25 years Guggenheim -The Basque country’s figurehead celebrates its anniversary

Web News
Jan 10, 2023
2 min read

Photo by Baskulture Team

On the 18th October 1997, one of Bilbao’s most influential hotspots was born: The Guggenheim museum right next to the river Nervion. The museum is known for being specialized on contemporary and modern art and hosts Basque artists as well as international start such as Andy Warhol and Jean-Michael Basquiat. The building was designed by the architect Frank Gehry and costs the city around 100 Million Euros to be built. But the investment paid off – the museum started the image change of Bilbao and got the tourism of the Basque country going. Under the motto “Art inspires the future”, the anniversary features a whole series of events and shows.

Photo by Baskulture Team

This great success and effect on the Basque country was not predictable. During the 19th century, Bilbao was one of the world leading places of iron supply and got enriched by its industrial position and success. But in the late 20th century, the industrial rise had a reversal effect. The cities’ area turned into a wasteland due to pollution and slop and was frequently attacked by the Basque group ETA. The unlivable situation quickly changed due to the building of the museum next to Nervion river, which is by now known as the “Guggenheim-Effect”. After the museum guaranteed a large number of tourists, the residents of the city reoriented themselves. The city got cleaned and restored and a lot new gastronomical businesses opened. Despite the critics the build of the Guggenheim had to face, it switched up the image of Bilbao within a short amount of time.

Today, the Guggenheim museum is the most visited place in the Basque country and still attracts visitors from all around the world with rising numbers. While the museum counts around a Million visitors every year, it is not the only attraction in Bilbao and its surroundings by now.

Photo by Baskulture Team

Instead of just a simple program, the Guggenheim created a whole new exhibition dedicated to its 25 years of history. In the main exhibition “Sections / Intersections. 25 Years of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Collection”, which opened on the 8th September and lasts until the 22th January 2023, the visitors can view the most remarkable objects of the museums’ collection, which enter into dialogue with each other over the floors of the museum. An outstanding part of this is an installation by Yayoi Kusama, one of the most significant artists of this century.

Besides that, the free lightshow “Immersions” takes place from the 3th to the 11th December 2022 in the entry hall of the Guggenheim. It consists of a large-sized projection and a fitted soundtrack, which allows the audience to dive into the museum’s history and its milestones. Further, the Argentinian artist Cecilia Bengolea performed on the 25th October and the Basque pianist Joaquin Achucarro hold a concert on the 3rd November both on the occasion of the anniversary and his 90th birthday. In between those events, they was an entry-free weekend in the birthday-week, the host of the symposium “Ecologies of Water” on the 6th October and many more events such as dance performances and light shows.