Kanal, the museum of modern and contemporary art and architecture housed in the former Citroën garage in Brussels, will open on 28 November 2026. Two days later, on Monday 30 November, its director general, Yves Goldstein, who has led the project for nearly ten years, will step down.
The departure was made public in September. In May, Goldstein had announced his intention to leave after the opening and to remain until a replacement was found, most likely by early 2027. A subsequent agreement with the Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region, Boris Dilliès, brought the date forward to immediately after the inaugural weekend. Goldstein will not take part in the selection of his successor.
The statement attributed to Dilliès's office was brief. The parties acknowledged 'a difference of opinion regarding the future of Kanal'. Preparations for the opening were secured until the agreed date, and the agreement would allow them to 'turn the page in a calm atmosphere', given 'the budgetary imperatives known to all'.
The Art Newspaper reported that Dilliès had tried to dismiss Goldstein at the beginning of September. The Brussels press also described that attempt and the tensions within the regional government. It is not a version confirmed in those terms by both parties, although BRUZZ did attribute to the office an intention to remove him before the opening.
Various figures are circulating regarding the budget. Kanal initially anticipated an annual contribution of 35 million euros. The projected public funding for operating expenses is 28 million in 2026, and the regional government plans to reduce this to 10 million annually by 2029. A Kanal spokesperson confirmed these figures to The Art Newspaper but cautioned that the 2029 amount remained subject to government discussion. On 1 October, the regional government added that, from 2028, it expected the museum to increasingly rely on private funding and, in time, become self-sufficient.
The collaboration with the Centre Pompidou adds another commitment: Kanal expects to pay two million euros a year for the first five years to borrow works from the Pompidou's collection. Goldstein had described that relationship as not permanent.
The statement does not establish that the budget is the cause of the departure. It does include budgetary imperatives in the institutional explanation, and the local press has placed funding and governance among the disagreements in the process.
Kanal will open to the public on Saturday 28 November at 10:00 and will remain open continuously until 22:00 on Sunday 29 November. The thirty thousand free timed-entry tickets for the ten inaugural exhibitions ran out within twenty-four hours. The rest of the building and the weekend activities will be open without booking.
The inaugural programme comprises ten exhibitions. One of these, A truly immense journey, brings together over three hundred works from the Centre Pompidou collection. The Kanal website maintains the 28 November opening date and, as of 4 October, continues to list Goldstein as director general.
In my view, a new museum has two moments of fragility: the opening and the years that follow, when the budget has to sustain what was promised. Here, the person who led the institutional construction of the project will leave immediately after the first, without taking part in the choice of whoever continues it and while the funding model is being redefined.
'A difference of opinion regarding the future' can cover very different disagreements. The statement does not reveal what each side was arguing for and does not show that the budget caused the departure. The budget, however, sets the limits on the exhibitions, the team, the research, the mediation and the services that Kanal will be able to keep going.
The succession process is ongoing. In August, Kanal announced that it expected to appoint the new leadership in the first week of November. Following the September agreement, Goldstein was excluded from the selection process. On 1 October, The Art Newspaper reported that interviews would be conducted during that month. As of 4 October 2026, I have not located a public appointment or a subsequent statement identifying his successor.
The question, then, is who will deliver on its promises after the opening, and with what resources.
About the open conversation
This text follows the Notebook's line of enquiry into the decisions institutions take and the reasons they give. It separates what Kanal and the office of the Brussels-Capital Region have confirmed from what the press has attributed to them. As of 4 October 2026, there is no public record of the appointment of Yves Goldstein's successor. If you know museum governance in Belgium well, or can provide later documentation on this process, write to me.
Sources
Kanal, "Kanal opens on 28 November with a free inaugural weekend for all", 11 September 2026.
Kanal, "30,000 free tickets for Kanal opening weekend claimed in one day", 16 September 2026.
BRUZZ, "Minister-president Dilliès wil Kanal-baas Goldstein ontslaan", 18 September 2026.