The runaway success of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, which opened three years ago, has produced a long queue of cities around the world — from Beijing to Venice — wanting a Gugg of their own. But is the Frank Gehry-designed phenomenon repeatable? Senior Writer Rod Usher talks to the zuzendari nagusia — that's Basque for director-general — of the Bilbao Guggenheim, Juan Ignacio Vidarte.
TIME: Is there a Bilbao before and after the Guggenheim?
Vidarte: In my opinion there is no doubt. The museum has played a very significant role in the process of change in Bilbao. It has been a kind of turning point. It's fitting because that was one of the goals. The museum came into existence not only to develop the cultural infrastructure, it also had to be in a way an engine of change the city was going through.
TIME: Have you really noticed a turning around of the city?
Vidarte: Absolutely. You can look at the figures: the museum has had nearly three-and-a-half million visitors since we opened at the end of October 1997. Of those, 85% to 90% come from outside the region. That in itself has changed the personality of the city. A bit over 50% of that total are foreign visitors [Britain and France are the two main sources]. About 30% to 35% come from Spain outside the Basque country. Some 15% are from Bilbao and the region.
TIME: Do you think that art and architecture can be in some way a reply to the violence this region suffers at the hands of the separatist terrorist group ETA?
Vidarte: Art and culture are steps towards normalization. They are the ingredients of a society, so whatever is done in this sense helps nurture the society. It's an aspect which is absolutely contradictory to violence. On the other hand, we live in the real world, and every institution cannot live isolated from reality. The museum is a bit of a sign of how things can change positively, by bringing together, associating efforts. ... The museum helps the city to regenerate itself by improving the economy, the urban planning, but it also projects an image outside. So it's helping the self-confidence of this country. There are also the very direct economic effects. In these three years the economic effect of the museum is going to be about $500 million, six or seven times the investment cost of the museum. ... Of course, the benefit is not only economic. It's psychological, it's image, it's having people coming from outside to see something Bilbao has to offer the world. It's a very positive thing for the average citizen.
TIME: There has not been any nationalist opposition to the museum, even from the extremists?
Vidarte: No. The majority of the institutions which funded it were nationalist. The project was very much opposed by the Spanish central government. One reason may be that it was in Bilbao and not elsewhere. Another is that it was not a museum following the traditional path. From the start, we were very clear that this was a museum that did not want to play to the geographic notion. This was not going to be the national museum for Basque culture; the only criteria for the art was quality.
TIME: Some people say what really attracts people to the Guggenheim is the building, not the art. Does that bother you?
Vidarte: No. This has been going on since the opening. I think it's not true; people come for the combination. But of course, the building plays a very important part ... We followed the line that container and content were given a similar amount of energy. That's why we counted on Frank Gehry. If we wanted a white cube, we wouldn't have gone to him. The building not only draws people, it provides spaces which are unique to show art ... There was a program [of art] before there was a design, so he adapted the design to the program. ... If it was only the building the numbers of people coming would have started to decline, but that has not happened. The program keeps changing, so every time people come they find a different experience, different art or the same art in a different context.
TIME: How many Guggenheims can there be?
Vidarte: We have a constant stream both here and in New York [where the Guggenheim Foundation is based] of cities coming with plans for change based on having a Guggenheim museum. But in most cases the approach is mimetic. Many of these cities think: this worked, we want a replica. But replication doesn't work. There is the uniqueness of the situation. That is one of the reasons for this museum's success. Bilbao shows how culture can be used as a tool for redevelopment or regeneration. There was a lot of skepticism about that when we started with this project 10 years ago. Culture was seen as a luxury, more an expenditure than an investment. We provide an example of culture as an investment in a redevelopment process.
There is the criticism that we are a franchise. But in fact we are exactly the opposite. In a franchise the goal is to repeat. A McDonald's here or in Singapore tastes the same. That's the beauty of it, if that's what you want. But obviously the museum here is not [the Guggenheim in] New York. People don't want to see the same thing again. They want to have different and unique experiences.
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