Brussels’ Kanal-Pompidou museum − a major new arts complex built around a modernist former Citroen showroom – has unveiled its inaugural programme this week, 300 days before it is set to open to the public. Billed as the largest new arts development in Europe, the museum will host 10 modern and contemporary exhibitions across five floors for its launch planned on November 28 − thanks in part to loans from key partner the Pompidou Centre in Paris. According to spokesperson David Salomonowicz, the Kanal project represents an investment of €230 million, of which 80% to 90% has already been spent on construction works. But a question mark hangs over its operational budget, with key backer the Brussels-Capital region bogged down in a political crisis ever since elections in mid-2024. Coalition talks to form a regional government remain deadlocked, with a caretaker government in charge of current affairs and no parliamentary majority to pass a budget.