Press release 20.02.25
With full funding secured, Trapholt is facing a major expansion and transformation that will future-proof the museum and provide visitors with even more experiences. Thanks to support totaling DKK 102.4 million from the Augustinus Foundation, the Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansen Foundation, the Villum Foundation and Kolding Municipality, a long-standing dream of expanding the museum is now being made possible. Specifically, the transformation will include expanding the guest reception, establishing a sculpture lounge and a flexible dissemination and craft center, and integrating the museum’s park areas into the overall experience. In connection with the expansion, Trapholt’s underground museum will also be restored to its original architectural design with light coming in from the atrium courtyard. The underground museum will house a new presentation of Trapholt’s collection, where visitors are invited to create their own exhibitions. – With the generous financial support from the three foundations and Kolding Municipality, it will be even more possible to unleash Trapholt’s unique potential as an international visitor destination and cultural center for Kolding’s citizens. The new facilities will emphasize from the start of the museum visit that Trapholt is an art museum that is accessible to everyone, where engagement and participation are paramount, with art, crafts and design as the ubiquitous focal point. This also means significantly improved access to and experiences with the collection. It is also a long-standing dream to establish a coherent park area that can be better integrated into the museum visit, as well as to support the experience of light in both the renovation of existing buildings and the newly built initiatives in the project, says museum director Karen Grøn.
The expansion will realize Trapholt’s potential and future-proof the museum with better capacity and accessibility for visitors. First and foremost, it will solve the positive challenge that Trapholt has far more guests than the museum was originally designed for. With over 100,000 guests annually in recent years (108,133 guests in 2024) and expectations of further increases in visitors, there is a need to meet guests’ practical access and communication needs. With the expansion, Trapholt will accommodate a flexible communication area, where activities for user groups from kindergarten children to people with dementia, as well as markets, craft communities and business events, can take place. Trapholt has been internationally awarded for the museum’s communication, and with the new communication facilities, the museum expects to be able to further develop and strengthen its communication profile. In addition, the park will become Kolding’s new green oasis with a path system that invites both activity and immersion – all the way around the museum with art experiences and lounges. The process is that five teams consisting of architects, landscape architects, engineers and sustainability consultants will be invited to participate in an architectural competition based on an EU tender with prior prequalification. The winning team will be announced at the end of April, and the actual renovation is scheduled to begin in January 2026. The preliminary plans are that the museum will be closed to visitors from December 31, 2025 to March 1, 2027.
Quotes
Kolding Municipality
“Trapholt’s expansion is a great gain for the entire Kolding Municipality, the surrounding area and Region of Southern Denmark. The museum is an important cultural driving force that creates experiences and communities for both citizens and visitors. With this ambitious transformation and the three foundations’ great contributions, we ensure that Trapholt can continue to develop as one of Denmark’s leading art museums. Kolding Municipality is proud to support the project, which not only elevates Trapholt, but also strengthens Kolding’s attractiveness and cultural life for the future.”
Knud Erik Langhoff, Mayor, Kolding Municipality
Augustinus Foundation
“Trapholt is recognized for its communication of Danish art, crafts and design, which appeals to a diverse audience both locally and internationally.
We have followed Trapholt’s development of the collection and several co-creation projects with great interest, which has contributed to positioning Trapholt as an important art museum in the museum landscape. The development of the physical framework strengthens Trapholt’s ability to continue to create qualified art experiences in the upcoming media and craft center.”
Frank Rechendorff Møller, CEO, Augustinus Fonden
Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond
The transformation project solves a number of challenges and innovatively incorporates the overall experience that future guests will have at Trapholt. The project upgrades the exhibition framework and opportunities as well as the many other conditions that are essential for a successful museum visit. Trapholt is thus building itself into the future, and Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond is excited to be able to contribute to the optimization of this bastion of art, crafts and design.”
Christine Wiberg-Lyng, Foundation Director, Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond Villum Fonden
“We are pleased to support the expansion of Trapholt, which will combine sustainable construction with a respectful optimization of the museum’s existing framework. Particular emphasis is placed on the integration of daylight, which will both strengthen the architectural integrity and create a new connection between the building, the park and the information center.
With the flexible and open spaces, the museum will be able to meet a growing interest and welcome an even wider audience from all over the country in inspiring surroundings”.
Lars Bo Nielsen, Director, Villum Fonden
Facts
Trapholt is a museum of modern art, crafts and design, known for
its unique architecture and scenic location down to Kolding Fjord.
The museum opened in 1988 and its architecture is an attraction in itself. Designed by Boje Lundgaard and Bente Aude, with an extension in 1996 by Boje Lundgaard and Lene Tranberg, the museum is built around a central museum street, where the exhibition rooms create exciting, spatial experiences. Outside, the powerful, sculptural wall – created by Finn Reinbothe – delimits the museum from a large sculpture park with works by Danish contemporary artists. The garden was designed by C.Th. Sørensen. Trapholt has received a large number of national and international awards for its communication. Among other things, the museum received the prestigious European Art Museum Award in 2021, where it was named a role model for the art museums of the future. The jury concluded: “Museums change lives! Trapholt really does!”
Contact
For further information please contact museum director Karen Grøn at:
Mail kg@Trapholt.dk or mobile 51341295
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First published in this link of The European Times.
