Centre Pompidou to loan works to new Brussels modern art museum

The conference took place in the former Citroen garage on Ijzerplein in the canal area of Brussels, where Vervoort was joined by Centre Pompidou president Serge Lasvignes. Later in a tweet, the Pompidou referred to the new museum as “CentrePompidouBruxelles”. 

The project will be overseen by Goldstein, who stepped down from Vervoort’s cabinet just days ago. The cost of the museum is estimated at €140 million, and it is due to open by 2020, said Vervoort.

Goldstein’s appointment provoked questions from the opposition. “Was a selection procedure organised to appoint Yves Goldstein,” asked Cieltje Van Achter (N-VA) in a press release, “or was that found not to be necessary once again?” She welcomed the idea of a Centre Pompidou by the canal, but warned that such co-operative efforts have gone wrong before.

Groen expressed doubts about the entire museum project. “Planting a cultural UFO from Paris here is no solution to the problems we have,” said member of the Brussels parliament Arnaud Verstraete. “I thought the idea was for rich and poor to come together in the former Citroen garage.” 

Verstraete suggested that a technical school on the site would be of more use to the people living in the area. He also enquired how the project would be funded, as culture in the capital is a responsibility of the Flemish and French-speaking communities, not the Brussels region.

Yamila Idrissi, a member of the Flemish parliament for SP.A, however, expressed support for the museum. “This decision will give Brussels a creative and cultural boost, in the canal zone in particular,” she said. “It will provide employment, a make-over for the area and help improve the image of the capital. This shows that as a region we absolutely can play at world-class level.”

Photo: Brussels minister-president Rudi Vervoort (left) and Centre Pompidou president Serge Lasvignes announcing the co-operation from the Citroen building

(c)AFP/BELGA