Moderna Museet Malmö - the background
STOCKHOLM PRESS
26 December, 2009 was the day of the grand opening of Moderna Museet Malmö, a new landmark and meeting-place, and a major reinforcement to the art scene of the region. In addition to making the exceptional Moderna Museet collection much more accessible to the public, Moderna Museet Malmö offers an art experience that will be unique for the entire Öresund region.
Moderna Museet Malmö is a top-ranking quality museum with an independent programme of exhibitions in collaboration with Moderna Museet and international counterparts. Works from the outstanding Moderna Museet collection of art from the 20th century to the present day will be shown along with the most prominent contemporary artists and modern classics. The museum will feature three major exhibitions annually, in addition to presentations of the collection. Moderna Museet Malmö also offers an exciting educational programme and a wide range of events.
The building
The transformation of John Smedberg’s power station from 1901 into premises more suitable for a museum was assigned to the award-winning architectural company Tham & Videgård Hansson Arkitekter. The museum’s new exhibition spaces in Malmö now have a striking new exterior, with an extension that serves as entrance, cafe and a new upper gallery. The exytension has an eye-catching perforated deep-orange facade that links it to the surrounding brickwork yet stands out as a contemporary addition. At street level the facade is all glass, so the daylight sifts in through the perforated surfaces.
The interior floorplan has been changed entirely, with two new staircases, enabling visitors to proceed in a loop through the high-ceilinged rooms of the turbine hall and the upper galleries. The turbine hall is divided in three and houses not only exhibitions but also an educational workshop. The most stringent requirements on climate and security have been met, thus making the museum eligible for international loans and hosting exhibitions of the foremost modern and contemporary art.
“Our focus has been on visitor flow, the relation between spaces and lighting, on projecting clarity and variation, with a large degree of versatility that can be adapted to different types of exhibition. Our aim has been to achieve a distinct architecture that enhances the artworks. The new entrance building, although relatively small, is an exclamation mark, something that signals the arrival of Moderna Museet in Malmö. And yet, it is in line with the height of the surrounding buildings and alludes, in materials and colours, to the industrial style that the power station represents.” Architects Martin Videgård and Bolle Tham
Exhibition space: 809.5 sq m
Number of exhibition rooms: 4
Educational workshop: 107 sq m
Three partners
On 22 December, 2008, an agreement was signed by Moderna Museet, Region Skåne and the Municipality of Malmö concerning Moderna Museet Malmö. This unique partnership entails that Moderna Museet Malmö is financed jointly and equally by the Municipality of Malmö, Region Skåne and the Swedish government. The government allocation is currently SEK 5 million, while Region Skåne provides just under SEK 6 million and the Municipality of Malmö makes the premises available rent-free, corresponding to a contribution of some SEK 6 million.
Main sponsor
The main sponsor of Moderna Museet Malmö is E. ON, according to a three-year contract that expires in 2011. Moderna Museet is the leading art museum in the Nordic region, with one of Europe’s finest collections of modern and contemporary art. The museum pursues a long-term strategy for partnerships with the business sector and is highly experienced in successful sponsorship collaborations. For E.ON the partnership with Moderna Museet represents a strategic step in the company’s ambition to make Malmö and the region more attractive to residents and visitors.
“E.ON supplies energy in many forms. Art and culture also provide energy and help to inspire and stimulate creativity. As the main sponsor, we look forward to the opening and are delighted to be involved from the start, as the old power station becomes a modern museum of international repute that will be of great value to Malmö and the entire Öresund region.” Håkan Buskhe, Group CEO, E.ON Nordic
As the main sponsor, E.ON helps fund the general activities at Moderna Museet Malmö and one major exhibition per year. During 2009 Luc Tuymans Against the Day and during 2010 Alice Neel Painted Truths.
Staff
Moderna Museet Malmö’s regular staff consists of:
Magnus Jensner, director
Joa Ljungberg, curator, exhibitions
Greta Burman, curator, learning
Andreas Nilsson, assistant curator
Sofia Alsterhag, communicator
Carin Jönsson, assistant
Jan Pagh Hansen, exhibition technician
Fredrik Ödahl, host supervisor
Maria Karlsson, shop manager
Gisela Fleischer, museum host
Nils Svensk, museum host
Eva Fältström, museum host
Sara Doverhed, museum host
In addition to the regular staff, the museum employs an additional ten hosts on an ad-hoc basis.