The Collection is open!

Utstillingens tre kuratorer; Kristin Løvås, Lise Dahl og Charis Gullickson
The three curators of the exhibition: Kristin Løvås, Lise Dahl and Charis Gullickson

We were so moved, so proud and so very happy! We'll remember this weekend for a very long time.

The reopening of the collection was a big event for the museum. We have renewed and expanded, not just the physical environment, but also the way we think about the exhibition.

- The collection of Nordnorsk Kunstmuseums is not ours, it's yours, and all of Northern Norway's, explained director Jérémie McGowan in his speech.

Director Jérémie McGowan
Director Jérémie M. McGowan

The collection eas officially opened by the mayor of Tromsø, Kristin Røymo. She emphasised how Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum and the collection reflects Tromsø and Nothern Norway as an international area, and how the museum in an excellent way presents the story of where we're coming from, where we are now, and where we are going in the future. Later, on Facebook, she wrote that «...it's written that all art contains the answer to what it means to be human. If that's true, then Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum gives us a lot of answers to what it means to be from Northern Norway».

The audience including mayor Kristin Røymo
The audience including mayor Kristin Røymo

In many ways, this is a rebranding of Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum, since the collection (and the entire museum) was removed to make room for Sámi Dáiddamusea. We find it both fitting and amusing that the reopening happened on the same day as we broke the record from 2014 for attendance. 

The guided tour in the Places room
The guided tour in the Places room

The curator show and tell the day after the opening was also very popular. 31 men and women got to hear how the exhibition was created, the thoughts behind the presentation and what challenges we've overcome.

The Artist room, presenting the art of Britta Marakatt-Labba
The Artist room, presenting the art of Britta Marakatt-Labba

Through the entire weekend we got a lot of kind words and positive feedback, which we truly appreciate. Thank you so much, all of you. We will also love to hear about things we can improve on. As Jérémie also said in his speech; the heart of the museum is in the dialogue between the exhibition and the audience.

Thursday 30. November 2017