herning museum of contemporary art
Realdania
Press release 3 September 2009 Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, the Municipality of Herning, and Realdania offer this joint announcement for immediate release: Herning’s HEART opens to the public on 9 September On Wednesday 9 September the public is welcomed for the very first time to the new art centre of Herning: HEART, Herning Museum of Contemporary Art. HEART is the new home of the Herning Museum of Art, Ensemble Midtvest, and Socle du Monde. The building was designed by the US architect Steven Holl and co-funded by Realdania and the Municipality of Herning, among others. For many years, Herning has been a beacon within the realms of art and culture, and the new HEART highlights the city’s importance as a key mediator of culture in Mid- and Western Jutland. “Since the 1960s large cultural institutions and an excellent, multi-faceted cultural life that collaborates with the local business community have helped make Herning and the mid-western region of Jutland an attractive place to work and live. With HEART, the city and region has gotten even more of what the city’s art museum has always provided,” says the Mayor of Herning, Lars Krarup, and continues: ”HEART is a major step forward for Herning’s continued growth as a city that is unafraid to let art, culture, and the business community work together.” A modern art museum Herning Kunstmuseum has a tradition for challenging its visitors with surprising exhibitions of contemporary art. To museum director Holger Reenberg, surprising the audience is a key concern: “Our ambition is to be a house that opens itself up towards the world and our audiences, offering a friendly and welcoming setting. We want to engage our audience in a dialogue, providing people with the opportunity to experience great – and, sometimes, difficult – art. When you come here you should be able to take something away with you; something you cannot get anywhere else in life!” This ambition does not just apply to the art exhibitions; it also extends to the opportunities for unconventional collaborations between art and music. Now that HEART and Ensemble MidtVest share the same physical setting, the opportunities for such collaboration are ample. Ideal setting for international exhibitions The new setting also brings with it new opportunities for attracting international exhibitions. HEART is home to the world’s largest collection of works by the Italian concept artist Piero Manzoni, and now that HEART itself boasts a brand-new building with state-of-the-art exhibition and security facilities, those works can be exchanged for loans from museums abroad. The Manzoni collection has previously been loaned to e.g. the Guggenheim and Moma in New York, and the Louvre in Paris. Manzoni attracted internationally acclaimed architect The Manzoni collection also helped attract the attention of US architect Steven Holl to the plans for a new art museum in Herning. Holl is known for designing buildings that evince a state of harmony with their local contexts and integrate light in innovative and playful ways; both traits are clearly visible in the new HEART. Steven Holl is among the most acclaimed and sought-after architects of the moment and has offices in New York and Beijing. He has won numerous architectural awards, including the Alvar Aalto Medal. Many will know him best from KIASMA – Helsinki’s museum for contemporary art. In Denmark, Steven Holl also won the competition for the design of the Marmormolen (Marble Pier) in Copenhagen. Generous support for HEART Realdania, a foundation which support projects that improve the built environment in Denmark, has joined the City of Herning and a number of other sponsors to make this major building project in Herning happen: “HEART is a piece of visionary cultural architecture that will provide audiences with the opportunity to experience modern art and music in a world-class setting. HEART will undoubtedly also be a powerhouse that will strengthen the interplay between the realms of culture and business to the benefit of the entire region,” says Executive Director of Realdania, Hans Peter Svendler. For further information, please contact Holger Reenberg, director, HEART, hr@heartmus.dk, tel. 4025 1033 Lars Krarup (V), mayor, the Municipality of Herning, bpost@herning.dk, tel. 2067 4103 Hans Peter Svendler, executive director, Realdania, ks@realdania.dk, tel. 7011 6666 Photos are available for download at www.heartmus.dk
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Museum Hours
Tuesday - Sunday: 10-17 Thursday: 10-22 Monday: Closed Admission & Tickets
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