Guggenheim Bilbao celebrates 10th Anniversary

In 1997, the Guggenheim Museum opened in Bilbao and started the city's now-famous rejuvenation. It is seen as so important in transforming the fortunes of the Basque city from industrial backwater into the cosmopolitan metropolis of today that the term 'the Bilbao effect' was coined to describe the effect extravagant architecture has had in other cities.

Ten years on and the city is obviously keen to celebrate the building that means so much to it, so to commemorate its tenth year, the Guggenheim is hosting two important exhibitions as well as concerts, dance performances, film showings and other activities.

October 11 sees the exhibition 'Art in the USA: 300 Years of Innovation' unveiled, host to more than 250 works by noted American artists, the biggest display of its kind in Spain. The second exhibition, 'Chacun à son goût', which debuts on October 16, is a showcase of contemporary Basque artists, all of which have been invited to create works especially for the Guggenheim, pieces that interact with the spaces of the Museum and which may eventually become part of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Collection. Both exhibitions will run until early 2008.

The Guggenheim was featured in my Seven Wonders of the World in Spain as one of the most spectacular buildings in Spain.
^{Photo © Damian Corrigan}

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