Orange Belgium and KANAL – Centre Pompidou join forces to build THE multidisciplinary art hub of the future

Orange Belgium announces it has signed a partnership with KANAL – Centre Pompidou, the brand new museum of Modern and Contemporary art in the iconic Citroën garage in Brussels. In the presence of Didier Gosuin, Minister of Economy and Employment of the Brussels-Capital Region, and Stéphane Richard, Chairman and CEO of the Orange Group, the agreement was signed by Michaël Trabbia, CEO of Orange Belgium, Yves Goldstein, Director at KANAL Foundation and Denis Laoureux, Deputy chairman of the KANAL Foundation board. Both parties join forces to build a leading multidisciplinary art hub in the capital of Europe.

KANAL - Centre Pompidou and Orange Belgium have decided to partner up to change the way we experience art in Belgium for the coming years. The ambition is to build a new multidisciplinary art hub: a museum that can host various projects and events, letting the visitor experience much more than just watching art. Both partners will create new ways of enjoying art and culture in Belgium.

Through its 23 shops and its participation in the Public-Private Partnership IRISnet (the telecom operator in the Brussels region), Orange Belgium is already an important actor in Brussels. By supporting the development of the new KANAL - Centre Pompidou, Orange confirms its ambition to further invest in the capital of Europe and offer not only connectivity to the Brussels people, but also unique experiences.

Since May 5th 2018, KANAL - Centre Pompidou opened its doors to let the public discover the exceptional architectural heritage of Belgium. Whilst enjoying the rich collections of the Centre Pompidou, visitors are being wowed by the former Citroën garage, transformed into a site hosting several exhibitions mixing visual arts, design and architecture, large installations and various artists' creations. This new museum of contemporary art also hosts live art shows in collaboration with many cultural operators of Brussels.

Orange Belgium and KANAL-Centre Pompidou make modern and contemporary art accessible for everyone

Stéphane Richard, CEO of the Orange Group, reacts: “The Orange Group supports art in many countries, especially by using digital to enrich and democratize the art experience: from dedicated Apps and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) to Augmented reality… We are in particular a dynamic partner of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, making this partnership between Orange Belgium and KANAL – Centre Pompidou even more meaningful to me.”

Michaël Trabbia, CEO of Orange Belgium adds: “We are very excited to be part of the cultural vibe that drives the Brussels region through this long term partnership with KANAL – Centre Pompidou. KANAL – Centre Pompidou is building a modern and really disruptive art experience, that perfectly fits with Orange’s bold challenger positioning and our focus on customer experience. This sponsoring deal will also include some digital innovations in the coming years in the area of smart building and smartphone visit apps for example, leveraging Orange Group’s experience with some of the most prestigious museums. Our ambition is to create new and immersive experiences to wow the visitors and to make contemporary art accessible for everyone. Last but not least, our customers will benefit from specific advantages and invitations through our best-in-class loyalty program: Orange Thank you.”

Orange Belgium and KANAL-Centre Pompidou join forces to build multidisciplinary art hub

The Brussels- Capital Region acquired the iconic Citroën Yser building in 2015. KANAL - Centre Pompidou is an ambitious project carried by the Regional government. It will provide Brussels with a cultural pole conducive to the influence of the European capital. In the framework of a 10-year partnership between Centre Pompidou, the Brussels-Capital Region and the KANAL Foundation, the former garage houses not only a Modern and Contemporary art museum, but also the Brussels Architecture Center, CIVA. It also hosts many public spaces with multiple uses, including various scenes of live shows. The 35,000m² will be completely renovated with the ambition of making it a leading multidisciplinary cultural hub of the capital of Europe. The building of KANAL will remain in its original state for thirteen months now. End of June, 2019, KANAL will close for a makeover of three years.