Basque Country (Spain). The project to create a second Guggenheim Museum (already established in Bilbao) in the Basque Country, in the Urdaibai region, proposed by the Guggenheim Foundation, has been paralyzed for several years despite the approval of the Basque parliament. The cause is strong protests from residents who last expressed their discontent in mid-October with the project planned for Guernica, famous for Picasso’s painting, and Murueta, two small towns in the heart of the reserve. of Urdaibai biosphere (see ill.). At the end of October, the Basque parliament approved a text proposing discussions with the population for the development of a strategic plan over the coming months, aimed at the creation of the museum.
Shelved for more than a decade, the project to extend the Guggenheim to the Basque Country was relaunched by the government in 2020. Initially, the cultural facility was to be located in the municipality of Sukarrieta before finally being considered between Guernica and Murueta, according to plans drawn up by the New York architectural firm Cooper Robertson.
The Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve in Spain.
© Euskadi
In Guernica, a 5,000 m² building spread over two floors would include a ticket office, an information point, a cafeteria, an auditorium, a reception area and a place of residence for up to six artists. Parking and a bicycle rental area are provided, useful for reaching the six-kilometer hiking trail linking the Guernica site to that of Murueta, accessible by shuttle, train, bicycle (27 min) or on foot (1h20).
On the Murueta side, a 3,000 m² exhibition space would be created, where works from the foundation’s permanent collection as well as temporary exhibitions would be presented. It would be accompanied by a gourmet restaurant and a café. The total surface area of the two plots amounts to 61,000 m² and includes 50,000 m² of green spaces, on which works can be installed and artistic “experiences” organized.
The cost of the project is estimated at 130 million euros, which should be financed to the tune of 40 million euros by the Provincial Delegation of Biscay (Basque government) and 40 million by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, supplemented by the The contribution of the Guggenheim Foundation remains to be defined.
Residents gathered around the “Guggenheim Urdaibai Stop Platform”, where they denounce the planned destruction of the former Dalia (Guernica) cutlery company and the deterioration of the Murueta shipyards, where the protection of the maritime public domain -terrestrial was reduced from 100 to 20 meters by the Basque government, sparking legal action by Greenpeace, which began last May. Residents also fear overtourism damaging the environment, although the future museum plans to open limited to 140,000 visitors per year, with public reception from May to September.
