"My biggest accomplishments attract criticisms every time." Standing inside the museum that bears his name, Jochen Zeitz reflects on the barbs flying in the world of fine art about his latest project.
The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, which opens in 74 days, is set to become a global attraction - a landmark in the art world like the Tate Modern or the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
But the local art scene is torn over whether the Zeitz collection, curated by Mark Coetzee, will reflect the range of contemporary African art.
Former Puma CEO Zeitz and museum chief curator Coetzee are among the few people who know what is in the collection.A German expat who lives in Kenya, Zeitz said the collection was big enough to fill the museum's 100-plus galleries many times over. "I do not want to put a monetary value on it but it has taken nine years of my life," he said.
He said decisions on acquisitions had not been a one-man show involving only Coetzee - who has been described as the most powerful man in the African art world. They had involved curators, gallery owners and art critics across the continent, he said. Curators-at-large include Azu Nwagbogu of Nigeria.
Coetzee said: "The collection has extraordinary depth. We have been looking for every seminal piece since 2000 and have acquired whole exhibitions or the whole life works of an artist." He rated it as one of the top four contemporary African art collections.
But one gallery owner said: "I do not like the idea that a foreigner drops cash and is seen as the saviour of the art world."
Joburg Fringe co-ordinator Sarie Potter said: "Zeitz MOCAA is very exciting but it can't arrive fully fledged. Any museum is a living entity, a fluid space. It has a heavy mandate to live up to as a museum of contemporary African art and must be sure the entire continent is fully represented."
The museum's collection is, according to one source, still small, at 100 to 200 works. But Zeitz's founding collection includes works by Nandipha Mntambo, Mohau Modisakeng, Athi-Patra Ruga, Jody Paulsen, Cyrus Kabiru, Kudzanai Chiurai and Edson Chagas.
Fritha Langerman of the University of Cape Town's Michaelis School of Fine Art, said: "Nandi, Jody and Mohau are all Michaelis graduates who have been highly successful internationally and should certainly be represented. The others are also well-established, interesting artists from Africa and South Africa that would be expected in the collection."
Mandla Sibeko, director of the FNB Joburg Art Fair, said: "South Africa has a history of exclusion and alienation, therefore we have high expectations as the first museum [of contemporary African art] that it will live up to the promise of the ideals of a new South Africa, and engage with the local art scene and be relevant to the public."
An art critic who asked to be anonymous expressed concern that the assistant curators were young and inexperienced.Chaos and dissent
Zeitz responded: "Yes, they are kids, that's the whole idea. We want to experiment and we have a vision for this."
Another source celebrated the appointment of curators such as RoseLee Goldberg, saying it was critical to have people with clout in the mix.
Coetzee said: "We want curators who are independent, who create chaos and dissent, and we will not interfere with the institutes."
Zeitz MOCAA's six independent institutes will focus on photography (Roger Ballen has donated a collection), performance, costume, curatorial excellence, moving image and performance practice.
Monna Mokoena, founder of the contemporary art gallery MOMO, said he celebrated the global resonance of the new museum. "This is the first contemporary museum of its calibre."
Before the V&A Waterfront partnered with Zeitz to develop the cultural hub in the Silo precinct, it had done its own due diligence on the collection, said CEO David Green. In the 2013 deal, Zeitz received naming rights in exchange for donating his collection for his lifetime, or a minimum of 20 years.
Awakening silos’ souls
The Sunday Times was given a tour of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa this week by chief curator Mark Coetzee - but no interior photographs were allowed.
The awesome new art museum appears to defy gravity. Standing in the atrium you see soaring arches of concrete - carved out of the tubes of the disused grain silo - rising more than 30m from the floor to the glass roof.
The roof has a sculpture garden above it and the artworks had to be weighed before being installed.
"From a structural engineering perspective, what we did was unprecedented," said Mark Noble, the project manager.
For example, massive supporting pillars were removed in the design, which respected the shape of the building's industrial heritage, dating back to 1921.
Internationally acclaimed architectural designer Thomas Heatherwick took on the project because, he said, the silos have soul.
In partnership with local architect Karien Trengrove, his vision has come to life. The space pulsates with energy.
Spiral staircases flow up the curves of the tubes, while underground tunnels run through exhibition spaces to the art education centre.
The museum has nine floors, seven of which are dedicated to exhibitions.
V&A Waterfront CEO David Green said the company wanted a "hero" building in the Silo precinct, one that was on a par with modern art museums in Sydney, Chicago and Los Angeles. And that's what they have got.
The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa is a work of art in itself. 
keetonc@sundaytimes.co.za..