OSLO – Norway’s Nasjonalmuseet – its National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design – has announced it will open on June 11, 2022. As early as this summer, visitors can enter the building for early access guided tours. The museum is inviting visitors to have a look inside while the art is being mounted and the museum is taking shape, says Karin Hindsbo, Director of the museum.

Organized, pre-booked tours free of charge will start as soon as local coronavirus restrictions are lifted, allowing visitors into selected parts of the interior, including exhibition rooms.

With the new National Museum, Norway gets a unique space for the country’s most extensive collection of art, architecture, and design. More than 5,000 works, from antiquities to the museum’s most recent contemporary acquisitions, will be on display in a collection exhibition that spans two floors and almost 90 rooms. The building also includes a spectacular space for temporary exhibitions – the Light Hall situated on the roof – as well as a large open-air roof terrace, cafes, a shop, and the largest art library in the Nordic region. Situated on Oslo’s harbor close to the promenade, the museum offers spectacular views of the city.

Designed by German architects Kleihues + Schuwerk and built by Norway’s government building commissioner Statsbygg, the museum has been created with the perspective of housing artworks for centuries. It is constructed with clean and robust materials that will age with dignity, such as oak, bronze, and marble. The entire facade is covered with Norwegian slate. As a FutureBuilt pilot project, the new museum is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% compared to current building standards.

Works from all the National Museum’s various fields – older and modern art, architecture, design, craft and contemporary art – will meet and interact in new contexts in the first exhibitions.

The museum’s collection holds around 400,000 objects ranging from medieval tapestries to modern design classics and contemporary artworks. There will be rooms dedicated to the museum’s significant collection of works by Edvard Munch, including The Scream; 19th century landscape paintings; royal gowns worn by Norway’s two queens; and a display of works by renowned Norwegian architect Sverre Fehn. Prominent artists on display will include Harald Sohlberg, Harriet Backer, Theodor Kittelsen, Gustav Vigeland, Hannah Ryggen, Lucas Cranach, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, and Ida Ekblad.

The full program for the 2022 opening will be launched later this year.

Visit the website of Norway’s National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design (Nasjonalmuseet) and see its page about “the new National Museum.”