After several delays, the new Munch Museum in Oslo has finally been given an opening date. The museum will open its doors to the public on October 22 this autumn.
The information was announced at a press conference in the new museum building on Thursday morning. The museum is five times larger than the old Munch Museum and will house the entire collection that Edvard Munch bequeathed to Oslo Municipality at his death.
“Munch gave a huge gift to Oslo. Soon we will share this gift with the rest of the world in a setting that truly does Munch’s art justice. All that’s left is to rejoice,” City Council chief Raymond Johansen (AP) said at the press conference.
A living museum
Museum director Stein Olav Henrichsen promises a living and open museum where a lot will happen.
“We will change exhibitions regularly, and we will have a comprehensive event program, with concerts, lectures, artist talks, curator talks, and the like,” the museum director said.
The new Munch Museum will have 13 floors, with a roof terrace, bar, and mezzanine on top. From the ninth floor and upwards, the building slopes 20 degrees, in a bend.
The museum will have a café, bar, restaurant, shop, concert halls, cinema, and rental premises.
In total, the museum will house the Municipality’s collection of around 28,000 original works by Munch, in addition to the extensive Stenersen collection.
Controversy
The debate about moving Munch’s collections from the old museum at Tøyen started as early as the 2000s, and the decision to move to Bjørvika was made as early as 2008.
In 2009, the Spanish architectural firm Herreros Arquitectos won the competition for the new museum, but there were large protests against the building – and many thought the museum should remain on Tøyen.
After a lot of political compromises, the City Council adopted the building plans in 2013. The foundation stone was laid in 2016.
Edvard Munch, who died in 1944, bequeathed all his surviving works to the City of Oslo.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayTravel
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