KANAL – Centre Pompidou


KANAL – Centre Pompidou is a museum for modern and contemporary art located in Brussels, Belgium, near the Brussels–Charleroi Canal, in the former Citroën Garage buildings. The opening is scheduled for 28 November 2026. During the renovations, the museum remains open at its temporary location K1, at 1, avenue du Port/Havenlaan.
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Building

The building, which is included in the inventory of architectural heritage of the Brussels-Capital Region, is a former garage built for the Citroën company between 1933 and 1934 under the direction of the French architect with the Belgian architects and. It was modified in 1954 by Louis Hoebeke.
The building occupies most of the block that is enclosed by the Square Sainctelette/Sainctelettesquare, the Quai des Péniches/Akenkaai, the Quai de la Voirie/Ruimingskaai and the Quai de Willebroeck/Willebroekkaai. The former showroom, on the corner of the Square Sainctelette and the Place de l'Yser/Ijzerplein was a single, volume with a glass facade. In the 1950s, several floors were added to the showroom.
On 28 March 2017, the Urban Development Corporation of the Brussels-Capital Region launched an international design competition for the €125 million conversion to a museum. The jury selected a proposal, A Stage for Brussels by noAarchitecten, EM2N and Sergison Bates architects.

History

Plans for a museum by the Brussels–Scheldt Maritime Canal were first proposed in 2014. The Brussels-Capital Region purchased the former Citroën Garage from PSA Group on 29 October 2015 for €20.5 million. After failing to obtain works from the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, the region negotiated a ten-year partnership with the Centre Pompidou, formally approved on 7 December 2017 and signed on 18 December 2017. An international architectural competition was launched on 28 March 2017, attracting 92 submissions. Seven teams were shortlisted, and on 21 March 2018, the KANAL Foundation, established in September 2017, awarded the contract to Atelier KANAL, a consortium of noAarchitecten, EM2N, and Sergison Bates architects. Their project integrated a museum of modern and contemporary art, CIVA, and new public cultural spaces.
The site pre-opened in May 2018 with an event called KANAL Brut, curated by Bernard Blistène. The fourteen-month programme included works from the Centre Pompidou collection and a film studio designed by Michel Gondry, alongside exhibitions, performances, workshops, and community events. KANAL Brut closed in June 2019 for renovations.

Exhibitions

KANAL Brut

From 5 May 2018 to 30 June 2019, KANAL Brut presented an experimental programme and exhibitions occupying the various spaces of the former garage. Experimentation was the guiding principle of this "brut" year. The initiative aimed to innovate, explore new ways of presenting different art forms, and discover approaches to make the space more accessible to a broader audience beyond the usual museum visitors, while simultaneously reimagining and opening up the museum environment.
Exhibitions during KANAL Brut where: