Guggenheim Museum Bilbao opens Zadie Xa exhibition on 19 November

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa) will present in situ: Zadie Xa from 19 November 2026, giving Bilbao a new contemporary art exhibition for late autumn. The presentation concerns the museum itself and brings together painting, textiles, sculpture, sound and performance in an immersive installation.

The exhibition is scheduled to open on 19 November 2026 in Bilbao, Spain. It is part of the museum’s in situ series, which invites artists to create work in dialogue with the gallery architecture.

In situ: Zadie Xa opens on 19 November 2026

The Basque Government’s event listing names the exhibition, its Bilbao venue and its opening date on the same page. It describes Xa as a Korean-Canadian artist who works in London and whose multidisciplinary practice examines identity, folklore and the transmission of cultural heritage through storytelling, performance and immersive installation. The Basque Government event listing places the exhibition at Avenida Abandoibarra, 2.

Xa’s work draws on Korean mythology, shamanic ritual, science fiction and personal experience. The listing says that her environments use hybrid characters and trickster figures to disturb established historical narratives, while painting, textiles, sculpture, sound and performance form part of her working language.

Zadie Xa’s work meets Frank Gehry’s architecture

The setting matters because this is a site-specific strand of the museum’s programme. The operator describes the building as a work by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, with 24,000 square metres of space, including 9,000 square metres devoted to exhibitions. Its three levels are arranged around a central atrium and connected by curved walkways, titanium and glass lifts, and staircases.

The relationship between Xa’s varied materials and the building’s connected galleries gives the November opening a clear local dimension. Rather than treating the museum as a neutral container, the exhibition is presented as work made in conversation with its architectural surroundings. The museum’s building information confirms the scale and layout of the venue.

Bilbao’s riverfront museum sets the exhibition context

The building stands beside the Nervión in Bilbao’s city centre, at Avenida Abandoibarra, 2. Its materials include titanium, glass and limestone, while its galleries provide the varied interior spaces in which the in situ series is staged.

For visitors, the exhibition therefore links the artist’s interest in identity, place and transformation with a museum whose architecture is already closely tied to Bilbao’s urban setting. The result is a dated cultural appointment rather than a general seasonal recommendation: the relevant change for a late-autumn visit is the arrival of Xa’s new presentation on 19 November 2026.

Visiting Guggenheim Museum Bilbao: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The in situ: Zadie Xa exhibition begins on 19 November 2026 at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Avenida Abandoibarra, 2, Bilbao.
• The presentation is an immersive exhibition combining painting, textiles, sculpture, sound and performance; the confirmed programme does not state a changed entrance or closure.
• The museum is in Bilbao city centre. RENFE’s Bilbao-Abando station, Euskotren’s Guggenheim stop and Metro Bilbao’s Moyua stop with the Ercilla-Guggenheim exit are named transport points.
• The building has three levels around a central atrium, with curved walkways, lifts and staircases. Its accessible entrances include a lift at the main facade and a ramp on the riverside facade.
• English is widely used for international visitors, while Spanish and Basque are official languages in the Basque Country; Spain uses the euro.

Searching for Guggenheim Museum Bilbao on social platforms

These links open searches for Guggenheim Museum Bilbao on each platform.

Frequently asked questions about Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

When does in situ: Zadie Xa take place at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao?

The exhibition begins on 19 November 2026 in Bilbao and forms part of the museum’s in situ series.

What is Guggenheim Museum Bilbao?

It is a Frank Gehry-designed museum with 24,000 square metres of space, arranged across three levels around a central atrium.

Where is Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and how do you get there?

It is at Avenida Abandoibarra, 2, in Bilbao city centre. Bilbao-Abando station, the Guggenheim Euskotren stop and Moyua metro station are named public transport connections.