Viva Voz Special from Guggenheim Bilbao.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, V-me’s signature primetime show, Viva Voz takes an in-depth look at how the museum transformed a gritty and economically challenged city into a vibrant tourist destination — known as the “Guggenheim Effect.” The Viva Voz from Bilbao special debuts December 5th at 10:00pm(ET)/9:00pm(CT).

The Viva Voz special from Bilbao, documents how Frank Gehry’s architecture transformed this industrial port city into a tourist magnet and led a worldwide rush of urbanists to erect their own trophy buildings hoping to create other “wow factors.” With cities round the globe following the Bilbao model, Gehry and his fellow starchitects have been elevated to urban messiahs.

Using archival footage, Viva Voz follows the construction of this architectural masterpiece and shows how Richard Serra’s permanent exhibit “The Matter of Time” was installed. The program also features the largest exhibit of American art presented outside of the U.S. “Art in the USA: 300 Years of Innovation” and an exhibition of Basque artists “Chacun a su gout.”

Viva Voz travels into the Rioja wine region to visit a Gehry hotel at the Marquez de Riscal winery. Viva Voz guests include: Thomas Krens, director of the Guggenheim Foundation, Juan Ignacio Vidarte, director of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and Jon Azua, vice president of the Basque country.