Le Chat museum plans to open in 2028 after finding new home

A museum for Le Chat, the famous comic strip character created by Brussels cartoonist Philippe Geluck, will open in Ixelles is now expected to open in early 2028.

The project - originally a collaboration between the artist and the Brussels region that began back in 2015 - had been shelved in June this year due to delays and budget issues that Geluck said he was expected to shoulder himself. 

A search for a new location to establish the museum using exclusively private funding resulted in the selection of a former porcelain factory on Chaussée de Wavre. Part of the site has been listed since 1997.

The future "Musée du Chat et de l’art rigolo" will occupy the factory’s 2,300m² and contain a permanent collection dedicated to Geluck’s graphic universe, featuring drawings, sketches, canvases, sculptures, as well as radio and TV clips. 

There will also be temporary exhibitions on leading figures in the world of humorous illustration, cats throughout history, and other humorous art.

Architect Francis Metzger will oversee the restoration of the building and expects the works to take about a year. 

“This place will be buzzing - I hope that with all my heart,” said Geluck.

“It was as if the stars had aligned. We’re happy, relieved and delighted with the quality of this building and its location.”

A foundation will manage the museum, relying solely on private funds to do so. The investment is estimated at €2 million, or “three times less than the project in collaboration with the region”, Geluck said.

Proceeds from the sale of the monumental sculptures from Le Chat Déambule (The Cat on the Move) will also go towards the museum, which is still seeking new patrons and partners.

Plans for a museum dedicated to the famous cartoon cat go back more than a decade. The project was first announced in 2015 and Geluck signed an agreement with the then Brussels minister-president Rudi Vervoort (PS) to establish a museum.

The museum was originally to be located on Place Royale and was to cover an area of approximately 3,000m². 

The planned opening was ultimately delayed by several years, while costs also rose sharply. In June, Geluck finally withdrew from the project.

According to the cartoonist, the accumulated delays and the tripling of the budget he was responsible for between 2015 and 2026 made the project economically unviable.

Geluck expressed relief that the museum will now be established after all, noting the speed at which it was able to move forward once the Brussels region was no longer involved. 

“[With the region], it took 12 years and failed,” Geluck said.

“Here, barely 12 weeks by the time we’d visited the site, reached an agreement with the sellers and finalised the negotiations.” 

Ixelles alderman Yves Rouyet (Ecolo) questioned the city council about the museum’s new plans, saying he regretted that the project had not been put before the city council and explained that he had learnt of this latest development through an invitation that was not addressed to him, and that other councillors also had not been made aware. 

“This is an important event for the municipality, which deserves to be discussed,” Rouyet said.

The museum is due to open in 2028, but Geluck said he expected reasonable delays - not of 12 years this time, but perhaps just one.

“We’re going to do the job properly, take our time and open when it’s ready,” said Geluck.