THE ART NEWSPAPER, No. 184, OCTOBER 200732 Museums

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The “Bilbao Effect”: from poor port to must-see city

Frank Gehry’s shiny cultural citadel has shown the world what a museum can do for a regional economy

Tenth anniversary of the Bilbao Guggenheim

LONDON. This month the MuseoGuggenheim Bilbao (MGB) cel-ebrates its tenth anniversary withtwo big exhibitions: the compre-hensive “Art USA: 300 Years ofInnovation” co-curated by theSolomon R. GuggenheimFound ation (SRGF) in NewYork and the Terra Foundation ofAmerican Art and chacun à songout site-specific installations byBasque artists. Dance perfor-mances and concerts have beencommissioned; there is a DanielBuren installation at the La SalveBridge and a renewed focus onthe museum’s own collection.

Can it be that the BilbaoGuggenheim has been with usfor only ten years? It feels morelike a lifetime.

A quick “Google” searchreveals a partial explanation inthe sheer presence of this muse-um in the communications envi-ronment. The phrase “BilbaoEffect” shows up 12,300 timeson the internet. There are141,000 entries for “Guggen -heim Museum Bilbao”. The sin-gle word “Bilbao” turns up anastonishing 40 million mentionscompared to the single word“Guggenheim” with ten million.

The “Bilbao Effect” hasentered the language: for thegeneral public, it probablymeans a fantastic museum build-ing. For urban planners, politi-cians, museum directors andtrustees, it means the transforma-tion of a city by a new museumor cultural facility into a vibrantand attractive place for residents,visitors and inward investment.

To understand the effect, weneed to step back and look at itsorigins in the Basque country 16years ago. Bilbao, like Glasgow,Salford, Liverpool, Lens and thecities of the US rustbelt, was inthe grip of an economic reces-sion and identity crisis becauseheavy industry was in precipi-tous decline. It was de-industri-alisation that stimulated Glas -gow to compete for and winEuropean Capital of Culture in1990; inspired Liverpool to lurethe Tate to the Albert Docks in1998; Salford to build TheLowry in 2000 and the Frenchregion of Nord-Pas de Calais tocompete in 2006 for the Louvreto establish a branch in Lens.The response of the Bilbao andthe Basque governments was aplan to create a major interna-tional cultural initiative to revivethe city and put it on the map ina period of European integration.

At the same time, theGuggenheim under the leader-

ship of Tom Krens had started toexplore the possibilities of inter-national partnerships, first inVenice and then in Salzburg. InJanuary 1991, the Reina Sofiahosted the first stop of the trav-elling exhibition “Masterpiecesfrom the Guggenheim Col -lection”. The main sponsor wasBBVA, the Bilbao-based nation-al bank that would become one

of the founding sponsors of theBilbao project. Representativesof the Basque local governmentwent to the opening in Madridand expressed interest in collab-orating with the Guggenheim tobuild a modern art museum.

The rest is history—and anincredibly short history. TheBasque administration mob -ilised €90m ($124.8m) in pub-lic funds. Frank Gehry wasappointed architect in January1992. The project broke groundin 1993 and the building—nowconsidered one of the greatest ofthe 20th century—was fast-tracked and opened on time inOctober 1997 to internationalexcitement and rave reviews.The public thronged to Bilbao atthe rate of between 800,000 andone million a year, of whom90% were, and continue to be,from outside the Basque country

and of those more than half arefrom countries other than Spain.

The economic impact is somarked (see box) that it is said tohave paid back the initial invest-ment many times. It has alsosparked a transformation includ-ing new hotels, a concert halland convention centre, transportsystem, more new museums anda river esplanade where the localcommunity gathers to stroll andplay amidst sculpture and cafes,all basking in the silvery glow ofFrank Gehry’s building. Bilbaois today a destination for cultureand gastronomy, despite continu-ing problems of terrorism.Gail Dexter Lord

❏ Gail Dexter Lord is President of LordCultural Resources, the international muse-um planning firm; Maria FernandezSabau is Director, Lordcultura, Madrid, itsSpanish branch

Regenerator: Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

The powerful motivator of de-industrialisation has been a reality in many sec-ond-tier cities for at least three decades. As a result there are examples of theBilbao Effect that pre-date 1997. It was Bilbao, however, that gave us the nameof the phenomenon.

The Lowry, Salford, United KingdomThe project to transform thederelict Manchester ShipCanal into Salford Quaysstarted more than 20 yearsago. In 1987, the idea ofjump-starting this projectwith a cultural centre wasborn. It grew to include twotheatres, a home forSalford’s little known butnationally important collec-tion of paintings by L.S.Lowry and a changing exhi-bition gallery, becoming thelargest millennium project(£120 million, $239.7m) outside London. The Lowry Trust recognised the need for a criticalmass of cultural attractions and persuaded the Imperial War Museum to locate its northernbranch near the Lowry. The Lowry opened in 2000 and the Imperial War Museum of the Northin 2002. Both are architecturally remarkable buildings, by Michael Wilford and DanielLibeskind respectively. One of the most successful regeneration projects in Europe, SalfordQuays is now home to hotels, shopping, residential development and has just won the com-petition for the location of “Media City”, which will rehouse the BBC’s Manchester offices. Thetotal value of inward investment surpasses £3 billion and has already created 6,500 jobs.

City of Art and Science, Valencia, SpainPlanning for the threeSantiago Calatrava-designed buildings thatmake up this culturaldestination began in1996. The vision was totransform a medium-sized traditional citycentred on sun and seatourism into an innova-tive tourist destination.With a strategy of open-ing in stages, the City ofArt and Science hasbeen reminding visitorsevery two years since1998 that Valencia, oneof Europe´s faster growing cities, is changing and improving its tourism infrastructure andleisure and cultural activities. With a capital budget of €845 million ($1.17 billion) and 100%public funding, the City of Art and Science has re-positioned the city of Valencia both in theminds of local visitors, who are now staying longer in the area, and the international eventsorganisers. The main consequence has been that Valencia was host city for the Americas Cupthis year and will be again in 2009.

Museumsquartier, Vienna, AustriaWhen planning started in 1990, the aim ofthis initially controversial cultural projectwas to change Vienna from being the staidWaltz and Masterpieces capital to a cultur-al magnet for young people, families andcontemporary art and architecture enthusi-asts. From its opening in 2001, theMuseumsquartier has consisted of theMumok Museum of Modern Art (pictured),the Leopold Museum (a private collectionof Viennese art of around 1900), the cityKunsthalle, and many other facilities suchas a centre for dance, an architecture cen-tre, production studios for new media, stu-dios for artists-in-residence and so on.The site chosen was an 18th-century royalstables complex, so the project, by archi-tects Ortner & Ortner, combines contem-porary buildings with historic architecture.Good urban planning links the neighbourhood with the city and redefines it with clear andimpressive structures. The Museumsquartier gets more than two million visitors a year, whouse it as a piazza and visit the cultural institutions.

Denver Art Museum, Colorado, USADetailed planning for the expan-sion of the Denver Art Museumstarted in 1999 after the successof Bilbao became apparent.Denver voters approved a bondinitiative to fund a 14,600 sq. mextension by Daniel Libeskind forthe existing 21,000 sq. m muse-um, increasing the gallery spaceby 40%. The $62.5m of publicfinance was topped up by $47m inprivate money raised by themuseum for capital funding, witha $61m endowment for futureoperations. The project is con-ceived as a trigger for the redevel-

Bilbao babies

Bilbao by numbers

Capital Cost: €90m ($124.8m)

2006 Operating Cost: €24m, ofwhich 75% is raised by the museumthrough admissions, sales, rentals anddonations and 25% from government.Operating expenses include variable feesfor services (depending on services used)paid to the SRGF in New York.

2006 Acquisition Budget: €26m

1997-2006 Total attendance: 9m

2006 Economic impact: Maintenanceof 4,200 jobs

Contribution to GDP: €212m

Contribution of Basque Treasury:€29m

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THE ART NEWSPAPER, No. 184, OCTOBER 2007 Museums 33

opment of the museum neighbourhood, which is near the city centre, involving also the reno-vation of the plaza and History Museum, the creation of museum residences and the newClyfford Still Museum.

Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi In 2004, the AbuDhabi TourismAuthority embarked ondeveloping SaadiyatIsland (“happiness” inArabic) into a world-class, environmentallysensitive tourist desti-nation that includes asits centrepiece the cre-ation of a new culturaldistrict for Abu Dhabiand the United ArabEmirates. The culturalcomponents, designed by a range of internationally famous architects such as Frank Gehry,Jean Nouvel, Tadao Ando and Zaha Hadid, will include branches of the Guggenheim andLouvre. The island will also include the Sheikh Zayed National Museum, the MaritimeMuseum, a five-venue Performing Arts Centre and a Biennale site with 19 pavilions. The mas-sive project will be surrounded by residential properties, resort hotels, recreational facilities,and nature preserves. The first three components, the Guggenheim, Louvre and the NationalSheikh Zayed Museum, are planned to open in 2012, the rest later in the next decade. SaadiyatIsland, with total costs of around €23 billion ($31.9 billion), represents one of the most ambi-tious urban and cultural development projects ever conceived.

City of Culture, Galicia, SpainCity of Culture of Galicia is the largest cultural project currently under development in Spainsolely funded with public money. It is a 41,800 sq. m complex on the outskirts of Santiago deCompostela at Mount Gaias. In 1999 Peter Eisenman Architects won the competition with adesign inspired by the old city of Santiago and the five pilgrim routes inside the medieval city

that lead to the cathedral. Theobjective was to convertMount Gaias into a beacon forpilgrims of knowledge. Withan initial capital budget of€109m, the City of Culture isformed by six cultural build-ings, including two museums(one devoted to Galician his-tory, the other an internationalart centre), the NationalLibrary, National Archives, aresearch centre for heritageand a performing arts centre.The first five are almost builtand are expected to open in 2010. The performing arts centre is being designed and shouldopen in 2012. During the planning process the capital investment trebled, the planned con-tents changed and the vision evolved so that the City of Culture will engage with LatinAmerican arts. The challenge for the Galician project is to prove that it has a core idea strongenough to attract the 21st-century cultural pilgrim.

Louvre Branch, Lens, FranceIn 2003, HenriLoyrette, president ofthe Musée du Louvre,announced plans tocreate a regionalbranch of the Louvre inLens. The idea behindthe project is decen-tralisation, makingFrench national collec-tions available to awider public andbringing economic

growth to the region. In 2004 the Nord-Pas de Calais region, a former mining area, was select-ed for the museum. Daniel Percheron, President of the Region, promised support, the regiontaking on the role of contractor and principal backer. It is putting up 60% of the constructioncosts of the Musée du Louvre-Lens, estimated in May 2005 to be €117m. The building,which has been designed by the Japanese agency Sanaa, is scheduled to open in 2010 and isexpected to get 500,000 visitors a year.

Pompidou Centre Branch, Metz, FranceThe Pompidou Metzproject has been led byMetz Metropole in closepartnership with theCentre Pompidou. Theregion of Metz is locat-ed in a thriving area withstrong cultural aware-ness so the aim of thisdecentralisation is toprovide wider access tothe Musée Nationald’Art Moderne’s collec-tion. It expresses thePompidou Centre’scommitment to provid-ing development withinthe enlarged EuropeanUnion and in the contextof globalisation in thearts. Metz Metropole isproviding €34m, whileadditional funding is expected from the French government (€4m) and the European Union(€2m). Pompidou Metz, which will be France’s first example of cultural decentralisation organ-ised by a national museum, is being designed by architects Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastinesand is scheduled to open in 2009. It is expected to get 300,000 visitors a year.Gail Dexter Lord and Maria Fernandez Sabau

VisionThe project needs to be motivat-ed and guided by a clear visionfor social transformation. In thecase of Bilbao, the aim was totransform Bilbao from a region-al industrial city to an interna-tional, knowledge-based econo-my. Every city will have a dif-ferent vision.

LeadershipThe leadership of the project hasto be strong, unified, broadlybased and long range because ithas to outlast several political

administrations and govern-ments to get the job done. Theseprojects usually take seven to 12years from planning to opening.

ContentThe meaning of the museum—its collections and exhibi-tions—matter. A great buildinghelps, but people will onlycome back if there is stimulat-ing content and if the museumgenerates new knowledge.These projects are “culturalaccelerators”, they speed up theentry of cities and communities

into the knowledge economy byeducating people and byencouraging other develop-ments to locate nearby, creatingcritical mass.

Outstanding architecture People are inspired by excitingarchitecture and by the way thatthree-dimensional space changestheir perception of themselvesand of art. Frank Lloyd Wright’s1959 Guggenheim MuseumBuilding in New York is anexceptional example that drawspublic interest to this day.

PlanningDespite its impressively rapidimplementation, Bilbao wasexhaustively planned, with feasibility studies, businessplanning and visitor projec-tions. The promise of economicbenefit to the community can-not be delivered without a rig-orous plan.

Global impact Bilbao has proven that in tenyears a regional city can be aplayer on the world culturalstage. They teamed up with an

internationally famous museumto achieve this. Other cities andother communities will achieveglobal impact in different ways.

Civil society institutionsCities aspiring to harness theBilbao effect need to establish aflexible type of organisationthat can be responsive tochange. Most such projects areled by foundations, charitableorganisations or redevelopmentagencies at arm’s length fromgovernment.G.D.L.

How to achieve the Bilbao effectWin friends and influence people: seven steps to make your tired town a cultural centre of excellence

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Gehry: every aspiring cityneeds outstanding architecture

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