NEW YORK, NY.- The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation announced today that its Board of Trustees approved the renewal of the agreement for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao for the next 20 years, through 2034. The renewal was approved by the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Foundation’s Board of Trustees on December 2, 2014.
This long-term renewal builds on a groundbreaking 20-year alliance that has contributed to the urban, economic, cultural and social revitalization of Bilbao and the Basque Country, enriching and stimulating the local and regional arts scene and tourism industry, and creating an innovative museum concept that has consolidated the Guggenheim museum network internationally and increased the visibility of its extraordinary collections of modern and contemporary art.
Since opening in 1997, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has welcomed close to 17 million visitors and presented nearly 140 exhibitions. Its landmark building, designed by Frank Gehry, was hailed as the most important structure of its time and has catalyzed a global conversation about the relationship between art and architecture. The museum’s collection spans from the mid-20th century to the present day, concentrating on postwar painting and sculpture in America and Europe and including key works by such artists as Anselm Kiefer, Willem de Kooning, Gilbert & George, Robert Motherwell, Doris Salcedo, and Richard Serra as well as modern and contemporary Basque and Spanish artists, including Eduardo Chillida, Christina Iglesias, Juan Muñoz, Jorge Oteiza, Antonio Saura, and Antoni Tàpies.
William Mack, Chairman of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, said, “The decision by SRGF and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Foundation to extend our agreement for 20 more years underscores our deep, mutual commitment to this historic collaboration and the shared values of excellence, modernity, and artistic innovation that have characterized it from the beginning.”
Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation said, “We are delighted that our collaboration with colleagues in Bilbao, which has been so successful for more than 20 years, will continue for two more decades. The terms of the agreement create exciting new opportunities that will benefit both institutions, our professional staff, and the growing public on site and online who enjoy the Guggenheim Bilbao.”
Juan Ignacio Vidarte, Director General of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Deputy Director and Chief Officer for Global Strategies of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, said, “Since it opened, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has had a transformative effect on the region and the world, changing the way people think about and experience both museums and art. Together with our colleagues in New York, we look forward to continuing this fruitful exploration and exchange.”
The renewal agreement provides for a range of new initiatives that will broaden the partnership, including commitments by SRGF to present an exhibition drawn from the permanent collection of the Guggenheim Museum at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao over a six-month period every two years, hire a new curator based in New York who will be dedicated to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, provide the opportunity for a select group of students from the Basque Country to participate in SRGF’s museum internship program in New York, and establish a program to enable two young artists from the Basque Country each year to gain extensive knowledge of New York as a creative center for artists. Additionally, the agreement confirms and formalizes a position on the SRGF board of trustees for a representative of the Basque Administration.
The renewal agreement also provides for an annual payment by the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Foundation to SRGF, and for the Basque Administration’s continuing support of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao’s art program and acquisitions.
