Philippe Geluck Abandons Cat Museum: ‘The Economic Equation is Impossible’

Belgian cartoonist Philippe Geluck, the creator of the beloved comic strip “Le Chat” (The Cat), has abandoned his long-planned Cat Museum project in Brussels, citing insurmountable economic challenges. After more than a decade of delays, construction cost inflation, and repeated postponements, Geluck announced he is exercising a contractual exit clause to withdraw from the project.

“The economic equation is impossible,” Geluck told RTBF in an exclusive interview published on June 14, 2026. “Initially, in 2017, we calculated that all of this would cost €4.5 million. But you can imagine that ten years later, those €4.5 million became €7 million, perhaps more, with the increase in material costs and international problems.”

A Project Born in 2008, Derailed by Inflation

The Cat Museum — officially the “Musée du Chat et du dessin d’humour” (Museum of the Cat and Humorous Drawing) — was first conceived by Geluck in 2008. It was formally announced in 2014 alongside then-Minister-President Rudi Vervoort, and a formal agreement was signed in 2015 between the Brussels Region and Geluck’s non-profit organization (ASBL).

The museum was to be built on Rue Royale in Brussels, between the BIP (Brussels Information Place) and Bozar (Centre for Fine Arts), near the Mont des Arts and the Royal Palace. Designed by architect Pierre Hebbelinck, the 4,000 m² contemporary building was to span seven floors, including three basement levels, and would also improve accessibility to the archaeological remains of the Coudenberg Palace.

Under the agreement, the Brussels Region (via the SAU — Société d’Aménagement Urbain) financed the construction of the raw shell of the building. Geluck’s ASBL was responsible for financing all interior fittings — electricity, plumbing, elevators, security, furnishings, and scenography.

Cost Escalation and Repeated Delays

The project was plagued by delays from the outset. The building was initially promised for 2019, then repeatedly postponed to 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and finally 2026. As of June 2026, the raw shell remains incomplete. The 2015 agreement included a suspensive condition allowing Geluck to withdraw without penalty if the raw building was not delivered by March 31, 2026 — a deadline that was not met.

Meanwhile, interior fitting costs spiraled. Originally estimated at €4.5 million in 2017, they ballooned to €7 million or more by 2026 due to construction material inflation and international market pressures. The total project budget, originally evaluated at €11.7 million, has now reached €17.8 million.

Geluck emphasized that his ASBL received no public subsidies, no institutional support, and no government aid — relying entirely on private funding, sponsors, and patrons. “What was feasible has become crushing,” he told La Libre, which broke the story on June 12.

Loyalty to Brussels Despite Lucrative Offers Elsewhere

Geluck revealed that he had received offers to build the museum in the south of France (between Aix and Avignon), Paris, and Geneva under much more advantageous conditions, but he refused each time out of loyalty to his hometown.

“I was offered to do this museum in the south of France, in a town between Aix and Avignon. I was offered to do it in Paris or Geneva, under very advantageous conditions for us. But I always said no thank you,” Geluck told RTBF. “Because I was born in Brussels, I live in Brussels, the Cat is Belgian.”

The cartoonist also reflected on the online harassment he faced in 2021-2022, when critics questioned the legitimacy of a public-private project dedicated to a single artist’s work. “I took a wave of hate with people who found it totally illegitimate that an artist appropriates something like this,” he said, “even though the project was a shared museum with many other artists.”

What Happens Next

The Brussels Region owns the building and is now seeking alternative tenants. Current Brussels Minister-President Boris Dilliès (MR), who inherited the troubled file, has publicly committed to finding a new occupant.

“I inherited this file, but I intend to see it through to make Brussels shine, without any additional cost for the people of Brussels,” Dilliès told RTBF. “With or without Philippe Geluck, there will be a first-class museum.”

Geluck has already proposed two potential replacement projects for the building, which was designed to be modular and adaptable for various uses. Now 72, he says he still has “overflowing energy” and plans to prepare “something else for the future” — potentially a different cultural project.

A Cautionary Tale for Cultural Public-Private Partnerships

The collapse of the Cat Museum project serves as a high-profile illustration of how dramatically construction costs have risen in the post-pandemic, post-Ukraine invasion era. The 55% increase in interior fitting costs over nine years transformed a once-viable project into an impossibility. It also raises questions about the viability of public-private partnership models where repeated public-sector delays can undermine a private partner’s ability to finance its obligations.

For now, the building on Rue Royale stands nearly complete but empty — a monument to a dream that, after 18 years of planning, could not overcome the harsh realities of economics and time.