Press release -
THIS IS MUNCH PROGRAMME 2023
After a fantastic 2022 at MUNCH with visitor numbers reaching over 1.5 million, MUNCH are now delighted to launch the programme for 2023. It promises to be an eventful year, with a wide range of exciting exhibitions and events to suit all ages.
MUNCH offers activities and exhibitions for children and youngsters, exhibitions highlighting socially relevant themes, world-class artistic masterpieces, the dark sides of Munch and Goya, exhibitions by Norwegian and internationally acclaimed contemporary artists. And as well as the visual art, MUNCH is also an arena for debates, artist talks, concerts and performance.
First up in the new year is The Shape of Freedom – a large scale exhibition of abstract expressionism where the public can see important, world class abstract artists such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Jean Dubuffet, Joan Mitchell and Lee Krasner. The exhibition provides an opportunity to draw lines between Europe in the aftermath of WWII, and the emerging, influential art scene in the United States in the same period. Horrific wartime experiences, the Holocaust and the devastation of the atomic bomb affected people on both sides of the Atlantic. The exhibition shows how a new generation of artists found new ways to deal with these events and take risks with new artistic freedoms.
Another highlight of next year comes over the summer with an exhibition combining Edvard Munch and Spanish painter Francisco de Goya. Visitors will be plunged into Goya’s dark universe, and discover how its later rediscovery influenced Edvard Munch and his artistic scene. The exhibition is based on many years of research and offers new perspectives on Munch's art. In addition to Munch's own works, the exhibition includes a number of important prints, drawings and paintings by Goya, including loans from major international museums such as the British Museum, the Prado and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
All Munch lovers can look forward to the critically acclaimed exhibition All is Life which will be displayed again over the summer. All is Life was one of the exhibitions at MUNCH's opening in 2021, and became a great success with our visitors. The exhibition gives visitors a glimpse into Munch’s world of ideas by exploring one of the greatest mysteries he left behind.
On the contemporary art scene public can look forward to the next edition of the popular series called SOLO OSLO. This third edition presents new works by designer Admir Batlak, an artist who works at the intersection between art and fashion.
Children can look forward to jumping around, building with soft objects and generally having an amazing time in the Chamber of Chaos – a room designed for kids only, where the normal museum rules don’t apply and where their imaginations can let loose. The exhibition is created by Norwegian artist, scenographer and costume designer Fredrik Floen.
Read more about all upcoming exhibitions for 2023 here
In addition to this year's exciting newcomers, visitors can experience Edvard Munch in the ongoing exhibitions from the collection, which offer a wide range of approaches to Edvard Munchs art and life.
MUNCH’S LIVE PROGRAMME
Contemporary art is also about giving space to art that cannot be exhibited or hung on the wall. MUNCH achieves that with a programme filled with music, performance and conversations. In 2023, MUNCH's event spaces will be filled with a wide range of events including new productions by pioneering artists, performers and composers. Audiences can look forward to a performance by Catherine Christer Hennix, concerts with jazz legend Karin Krog, as well as progressive pop and cutting edge electronica. Read more about the live programme here
Edvard Munch travels the world
Interest in the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch is enormous outside Norway. The exhibition Edvard Munch. A Poem of Live, Love and Death at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris has had a record attendance of over 200,000 guests in the first month alone, and over 300 press reports so far.
In 2023, MUNCH will continue to share Edvard Munch with the whole world through significant loans, collaborative exhibitions and a brand new Munch exhibition to be shown in Berlin and New York before ending up at MUNCH in 2024.
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MUNCH is home to the world's largest collection of works by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. 22 October 2021, MUNCH will open in a brand new building on Oslo’s waterfront. The bespoke structure, designed by estudio Herreros, will house more than 26,000 works that Edvard Munch bequeathed to the City of Oslo. The museum also manages collections donated by Rolf Stenersen, Amaldus Nielsen and Ludvig Ravensberg.
The new museum will trace the artist’s profound influence both on modern art and on artists through to the present day. Alongside displays of iconic artworks from the renowned permanent collection, temporary exhibitions will show Edvard Munch’s lasting influence in his own contemporary society, as well as on today’s generation of artists.
Visitors will experience the highlights of Edvard Munch’s oeuvre, in parallel with a wide-ranging programme of cultural events and experiences for visitors of all ages. From its location in Bjørvika, with unparalleled views of the Oslo Fjord, the museum will offer an extensive program of art and cultural experiences across thirteen floors.
