Brussels' Kanal-Centre Pompidou in BBC list of most anticipated museum openings
The BBC has named the opening of the Kanal-Centre Pompidou museum in Brussels as one of the six most important museum openings worldwide in 2026. Kanal, which will open its doors on 28 November, is the only European destination on the list.
According to the British public broadcaster, the Brussels museum project is set to become “Europe's newest outpost of modern and contemporary art”. The industrial Art Deco building, which once housed a Citroën factory, is described as an “excellent example of adaptive reuse of older buildings”.
The future collection also plays a role in the BBC's appreciation. The ten planned exhibitions will bring works by top names such as Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondriaan to Brussels. Kanal is the result of a collaboration with the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which is closed for renovation until 2030.
In an article by journalist Larry Bleiburg, architecture expert Aaron Betsky describes the first images of the redesigned factory as promising. "It's going to be a very light and airy space that will really do justice to the building's heritage," he said. "The Industrial Revolution left us with these great monuments, the equivalent of our cathedrals and castles."
The BBC also sees the opening as the start of a broader “cultural district” in the canal zone. In Belgium, however, the project is often associated with rising costs and Brussels' tight budget. Although the new Brussels government gave the green light for the operating budget, the museum will have to make substantial savings on its daily operations and artistic programming.
The praise for Belgium is not limited to the capital. “The storybook medieval town of Bruges” also gets a mention. The BBC recommends a visit to BRUSK, the brand-new exhibition hall that is opening with an exhibition on AI-driven sculptures.
Kanal is set to open its doors on 28 November. The other new museums the BBC is looking forward to are the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the Larrakia Cultural Centre in Darwin (Australia), and the Islamic Civilisation Centre in Tashkent (the capital of Uzbekistan).
Illustration picture of the launch of the Kanal-Centre Pompidou museum in 2018 © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK