Nationalmuseum and Swedavia bring art to the airport

Nationalmuseum and Swedavia have announced a joint project to exhibit art and design at Stockholm Arlanda Airport and Umeå Airport. In spring 2014, an exhibition of photographic portraits of internationally celebrated Swedes will open at Arlanda, creating an opportunity for travellers to enjoy a selection of artworks from Nationalmuseum’s collection.

Crossing Borders is the title of an exhibition by Nationalmuseum in Terminal 5 at Arlanda scheduled to open in spring 2014. The exhibition will feature photographic portraits of internationally celebrated Swedes who have challenged and crossed borders in a variety of ways. The project will continue next autumn at Umeå Airport, as part of Nationalmuseum’s contribution to the year-long program of events marking Umeå’s reign as European Capital of Culture 2014.

The joint project came about as a result of Swedavia’s aim to create experiences at the airports, which at the same time coincided with Nationalmuseum closing its building for renovation. During the renovation, selected pieces from the museum’s collections are on display in a temporary venue at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (Konstakademien) in Stockholm and in exhibitions co-produced with regional museums and art galleries across Sweden. Now, it’s the airports’ turn to serve as art venues.

“The renovation has provided an excellent opportunity for us to exhibit our artworks in places where they have never been seen before. Airports offer wonderful possibilities for large numbers of people to enjoy some of our exhibits,” says Berndt Arell, Nationalmuseum’s Director General. “We greatly welcome this joint project with Swedavia, which will enable us to present art and design in a variety of new settings.”

“We want to create airports our travellers look forward to visiting. This joint project with Nationalmuseum is beyond the usual experience you can expect at an airport,” says Michael Persson-Gripkow, Chief Commercial and Marketing officer at Swedavia. “We are happy to be able to expose their innovative art to our travellers. Everyone’s a winner with this kind of project.”

Further information

Hanna Tottmar, press officer, hanna.tottmar@nationalmuseum.se, +46 8 5195 4390
Klas Nilsson, press officer, press@swedavia.se, +46 10 10 90 100

Nationalmuseum is Sweden’s premier museum of art and design. The collections comprise older paintings, sculpture, drawings and graphic art, and applied art and design up to the present day. The museum building is currently under renovation and scheduled to open again in 2017. In the meantime, the museum will continue its activities through collaborations, touring exhibitions and a temporary venue at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts, Fredsgatan 12, Stockholm. Nationalmuseum collaborates with Svenska Dagbladet, Fältman & Malmén and Grand Hôtel Stockholm. For more information visit http://www.nationalmuseum.se/.