Munch Museum fights for freedom
INTERVIEW: Director explains why they're standing up for free expression
Hello.
It’s Tuesday so I bring you my latest interview, and much more.
Norway’s museum dedicated to the great Edvard Munch supported its hugely ambitious move to a new home in 2021 with a hugely ambitious new programme. Their latest innovation though is creating an award to push back against suppression of artistic freedom. In the Big Interview, I speak to MUNCH Director Tone Hansen to find out the first winner.
A new exhibition of Marilyn Monroe’s possessions has opened in London. In the 250 Take, the designer behind the displays explains how they created intimacy in an industrial space.
And my Hot List features a wonderful new potted history of Britain’s architecture.
Let’s dive right in!
— maxwell
The Hot List
My curated round-up of what’s new to see, do, watch, read and more. From the UK — and around the world.
*Purchasing through links in this section may earn me a valuable affiliate commission
BOOK
1️⃣ A Short History of British Architecture: From Stonehenge to the Shard | by Simon Jenkins
From Lincoln Cathedral to Sheffield's Park Hill estate, Jenkins’ “brilliant read” traces the evolution of architecture in Britain, and reveals how a chaotic history has resulted in the UK looking the way it does.
published by Penguin Books Ltd | buy your copy here
FESTIVAL
2️⃣ Sea Shanty Festival 2024 | at Cutty Sark, London
If you still can’t get the Wellerman song from TikTok out your head, then head to Cutty Sark as the ship celebrates its 155th birthday with a whole day dedicated to sea shanties.
Saturday 23 November 10:00 to 16.30 | find out more
DOCUMENTARY
3️⃣ Inside Guggenheim | on Sky Arts and NOW
This stylish Spanish doc takes you inside Bilbao’s famous Guggenheim outpost, and looks at the daily work of maintenance staff, art conservation experts and those who organise the exhibitions.
tonight (19 Nov) on Sky Arts in the UK at 20:00, or stream on NOW
EXHIBITION
4️⃣ Forbidden Territories: 100 Years of Surreal Landscapes | at the Hepworth Wakefield
Marking a century of Surrealism, this comprehensive survey looks at the role of landscapes in Surrealist art. Major works by Leonora Carrington, Salvador Dalí, Man Ray and Lee Miller all feature.
opens 23 November | find out more
DOCUMENTARY
5️⃣ The Colosseum: The Arena Of Death with Dan Snow | on Channel 5 and My 5
Coinciding with the release of Gladiator II, this two-part special sees historian Dan Snow investigate the real story of the Colosseum and how the Romans built this magnificent amphitheatre.
Thursday 21 November at 21:00 on Channel 5, and stream on My 5 | read this preview
The Big Interview
“It’s our responsibility to provide a platform for debate and discussion in our museums for artists from around the world.”
It’s three years since MUNCH opened its doors on Oslo’s waterfront.
The hugely impressive — and simply huge — museum is home to the world's largest collection of works by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, with 26,000 pieces in total. They were donated by the artist to the city in 1944.
But the museum’s move to this shiny 13-storey building in 2021 wasn’t just about having more space to display more Munch, as welcome as that was. It was the start of a new era where MUNCH would champion art and artists in all forms, and in new ways.
It’s this spirit that has just seen them inaugurate the MUNCH Award. This new annual gong aims to recognise champions of free artistic expression. It was created in direct response to the increasing suppression of freedoms across the globe. Winners will be those who have distinguished themselves with courage and integrity throughout their career.
The first recipient of the NOK 300,000 (£20,000) prize is Rosana Paulino, an acclaimed Brazilian artist who the judges said “has been a leading voice in black feminism, with a steadfast commitment to the struggle of afro-Brazilian communities and the ongoing fight against racism”.
To mark the inaugural Munch Award, today’s interview is with MUNCH Director Tone Hansen. Alongside chatting about why the award was so urgent, we discuss the current boom time for Norway’s museums, the current state of funding, and how they keep Edvard Munch relevant year-after-year.
***
Hi Tone! So firstly, why have you established the MUNCH award?
Artistic freedom is under increasing political and social pressure. Our new MUNCH Award pays tribute to the artist’s role as a critical voice in society.
Edvard Munch was a champion of artistic freedom, experimentation, and individual liberation in his time. The museum continues this legacy as a space for artistic expression, generating novel perspectives, fostering dialogue, and understanding.
The MUNCH Award will be presented annually in the spirit of Edvard Munch, using the museum's international reach to highlight important issues that artists have raised through their work and participation in public discourse.
Why did the jury select Rosana Paulino as the inaugural winner?
Rosana Paulino has contributed to some of the most important conversations about art, histories, and society in Brazil and beyond.
Over the course of several decades, she has radically committed her artistic practice to unpacking the violent histories and continuities of gender and race. She has created an immensely broad and poetic oeuvre of installations, drawings, artist’s books, and videos. Through her teaching practice, Paulino has continuously been engaged in an intergenerational dialogue.
There was no public shortlist for the first MUNCH Award — each of the five jurors brought their proposals to share with the group and through a process of debate and discussion, we came to a unanimous decision to award Paulino.
Are contemporary artists working today too afraid to speak their mind and create honest work for fear of backlash?
Artists have long taken risks to express themselves, often working alone, which leaves them particularly vulnerable to economic cycles and political shifts.
Yet, art has consistently proven to be a powerful tool for advancing social change, but not without consequences. Through the creation of the Rosana Paolino Institute's research library in São Paolo, which the award’s financial prize will contribute towards, Paolino is making a lasting contribution to societal progress.
In Norway, artists are lucky to be supported by large publicly funded institutions, something we might take for granted — but this is certainly not the case in many other places, and it’s our responsibility to provide a platform for debate and discussion in our museums for artists from around the world.
How will you grow the Award's profile in the coming years?
We aim to continue to announce the Award each year in Paris in October, where the art world gathers annually for the [Art Basel] fair. The official award ceremony will take place in Oslo, with a keynote speech from the winning artist.
This year’s Award is already receiving extensive coverage, both in Paulino’s home country of Brazil and in international media outlets like The Guardian and The Art Newspaper — and, of course, here in Norway. All of this helps to raise the Award’s profile and recognition.
There's been a museum boom in Norway in recent years. Not only your museum reopening, but the National Museum, Kunstsilo, PoMo. Do you have any worries about the increased competition for visitors, attention, or funding?
Our funding is secured mostly by the City of Oslo, combined with revenue and sponsors. But we see challenges going forward, as budgets change. We are paying close attention to this.
So far the City of Oslo has been generous and that results in us being able to make Edvard Munch and MUNCH a museum for all our inhabitants, and everyone visiting Oslo.
As for other museums, we warmly welcome our friends and friendly competitors. This dynamic only elevates everyone, providing access to even more art from Norway and abroad. Funding varies across museums, so this "friendly competition" is primarily about each finding its unique voice and ensuring we don’t become too similar.
Is it difficult to keep the museum relevant when it's dedicated to a single, deceased artist?
MUNCH is no longer a single artist museum, but a museum for Edvard Munch, Modernism and contemporary art and this gives us a broad mandate to create a programme that expands on ideas explored by Munch. We challenge ideas of what a museum might be by making art feel vital and relevant to a range of different people.
It’s important to have an eye for what is evolving on the contemporary scene and to combine this with large scale presentations of artists living or long dead. We remain open to multiple perspectives and experiences, with an emphasis on the inclusion of younger voices and viewpoints through an extensive music, performance and educational programme.
We play an active role on both local and global art scenes through Edvard Munch, creating spaces of free expression for artists, diverse audience groups and our employees. Munch was constantly evolving as an artist, and remained open to new influences. He became a significant presence in the art world, and often defied conventions. And we develop with him by challenging the perception of the artist through bringing new perspectives to the museum.
Next summer, the renowned scholar Allison Morehead is curating the exhibition Lifeblood, looking into the development of medicine in Munch’s time. Bringing together Munch’s work alongside objects from the history of medicine, it will explore themes of care, the body’s vulnerability, and medicine’s promises of healing. Last year, we focused on Munch’s relationship to nature through the exhibition Trembling Earth.
You've also just opened a huge Vanessa Baird exhibition, the museum’s largest ever presentation of a living Norwegian artist. Tell us about that show?
The exhibition is the very first museum survey to explore Vanessa Baird's artistic practice in its full depth.
It’s the result of a three-year collaboration between Vanessa Baird and Kari Brandtzæg, senior curator at MUNCH, and it consists of nearly 600 works — large-scale oil paintings and small watercolours, to pastels, ceramics, photography, and film.
The exhibition has been well received with excellent reviews in the media. I have been following Vanessa since the nineties, and she has always had a rebellious attitude, coupled with a peculiar sense of humour.
I think what I enjoy most about the exhibition is the broad engagement she shows — whether it concerns the intimate life of a family — or the broader political situation in the world.
If people are coming to Oslo to visit MUNCH, where else should they not miss on their trip?
I would recommend the saunas in Bjørvika, the large bar and bistro at Sommero Hotel, jogging at Bygdøy, the best coffee at Kaffe Fuglen, and of course there’s no better place to have a cocktail and soak in the view than at our bar on the 13th floor where you can watch the sun set over the beautiful city.
Finally: Munch’s Scream. Is the figure screaming or is he hearing a scream? Settle it once and for all!
Isn't the mystery what keeps us guessing? And who's to say it's not a 'she'?
Vanessa Baird: Go Down with Me is open at MUNCH until 31 December. Tone has been director of MUNCH since 2022.
The 250 Take
Today’s 250-word column is from Harry Thomson, the designer behind the displays in London’s new exhibition of Marilyn Monroe’s possessions. Here he explains how they created an emotional impact, while minimising an environmental impact.
💬 How we married emotion with environment for Marilyn Monroe
“This brand new exhibition charts the life of the idolised but much misunderstood super star. It’s installed in Arches London Bridge a vast industrial 11,000 ft space under London Bridge Station.
When approached to design Marilyn: The Exhibition we asked ourselves two things; how can we ensure the installation doesn’t end up in landfill at the end, and how can we create an emotional connection with Marilyn’s personal objects in the lofty brick arches that make up the exhibition space.
We designed a series of pastel coloured display vitrines, with shimmering anodised aluminium tops, creating intimate spaces and corners that tell Marilyn’s story. The palette is inspired by the Andy Warhol Marilyn screen prints and is punctuated by hanging curtains and museum-quality lighting.
We created visually inspiring moments, elevating the visitor experience. These special displays narrate key moments of the Marilyn’s different eras: Hollywood, New York, that ‘Happy Birthday’ song to JFK and her final resting place.
Many materials we used are made from waste and recycled products and set out so minimal cutting is required and therefore can be reused.
Another challenge was the railway arch circulation routes, which typically involve one way access in and out of the spaces. We solved this by creating a dramatic processional route, inspired by the Hollywood ‘Walk of Fame’, which highlights Marylin’s prolific filmography.
In the male dominated world of 1950’s Hollywood, Marilyn was a strong, determined and mould-breaking woman. Our fun and intimate design pays homage to Marilyn’s trailblazing character.”
Harry Thomson is Design Director at Studioshaw. Marilyn: The Exhibition runs at Arches London Bridge until 23 February 2025.
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