Brussels Leader Seeks to Oust Kanal Museum Director Before Opening
The head of the Brussels Government is seeking to remove the director of Kanal-Centre Pompidou in Brussels, just weeks before the museum is due to open in November.
ARTnews reported the development on 18 September 2026. The report puts the leadership of the new museum back in the spotlight. The timing is tight.
The director is Yves Goldstein, general director of the Kanal project, the person charged with leading the museum organisation. He had already said in May that he would step down before the museum opens, according to The Brussels Times. That announcement came about six months before the planned opening. It meant the museum was already facing a change at the top.
Goldstein shared his decision in an interview with De Standaard, the Belgian newspaper. He did not plan to walk out at once. He planned to remain in the role until a successor was appointed, ArtDependence reported on 7 May. In plain terms, he would keep running the project while the search for a replacement continued.
The museum will be housed in the former Citroën garage alongside the canal in Brussels, a former industrial building being turned into public gallery space. The site covers 40,000 square metres, room for display areas, storage, workshops and visitor facilities. VRT described the building and its scale when the opening plan was announced in May 2025.
That earlier announcement gave 28 November 2026 as the date when visitors could first enter. The latest report keeps the opening in November. The calendar has therefore been public for more than a year, with building work, staffing and programming all pointed at that month.
What makes this stand out is the overlap of two stories. One is a resignation announced in spring, with an orderly handover promised. The other is a political push reported in autumn to remove the same director before the doors open.
For visitors, this means attention will be on who is in charge on opening night as well as what is on the walls. The doors are still set for November. The question now is who will welcome the public through them.
