Kanal director Yves Goldstein to leave two days after Brussels museum opens

The man who spent almost a decade building Kanal, the new modern and contemporary art museum in Brussels, will leave two days after it opens.

Yves Goldstein will stand down as director general on 30 November, immediately after the opening weekend, under an agreement with Boris Dilliès, the minister-president of the Brussels-Capital Region, The Art Newspaper reported.

The statement from Dilliès's cabinet was brief. "The parties acknowledge a difference of opinion regarding the future of Kanal."

It is a fast end to a long tenure. Goldstein has led the project for nearly ten years, across two five-year terms. In early May he said he would step down at the end of his second term but stay on until a replacement was found in early 2027. That timetable has now been cut short.

Goldstein will keep full duties until the departure date. He will not take part in choosing his successor.

The opening is still set for 28 November, with public events across 28 and 29 November 2026. Tickets for the opening exhibitions are on sale, and local reports say the opening weekend has sold out.

What visitors will find is big. Kanal will launch with ten shows, including a 350-work exhibition drawn from the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The wider opening programme spans performance, dance, film, music and sound.

That Pompidou link is contractual as well as curatorial. Under its deal with the Paris institution, Kanal pays €2 million a year until 2031.

Dilliès himself is new in the job. He was appointed and sworn in as minister-president in February.

What makes this stand out is the timing. First directors usually get to open the building they planned. Goldstein will do that. He just will not stay to run it.