to negotiation.

This is the background to the agreement with the Centre Pompidou, signed in 2017. Conceived over ten years, it is divided into two phases: development support and management from the opening. Delays have caused the deadline to be postponed to 2031, with no automatic renewal. The Pompidou will make a central contribution: three semi-permanent exhibitions are planned between 2026 and 2031, the first 'A truly immense journey' will span the entire 21st century. In addition, three photographic exhibitions will take place over five years and will be based on the Centre Pompidou collection (Robert Frank, Brassaï), while four other exhibitions will be devoted to iconic figures of modernism (Delaunay, Braque/Picasso, Matisse). The collaboration with the Centre Pompidou is therefore a strategic one, but not without political criticism, which questions its sustainability and appropriateness.

Render ® Atelier Kanal, Secchi Smith

The spaces and programming of the new Museum of Contemporary

The architectural project, signed by Sergison Bates, EM2N and noAarchitecten, preserves the industrial layout of the 1930s, while inserting new volumes and maintaining a strong public identity: 20,000 square metres will be accessible free of charge, a significant challenge for a complex and stratified neighbourhood. The building will house an auditorium (400 seats), libraries, reading rooms, pedagogical workshops, restaurants, a large space will be occupied by the new architecture archive centre and even a playground.

The programming will be articulated on several exhibition levels, with a special focus on research and emerging artists: KANAL proposes itself, in fact, as the first museum of modern and contemporary art in Brussels with an avowedly academic mission. Alongside its own collection, which is still contained and rooted in the local context, the Pompidou's collection will find space.

Render Atelier Kanal Belvedere ® Atelier Kanal, Secchi Smith

Some artistic interventions will mark the opening: the installation by Banu Cennetoğlu, who will occupy one of the most monumental spaces with tons of golden balloons. Other works will hinge the hybrid areas between culture and public use, such as that ofOtobong Nkanga (1974), a visual and performance artist of Nigerian origin who has been living in Belgium for some 30 years.

We are almost in the home stretch, although the museum is still a building site. "The total expenditure is 230 million euro, of which more than 40 million is solely due to inflation since the start of work. The budget calculated in 2017 was only 150 million,' the management points out. This centre, which has perhaps not unfairly been called a museum city, wants to approach cornerstone institutions of visual art such as the Tate. In the meantime, we are waiting to see the first steps... appointment on 28 November!