In February of 2025, the city of Trondheim in Norway will open the doors to PoMo. Housed in a former Art Nouveau post office, this all-new museum features international, modern and contemporary art. PoMo will display its permanent collection, alongside temporary exhibits, across five floors and 43,000 square feet.
The museum will act as an anchor for a new cultural quarter in Trondheim. In order to facilitate this quarter, the museum has devoted additional spaces for events, education, research, and a library. “Embracing the unique opportunity to transform our building and create a new museum collection, we are delighted to be working with both local artisans and internationally acclaimed designers to bring this vision to life,” says Marit Album Kvernmo, PoMo’s director.
PoMo and its Permanent Collection
The starting point for the new institution’s permanent collection are works from collectors Monica Reitan and Ole Robert Reitan. (Trondheim’s Reitan family runs Reitan AS, a multi-billion dollar holding company of private retail, real estate, and financial services businesses.) The permanent collection builds from works by women artists like: Louise Bourgeois, Katharina Fritsch and Anne Imhof. Additionally, expect key works from Cui Jie, Sol LeWitt, Ugo Rondinone, and Franz West. But that’s just the start.
In a real-world attempt to tackle the gender inequality typical of museum collections, PoMo is assigning 60% of its budget for further acquisitions to work by women artists. As the collection is expanded and diversified, the thinking goes, it will help increase the visibility of artists previously underrepresented among Norway’s art institutions.
A Building Reimagined
A 1911 building renovated by the Paris-based architect India Mahdavi, PoMo’s home is also a draw. Mahdavi is famous for projects like Monaco’s Monte Carlo Beach Hotel and London’s Gallery at Sketch. However, PoMo is her first museum. Working with Norwegian architect Erik Langdalen, Mahdavi is inspired by traditions in Norwegian folk art and crafts, as well as the surrounding Trondheim cityscape. Therefore, the museum is bright, colorful, accessible and intuitive. The visitor experience is at the forefront of the design. “It’s about reconnecting the local community with the city center and their own history, while simultaneously offering a fresh experience that welcomes the world,” Mahdavi says.
An International Exhibition
PoMo is set to open its doors on February 15th, 2025. The inaugural exhibition, Postcards From the Future, will include around 100 works from 24 artists ranging from Catherine Opie to Andy Warhol. Certain pieces will be on international loans, whereas others will be from the permanent collection. Postcards from the Future is “a presentation of the indicative artists that will shape PoMo and its program in the coming years,” says PoMo chair Monica Reitan. The show is both a nod to the building’s history as a post office and to its present form as a museum. PoMo champions visual arts, community and exchange.
The small city of Trondheim is a gem on Norway’s Nidelva river. Trondheim is rich in history, dating back to the year 997. Fjords, cathedrals and around 200,000 residents create a lively, rich culture. The next time you’re passing through Oslo for the Munch Museet, consider an overnight detour to Trondheim, for Northern Europe’s newest and most progressive museum.
Cover photo: ©Visit Trondheim
[Written October 2024]
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