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(NEW
YORK, NY – December 16, 2009) – The results of preliminary studies
analyzing the critical factors for success for the proposed Guggenheim
Museum Bilbao expansion project in Urdaibai were presented December 16
at a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Solomon R. Guggenheim
Foundation.
The
first stage of feasibility studies, carried out in 2009, identified and
analyzed a number of issues, including the new museum’s conceptual
model and curatorial program; the legal, urban, environmental, and
geological conditions of the chosen site; the museum’s spatial needs;
potential visitor attendance; and the economic impact of the museum
both during the construction period and its ongoing operation.
The
expansion project is one of the long-term initiatives included in the
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Strategic Plan 2009–2012, which was approved
by its Executive Committee and Board of Trustees in December 2008. In
June 2009, these governing bodies also approved the signing of a
collaboration agreement with the Executive Council of Biscay to finance
the Urdaibai studies.
At
the meeting of December 16, 2009, the Guggenheim Foundation Board
received an overview of the feasibility studies, including a needs
analysis for the program provided by Cooper, Robertson &
Partners. The results of the study were presented by the President of
the Executive Council of Biscay, José Luis Bilbao; the Deputy of
Culture, Josune Ariztondo; Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon
R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum; Juan Ignacio Vidarte, Director
General of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao; and David van der Leer,
Assistant Curator of Architecture and Design, Solomon R. Guggenheim
Museum. The Guggenheim Foundation board members were encouraged by the
study and recommended proceeding to the next phase of review for the
project as outlined in the objectives of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao’s
Strategic Plan.
“In
keeping with the Guggenheim Foundation’s strategic-plan commitment to a
strong international perspective that is both inspirational and
transformative, we believe the Urdaibai project will offer exceptional
opportunities to reimagine the creative process and offer memorable
cultural and artistic experiences to visitors,” said Mr. Armstrong,
Director of the Guggenheim Foundation and Museum.
“With
the expansion in Urdaibai, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is not just
trying to have access to some additional exhibition space. The goal is
to embark on new projects, strengthen relationships and alliances, and
develop an innovative museum experience based on the integration of
art, nature, and environment through a combination of creative
initiatives,” said Mr. Vidarte, Director General of the Guggenheim
Museum Bilbao. “Moving forward, the museum is not attempting to repeat
the Bilbao model but instead to replicate its level of ambition,
inventing a new cultural paradigm through change and innovation that
may be as unique for the future decade as the existing one was when it
was conceived almost twenty years ago.”
The
results of these preliminary studies will be presented to the
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Executive Committee and Board of Trustees
December 22, 2009.
The
proposed site is located about forty kilometers from Bilbao in the
Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve by a tidal inlet of the Gernika River near
the point where it meets the Bay of Biscay. Preceding the first stage
of feasibility studies, the goals for the project were laid out by an
international panel of artists, architects, urban planners, scientists,
writers, curators, and critics during meetings held in the spring and
summer of 2009. Their ideas were distilled into a vision of an
innovative ecological museum that functions as a conceptual
counterpoint to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. The ambition is not to
create another iconic building but rather to generate an iconic
landscape experience that sets forth a new model for the seamless
integration of architecture, environment, and art. Among the next steps
for Guggenheim Urdaibai is the design selection process, which would
take place over the course of 2010.
Solomon
R. Guggenheim Museum Chief Curator Nancy Spector stated, “Through a
blend of art, nature, and educational programs, Guggenheim Urdaibai
would pursue diverse cultural initiatives with an emphasis on the
creative process rather than the finished product. Artists and thinkers
would be invited to stay at the site for varying periods of time,
providing an ever-changing center for experimentation and the exchange
of ideas with an ongoing focus on issues of locality and the landscape.
Guggenheim Urdaibai will encourage interaction across disciplines and
create a catalyzing platform for inspiration, dialogue, and action.”
December 16, 2009
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For additional information, contact:
Eleanor R. Goldhar
Deputy Director, External Affairs
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Betsy Ennis
Director, Media and Public Relations
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
212 423 3840
pressoffice@guggenheim.org