Kanal opening weekend confirmed for 28 and 29 November

Kanal, Brussels' new museum of modern and contemporary art, will celebrate its opening weekend with free admission for visitors on Saturday 28 November and Sunday 29 November.

The museum will be open these days from 10.00 until 23.00, with time slots able to be booked from Tuesday 15 September onwards. With 20 time slots and a capacity of some 1,500 people, there is room for more than 30,000 visitors during the first weekend.

After that weekend, Kanal will be open from Wednesday to Sunday, with late-night hours until 23.00 every Thursday.

The museum will feature 10 exhibitions and a programme that includes live performances, concerts and films.

One of the major exhibitions is the collection "A Truly Immense Journey", where Kanal will be presenting 350 works of art spread across three floors. About 80% of the works come from the collection of its Parisian partner, the Centre Pompidou.

This exhibition is complemented by works from the museum’s own collection and loans from other Belgian museums and private collections.

Brussels-based artist Joëlle Tuerlinckx will present an immersive sound composition in an underground exhibition space and various public areas will host exhibitions that can be visited without a ticket.

Otobong Nkanga, who lives and works in Antwerp, will install a piece featuring looms in one of the open spaces.

The building that houses the museum will also have a bakery, restaurant, rooftop bar and museum shop.

A number of group visits are already scheduled for a sneak-peak during Kanal’s opening week.

The museum is inviting almost 5,000 children from 27 Brussels schools - with which the museum has been collaborating for several years - on Wednesday 25 November, along with neighbours and dozens of local associations and collectives.