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Nordic region’s largest art museum opening in Oslo in 2022

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national museum oslo

The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, the largest art museum in the Nordic region, is opening in Oslo on June 11, 2022.

The $723m National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design is set to open in Oslo in June 2022. The project is a merger between three Norway art institutions – the Museum of Contemporary Art, National Gallery and Kunstindustrimuseet.

Ahead of the opening in 2022, Norway’s latest attraction is offering early access tours of its interior and exterior, which is designed by German architects Kleihues + Schuwerk.

“We are inviting visitors to join us and have a look inside while the art is being mounted and the museum is taking shape,” said Karin Hindsbo, director of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design.

The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design is made from robust materials such as oak, bronze and marble. The facade is covered with Norwegian slate, and the building is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent.

National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design

national museum oslo

The museum’s collection includes approximately 400,000 objects, which range from ancient times to the present day. It includes paintings, sculptures, drawings, textiles, furniture and architectural models.

The museum will showcase more than 5,000 works of art in a collection exhibition of almost 90 rooms. The building also includes a space for temporary exhibitions, as well as a roof terrace, shop, cafés and the biggest art library in the region.

The museum is spread across 54,600 square metres with 13,000 square metres of exhibition space. This makes it the largest museum in the Nordic region, bigger than international museums such as Rijksmuseum and Guggenheim Bilbao.

There will be rooms dedicated to works by Norwegian architect Sverre Fehn and Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, including The Scream.

$723m museum opens in Oslo on June 11, 2022

national museum oslo

Other artists on display at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design include Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Harriet Backer, Gustav Vigeland, Lucas Cranach and Hannah Ryggen.

The opening exhibition will showcase Norwegian contemporary art from nearly 150 artists and groups. The full programme for the opening year will be launched later in 2021.

Elsewhere, an immersive art experience with a reconstruction of Rembrandt’s lost studio has launched in Amsterdam. Rembrandts Amsterdam uses state-of-the-art video projections and SFX.

Images: National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design

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Bea Mitchell

Bea is a journalist specialising in entertainment, attractions and tech with 10 years' experience. She has written and edited for publications including CNET, BuzzFeed, Digital Spy, Evening Standard and BBC. Bea graduated from King's College London and has an MA in journalism.

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