The Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art has presented a total of 17 contemporary art exhibitions in the former Belle-Vue brewery since 2016, attracting more than 400,000 visitors.
The Molenbeek museum of contemporary art MIMA will permanently close its doors this Sunday, nine years after its opening on the banks of the Brussels canal.
The establishment announced last October its future end due to the closure of the Quai du Hainaut following a risk of collapse of the road providing access to the museum. This situation led to a sharp drop in attendance, lamented the institution.
However, the museum management had to decide last year to schedule the closure of the establishment, due to a sharp drop in attendance after the closure of the road leading to the site. The museum reported a contraction in the number of visitors of more than 50% during the summer. “This situation has jeopardized the economic viability of the institution“, confided the management in a press release. It deplored the uncertainty surrounding the duration of the work on the roads, which could extend over two years.
The museum was unable to obtain financial support from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, which confirmed at the beginning of October that it could not “extend resources” to maintain the establishment. “On the other hand, working with them, looking for solutions in collaboration, and supporting them, obviously we will do our best“, declared Minister-President Élisabeth Degryse (Les Engagés). MIMA also sought solutions to continue its activities, but none could be found before this date.
The museum will close definitively at 7:00 p.m., with the end of the exhibition.Multitude” by the street artist Alexandre Farto alias Vhils. For the occasion, the Portuguese creator marked his presence in Brussels by creating a mural on a facade on rue Léopold.
MIMA Molenbeek Museum
