Welcome to the chapel of colours! Six thoughts on MIMA, as it opens its doors in Brussels

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So: MIMA. Brussels’ new museum devoted to urban art, hoping to attract 30.000 visitors in its first year. Hailed as a beacon of hope for Molenbeek. Six thoughts. One: for years authorities in Brussels have been talking about a museum of modern/contemporary art, and it’s still not there. While four people just decide to start their own museum, aiming for a young audience? You just have to love them for it. Two: Millennium Iconoclast Museum Of Art? Horrible name. MIMA it will be. Three: can urban art be contained in the walls of a museum? Two of the people behind MIMA have been running Alice Gallery for over ten years now and they’ve proven that it can be done. Four: of course, the buzz is great, but can MIMA become a really interesting project in the long-term, artistically? The future will have to tell. Five: can MIMA save Molenbeek? Of course not. That’s too heavy a burden. Six: just that explosion of colours by Maya Hayuk alone is worth the trip (plus the view from the rooftop terrace, of course). So: check it out.