Conceived as provisional, the Casino Luxembourg - Forum d'art contemporain is here to stay, and the Luxembourg cultural landscape is all the richer.

An exciting outcome of Luxembourg having served as "European City of Culture" in 1995 was the injection of support, both financial and in terms of kudos, that has resulted in an explosion of cultural development throughout the country. Casino Luxembourg, conceived as a temporary venue to precede the installation of the Mudam (Museum of Modern Art Grand-Duc Jean), has carved a permanent niche for itself in the rich cultural landscape that is blossoming in Luxembourg.

It first opened its doors in a country with little exposure to contemporary art and faced the challenges of a sometimes doubting public who did not appreciate, or who had very strong opinions against, trends in contemporary creation. Yet while facing these challenges inside of Luxembourg, it was winning over a more receptive international art world with the relevance of its choices.

Since then, it also has been winning over audiences in Luxembourg. One of the keys to Casino"s success has been its original programme of exhibitions that has helped to transform the artistic landscape. Not only are artistic director Enrico Lunghi and administrative director Jo Kox supported by a dynamic qualified team and working with some of the most interesting contemporary artists, but Casino has helped to foster new talent within Luxembourg. These activities have not gone unnoticed as Luxembourg develops a stronger presence on the European art scene and beyond.

Culture costs money. Contemporary art museums generally run on a budget based on a percentage of state funding, private donations, sales and ticket returns.

As a sample of Casino"s output, in a decade it has presented 586 artists in 78 exhibitions of which 39 were collectives including a biennial of contemporary art, seven collections, four open air exhibitions and 24 monographic exhibitions.

Among those exhibitions, 16 were co-productions with one or more museums or centres of art. Casino has also produced 53 publications including 11 artists books and 17 monographs, exhibition booklets, cards, mini-guides, postcards, posters, folders etc. To this is added 162 conferences, 50 course-conferences and meetings and 82 contemporary music events.

During the ten years of Casino"s existence, it has run on a budget of 12 million euros of which 30% went to personnel costs, 6% to building expenses, 8% for administrative expenses, 50% for artistic programmes (exhibitions & publications), and 6% for cultural programmes (conferences, guided tours, etc.) Of these 12 million euros, 75% came from annual State subsidies, and 25% came from receipts.

Compare this with an organisation such as England's Tate Museum, which has an annual budget of 60 to 65 million pounds, shared between Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St. Ives. Just one event by the Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art, its 8th Contemporary Art Biennial in 2005, cost 5.5 million euros.

Numbers mean everything and nothing in the art world. Lyon's Biennial for example, is the third largest in the world with roughly 170,000 visitors. In ten years, Casino has welcomed 136,626 visitors (54 % paying, 46% non-paying). This is already a healthy figure for Luxembourg, but to be compared and recognised when standing against such giants says much about the quality of what Casino is doing.

Culture makes money. One way it adds to the economy is by attracting tourists. In his presentation, "Cultural Tourism: Opportunities and Challenges" at the European Forum of World Heritage Cities (Luxembourg, 17 January 2003), Luigi Cabrini put forth the case for the justification of the expense of art and cultural centres in European cities because they act as vectors for tourism.

Cabrini noted that, "Cultural tourism attracts an increasingly bigger number of tourists. According to a study by the European Commission, 20 per cent of tourist visits in Europe respond to cultural motivations, while 60 per cent of European tourists are interested in cultural discovery during their trips."

Financial considerations aside, the Casino is a winning proposition because it is helping to build a more fertile cultural environment. What a perfect 10-year birthday present then, for lovers of contemporary art, as Casino kicks off its celebrations with a one woman exhibition by Luxembourg artist Su-Mei Tse, who was awarded the Golden Lion for the best national pavilion at the Venice art biennial in 2003.