After two years of renovation, the Design Museum Denmark has reopened with a series of events and eight new exhibitions. The façade of the 1700s building in Copenhagen’s historic Frederiksstaden district has been restored and 2,500 square meters of new marble flooring laid. There is, designed by OeO Studio, a new museum store and café, as well as new facilities in the garden. But the team led by director Anne-Louise Sommer has not only used the time to carry out the most thorough renovation since Kaare Klint’s original interior design in the 1920s. The museum’s concept has also been rethought: “We have,” says Sommer, “focused more on the crucial issues of the day, including the green revolution, health and identity. We believe that more than ever, design can make connections between historical achievements and current global and national challenges. Design is a prism through which we can understand human needs, human dreams, and human behavior in different eras. It’s a field that is evolving very quickly; and through our exhibitions, activities, and communications efforts, we want to be a living design archive and a space where everyone is welcome.”
The opening program of Design Museum Denmark includes both large and smaller exhibitions covering the entire spectrum of design. The exhibition “The future is present” focuses on how today’s design solutions respond to challenges of the future such as health, climate and identity. The show will be expanded by “Acute,” a newly established experimental space for contemporary art, where changing exhibitions will put current topics such as sustainability and fashion up for discussion and showcase talent. “Powerful Patterns,” an exhibition created in collaboration with multimedia artist, musician and designer Henrik Vibskov, playfully breathes new life into patterns at the museum. “Wonder” presents the small wonders of the museum’s collection – from keyholes to fans and tea urns to Japanese sword jewelry and snuff boxes. In addition, there is a hand-picked selection of the finest pieces of silver in a specially designed treasure chamber, an installation on the history of food design with seven place settings from the Renaissance to the present day, presentations on design processes, and, under the title “On the Magic of Form,” a selection of highlights from the museum’s own collection, the Louisiana Museum, and the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg.
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