This October marks the 20th anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, recognized for its daring architecture and powerful effect within and beyond the Basque region in Spain. In the two decades since it opened on October 19, 1997, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has presented more than 160 exhibitions of modern and contemporary art and welcomed more than 20 million visitors from around the world.
Culminating a yearlong program of special events, art-conservation initiatives, exhibitions, and installations, October anniversary-related plans in Bilbao include Chasmata, an immersive performance of instrumental compositions by more than 100 saxophonists stationed throughout the museum’s soaring atrium. Other features include Reflections, a large-scale video projection upon the building’s facade, hosted on the evenings of October 11–14; a gala dinner on October 18; and free admission for all visitors to the museum on October 21 and 22.
To commemorate the anniversary, the Guggenheim Museum in New York will present new video and other digital content, including blog posts exploring the processes and materials that went into making the iconic Frank Gehry–designed titanium-clad building; reexamining “the Bilbao effect,” the much-discussed concept of architecture as a catalyst for urban regeneration; and compiling reflections on the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao contributed by Guggenheim leadership and influential voices in the architecture community.
Exhibitions on view at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in the Basque region in Spain during the anniversary celebrations include Georg Baselitz: The Heroes, through October 22; Bill Viola: A Retrospective, through November 9; Ken Jacobs: The Guests, through November 12; Anni Albers: Touching Vision, October 6, 2017–January 14, 2018; and Masterpieces from the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Collection, an ongoing presentation.
For more information and details on the anniversary events and exhibitions in Bilbao, visit xx.guggenheim-bilbao.eus/en/.