Brussels contemporary arts museum sooner than planned?

The idea for a museum of contemporary art in Brussels has been around for quite a while but, with the support of one hundred famous Brusseleirs  - among which singers Arno and Stromae and director Michaël Roskam - plans for the MAK (Musem on the Canal) are now beginning to gain momentum.

"If you can dream it you can do it,” reads the slogan behind which dozens of local celebrities have rallied in support of the MAK. A collection of modern and contemporary art has already there, having gathered dust for the past three years, but a location hasn’t been found yet.

It was Flemish MP Yamila Idrissi who first championed the idea of a new building for the museum and, in recent months, the idea was remarkably well received. Although the federal government is responsible for the museum, it is the Brussels Region which will determine the location and grant planning permission. Earlier this month, the Region already agreed in principle on a location on the canal, but the exact spot is yet to be decided.

Idrissi herself sees the Ninoofsepoort – at the crossroads of Brussels, Anderlecht and Molenbeek - as the most logical choice. "The arrival of a new museum is also a golden opportunity to upgrade disadvantaged neighbourhoods," says Idrissi – a reference to the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Tate Modern in London and even the MAS on Antwerp’s Islet.

Exact details of the possible financing of the project are still unknown, but Idrissi is known to favour a public-private partnership. A public debate will take place at the Kaaitheater on September 24.