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According to the Art Newspaper, the Guggenheim Bilbao is conducting feasibility studies for a new branch about 25 miles east of the museum, near Guernica, the town put on the map, as it were, by its destruction in the Spanish Civil War and Picasso's resulting mural. The idea is to create a modestly sized venue on a 200 acre site on a pristine, UNESCO-protected estuary. The space would show temporary exhibitions and artists' interventions in the landscape and would be operated by the Bilbao museum.

Locally, opinions about the project's attractiveness and feasibility differ. The Biscay Provincial Council has allocated €1 million to fund analyses and has pledged €100 million for construction, about half the estimated cost, but some, including the Basque Country government, would prefer not to undertake such an ambitious project during the economic crisis. Juan Vidarte, director of the Guggenheim Bilbao and the Guggenheim Foundation's chief officer for global strategies, is optimistic, though, saying he things the new endeavor could open as soon as 2013 or 2014.

Read more at the Art Newspaper.