A new private museum called PoMo has opened in Trondheim, Norway. It is housed in a former post office building from 1911. The museum was founded by collectors Monica Reitan and Ole Robert Reitan.
They have been collecting art for over 20 years. The museum’s collection includes works by artists such as Simone Leigh, Louise Bourgeois, Anne Imhof, and Franz West. PoMo aims to make art more accessible to the public.
Ole Robert Reitan said, “We want to tear down some of the walls between the art world and most people.”
The museum’s spaces were designed by Iranian-French architect India Mahdavi and Norwegian architect Erik Langdalen. They used bright colors to make the spaces welcoming.
New museum bridging art worlds
The inaugural exhibition is called “Postcards from the Future” and runs until June 22. PoMo also wants to address gender inequality in Norway’s art collections. Sixty percent of the museum’s acquisitions will be by women artists.
Marit Album Kvernmo, the museum’s director, said other museums in Norway are also working on this issue, but their collections are so large that it will take many years to make a significant change. The museum is part of a new cultural quarter in Trondheim that also includes a theater and a hotel. The Reitan family, who grew up in Trondheim, are covering the costs of setting up the museum.
They believe the cultural investment will eventually pay for itself by making the area more attractive and valuable. Ole Robert Reitan said, “It’s a wish to contribute and to pay back in some way or another … [PoMo] is a result of our enormous love and respect for the city and the people living there.”