Guggenheim Museum Bilbao — Spain
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art,
designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, and located in
Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. The museum was inaugurated on 18 October
1997 by King Juan Carlos I of Spain.
It is built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of
Bilbao to the Cantabrian Sea. The Guggenheim is one of several museums
belonging to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. The museum features
permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish and international
artists.
One of the most admired works of contemporary architecture, the building
has been hailed as a "signal moment in the architectural culture",
because it represents "one of those rare moments when critics,
academics, and the general public were all completely united about
something." The museum was the building most frequently named as one of
the most important works completed since 1980 in the 2010 World
Architecture Survey among architecture experts.
History — In 1991, the Basque government suggested to the
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation that it would fund a Guggenheim museum
to be built in Bilbao's decrepit port area, once the city's main source
of income. The Basque government agreed to cover the US$100 million
construction cost, to create a US$50 million acquisitions fund, to pay a
one-time US$20 million fee to the Guggenheim and to subsidize the
museum's US$12 million annual budget. In exchange, the Foundation agreed
to manage the institution, rotate parts of its permanent collection
through the Bilbao museum and organize temporary exhibitions.
The museum was built by Ferrovial,[8] at a cost of US$89 million. About
5,000 residents of Bilbao attended a preopening extravaganza outside the
museum on the night preceding the official opening, featuring an
outdoor light show and concerts. On October 18, 1997, the museum was
opened by Juan Carlos I of Spain.
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