Kanal offered €60 million loan from Brussels government, but financial black cloud hovers over museum

Although Kanal has received assurance of a €60 million loan from the Brussels-Capital Region to carry out final work before its opening in November, the future art museum needs to repay this sum within one year.

“The money ensures that the works that have been started can be completed,” explained Kanal Foundation’s financial director Baptiste Delhauteur, reports Bruzz.

“The large buildings are almost finished, but there is still a lot to be done inside. This includes the design, the installation of the heating and cooling system and the installation of cameras,” he said of the major transformation of the former Art Deco Citroën garage into a museum.

Delhauteur confirmed that the Kanal-Centre Pompidou in Place Sainctelette would open as planned on 28 November.

Uncertainty over loan repayment

It is less certain, though, how the new museum would repay the loan in such a relatively short time span. The financial lifeline followed last week’s surprise announcement by Yves Goldstein that he intended to resign from his position as Kanal’s director.

Brussels MP Mathias Vanden Borre (N-VA) commented: “It would not be the first time that a loan from the Region is ultimately no longer repaid. Although that would mean a new blow to the already catastrophic financial situation of the Region.”

By its own estimates, Kanal will not generate sufficient income to reimburse the loan within one year. The Kanal Foundation said in 2025 that the museum was anticipating 550,000 visitors per year with a turnover of €16.5 million per year. This would include €6 million from ticket sales, publications and the museum shop. Its four catering establishments were expected to yield another €6.5 million, while some 400 annual events would generate a further €3.4 million.

The initial financial plan for Kanal was that it would receive an annual operating subsidy of €35 million from the Brussels Region. But the Dilliès-led coalition government has now reduced this to €28 million. This amount further drops in 2027 to €24 million and €22 million the following year. From 2029, it will receive a regional subsidy of €10 million, less than half the amount the museum was counting on.

There was nevertheless support for the highly-anticipated albeit maligned project from Brussels minister-president Boris Dilliès (MR). “I can't deny that criticism of Kanal is sometimes justified, but I still believe that Kanal is the missing piece of the puzzle of the modern Brussels art universe,” he said in a speech at Saturday’s Iris Festival.

Future private investment?

When announcing his planned departure in an interview with De Standaard, Goldstein stated that the proposed operating budget would not be enough to run the museum.

That is one reason why the landmark project is planning to secure private investors to ensure the future of its ambitious modern and contemporary art programme.

The sheer size and multifunctionality of the 41,000m² arts complex also means it has potential as an event space, in addition to its in-house café, bar, restaurant and bakery. Goldstein said that if there was no plans to structurally rent it out, companies could hire spaces for receptions, product presentations and other kinds of events.

Brussels finance minister Dirk De Smedt (Anders) referenced a new business plan following the announcement of the loan, “to ensure that the museum is not a subsidy guzzler in the long term, but a project that Brussels can be proud of,” reports Bruzz.

Otherwise, Kanal has been pursuing other possible private initiatives aimed at boosting its long-term finances, including a business forum in the city’s Northern Quarter.

Photo: ©Kanal