In February, the city of Trondheim in Norway will open the doors to an all-new museum: PoMo, a home for international modern and contemporary art housed in a former Art Nouveau post office. With additional space devoted to events, education, research, and a library, the museum will also anchor a new cultural quarter in Trondheim. “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, which includes work from Louise Bourgeois, Sol LeWitt, and Franz West, are 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.)
Additional acquisitions will focus on women artists. In order to tackle the gender inequality typical of museum collections, PoMo is assigning 60% of the acquisitions budget to work made by women. 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
Housed in a 1911 building renovated by the Paris-based architect India Mahdavi, the PoMo space itself is also a draw. (Mahdavi is well-known for high-profile projects like Monaco’s Monte Carlo Beach Hotel and London’s Gallery at Sketch. PoMo is her first museum.) Working with Norwegian architect Erik Langdalen, Mahdavi was inspired by Norwegian folk art and crafts and the surrounding Trondheim cityscape. The bright, colorful museum is accessible and intuitive, with the visitor experience 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. With a mix of international loans and pieces 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 also a nod both to the museum building’s history as a post office and to its present-day use, as a hub not just for visual art but for community and exchange.
With fjords, cathedrals, and a history that dates back to 997, the small city of Trondheim is a gem on Norway’s Nidelva river. The next time you’re passing through Oslo for the Munch Museet, consider an overnight detour to stop by Northern Europe’s newest and most progressive museum.
Cover photo: ©Visit Trondheim
[Written October 2024]
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