Kanal countdown: Management confident new art complex will open on time

Will Brussels’ answer to Paris’s Pompidou Centre be ready for its grand opening scheduled for 28 November?

For the Kanal Foundation, the public has nothing to fear. The Pompidou has given the go-ahead for its artworks to be sent and construction work is drawing to a close, and only the fire safety tests need finalising, RTBF reports.

Under the former Art Deco Citroën garage’s glass roofs, hundreds of workers are cleaning floors, fitting out the restaurants, finishing the cladding and installing partitions in the exhibition spaces.

André Verstraeten, architect and head of building works for the Kanal Foundation since 2017, remained calm: “As with any building site, particularly large-scale ones, the final weeks are always a bit hectic,” he said, adding: “But as you can see, we’re still very close to completing the whole project.”

Indeed, the first lorries carrying artworks were due to start arriving on 29 September. The precious exhibits transported in air-conditioned vehicles, passing through a secure storage area before being gradually and carefully moved to the exhibition spaces.

“The Centre Pompidou teams came about a week ago to carry out a general inspection,” said Verstraeten. “They were very satisfied and reassured. There was a second, more technical visit, involving the teams responsible for transporting the artworks and installing them, who also expressed great confidence.”

Some 300 artworks from the Centre Pompidou’s collection will feature in Kanal’s 12 opening exhibitions, which also display pieces from private collectors, other museums and its own collection. The flagship show is A Truly Immense Journey – 100 years of masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou collection.

Moreover, Kanal announces on its website that, “there’s always something going on, always something to do. Explore the programme with all the ongoing exhibitions, live events, workshops, talks, guided tours, book launches, children’s workshops and other activities.”

Concerns about fire safety

Less positive however was the significant 6 July fire on the roof that is still casting doubt over the architecture museum CIVA’s ability to display all of its works in an upper floor for the opening.

Fire safety worries remain. Flemish media outlet Apache revealed that tests by Brussels fire inspectors were not conclusive.

But Verstraeten argued: “According to the contractor, everything is in order.” The day before a smoke extraction test, he commented: “We’re at 90%.” He noted that the smoke curtains were working, some 2,000 fire detectors operational and the sprinkler system approved.

When complete, a dossier will be submitted to Brussels’ fire and ambulance service, the SIAMU. The final inspection is scheduled for 8 October.

So for Verstraeten, it is just the finishing touches to go: including cleaning, the rooftop railings, and the kitchenette fittings in the bakery’s production areas. “The structural work is finished, the cladding is complete, and the technical installations are complete,” he said.

What remains is the thorny issue of funding. A management plan is being drawn up for the museum, whose director Yves Goldstein is due to leave his post on 30 November, two days after the official opening.

While Brussels minister-president Boris Dilliès (MR) has not accepted interview requests by RTBF to discuss this, his office provided the following written response to the public service broadcaster for the French-speaking community: “The regional grant will be reduced to €10 million within three years,” and so the new director will have to “implement a business plan taking this reality into account, by strengthening external funding sources.”

With this in mind, it is all the more important that Kanal’s aim: stated by Dilliès as becoming “a leading cultural venue that contributes to Brussels’ appeal and its influence beyond our borders,” is achieved.

Photos: ©Atelier Kanal