In less than six months, Trondheim in Norway will see the opening of a new museum. PoMo will open its doors to the public on February 15th, 2025, bringing international modern and contemporary art to the coastal city through a new permanent collection and an evolving programme of temporary exhibitions.
PoMo spans 4,000 square metres over five floors and will transform Trondheim’s spectacular Art Nouveau Post Office building into an inclusive and inspiring cultural destination. It is the first museum project delivered by architect and designer India Mahdavi, who is working in collaboration with Norwegian architect Erik Langdalen. Led by Director Marit Album Kvernmo, PoMo will be at the centre of the city’s vibrant new cultural quarter.
The museum is an initiative of REITAN, following a longstanding art interest within the Reitan family. PoMo will open with a group exhibition titled ‘Postcards from the Future’, from 15 February to 22 June 2025.
Marit Album Kvernmo, Director of PoMo, said, “At PoMo, we will place the visitor’s experience at the centre of everything we do, bringing world-class modern and contemporary art to enrich the cultural life of our city and reimagining our historic building to provide an accessible and intuitive experience for our visitors.
“Embracing the unique opportunity to transform our building and create a new museum collection, we are delighted to be working with both local artisans and internationally acclaimed designers to bring this vision to life.
“I look forward to welcoming local and international audiences to explore our new home for culture in Trondheim.”
The PoMo Collection
Initiated with artworks from the collection of REITAN and the vision of Monica Reitan and Ole Robert Reitan, the growing PoMo Collection is inspired by values of diversity, originality and internationality. The permanent collection aims to create a ‘new normal’ for Norwegian institutions, dedicating a minimum of 60% of its acquisitions budget to women artists to tackle gender inequality in museum collections at large.
The collection features artists Louise Bourgeois, James Lee Byars, Katharina Fritsch, Anne Imhof, Cui Jie, Simone Leigh, Sol LeWitt, Sandra Mujinga, Philippe Parreno, Ugo Rondinone, Andra Ursuţa, and Franz West. PoMo will continue to expand and diversify its collection in the coming years, increasing the visibility of artists underrepresented in Norwegian institutional collections and creating new dialogues on the art of our time.
Opening exhibition: ‘Postcards from the Future’
15 February – 22 June 2025
PoMo will open with ‘Postcards from the Future’, a group exhibition showcasing works from PoMo’s newly established permanent collection alongside major international loans.
Featuring around 100 works by 24 international artists on all three exhibition floors of the museum, ‘Postcards from the Future’ will take inspiration from the building’s history as Trondheim’s former central Post Office, a hub for communication and correspondence, and will employ the postcard as a thematic metaphor.
With their duality of representational imagery and intimate exchange, postcards, like artworks, function as vessels for both public and private storytelling and discourse.
The postcard will also nod to the building’s institutional history as a place of community, communication and exchange. The exhibition will showcase works from the PoMo Collection accompanied by significant works by artists including Fischli & Weiss, Isa Genzken, Matthew Angelo Harrison, Catherine Opie, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Susan Rothenberg, Andy Warhol and Monira Al Qadiri, amongst others.
Monica Reitan, Chair of PoMo, says, “PoMo has been brought to life by a team united in its vision and passion for art and for the city of Trondheim. We are delighted to open PoMo with our first exhibition, ‘Postcards from the Future’, exploring our historic roots in Trondheim’s former Post Office whilst showcasing our collection of world-class modern and contemporary art alongside spectacular national and international loans. The exhibition will also be a presentation of the indicative artists that will shape PoMo and its program in the coming years.”
Architecture and design
Paris-based architect and designer India Mahdavi is embarking on her first museum project with the development and renovation process of PoMo. Tasked with developing a vision for the museum in partnership with Erik Langdalen, Mahdavi has applied her signature approach to transform the historic building, built in 1911, into a contemporary space.
PoMo will include three storeys of exhibition galleries to house both temporary exhibitions and permanent collection displays; a fluid and welcoming entry space designed to break down barriers between street, museum and artworks; flexible basement spaces dedicated to events and education; a library and research space in the eaves of the building; and a reception room and office space on the top floor.
Drawing inspiration from Trondheim’s cityscape and history, Norwegian folk art and craftsmanship, and the legacy of the old post office building, Mahdavi has designed a vibrant and joyful renovation that celebrates in-between areas as much as exhibition spaces: bold, colourful moments will punctuate the museum from the basement to the fourth floor, often activated by artworks from the permanent collection.
India Mahdavi commented, “I wanted this museum to feel inviting and inclusive, engaging both the local community and the international art crowd. It’s about reconnecting the local community with the city centre and their own history while simultaneously offering a fresh experience that welcomes the world.”
Known for his thoughtful restoration and conservation projects, Erik Langdalen’s design for PoMo will allow history to speak while focusing on the future. Sustainability is at the forefront of Langdalen’s approach, focusing on the rehabilitation and re-use of historic and pre-existing buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create historical anchoring, and increase social commitment.
Erik Langdalen said, “When we were engaged in 2021, I immediately understood what potential the old main post office had as the setting for a new ambitious art museum like PoMo. The work of weaving the distinctive Art Nouveau architecture together with new architecture and new technological solutions has been very professionally engaging and has resulted in a number of unique spaces for future art experiences.”
Future programme
The museum will display its collection through permanent presentations, complemented by two large-scale temporary exhibitions annually that will include solo presentations of influential modern and contemporary artists and thematic surveys. Guest curators will be invited to bring new perspectives to the museum and Trondheim, working alongside PoMo’s curatorial team, and an international lending programme will build a generative and collaborative network for PoMo.
A complementary series of events and talks will reflect on and contextualise the themes brought about by the collection and temporary exhibitions. An extensive education programme is being developed to allow children, young people and adults to respond to and learn from the permanent collection, as well as partnerships with research programmes and universities.
Ole Robert Reitan, owner of REITAN, said, “Opening the doors to PoMo is a key moment for the city of Trondheim—welcoming the world to explore visionary art in our beautiful and storied city. We are proud to celebrate this moment for Trondheim. I am convinced that, with PoMo at its heart, the new cultural quarter will establish Trondheim as a vibrant destination on the world map.”
Lead Image: Ugo Rondinone, ‘our magic hour’, 2003. PoMo collection. © Ugo Rondinone. Photo: Terje Trobe.