Groninger Museum Seeks to Increase Fame with Renewed Focus on Contemporary Art

The Groninger Museum, located in Groningen, Netherlands, is a unique postmodern building that was opened in 1994. According to its artistic director Roos Gortzak, the museum deserves to be more famous, despite its striking architecture and prominent location. Gortzak believes that the museum's building, which was designed by four different architects, is a key part of its identity and should be used as a starting point for its curation.

## Museum Building and Architecture The Groninger Museum's building is a classic example of postmodern architecture, with three bridge-connected pavilions designed by separate architects. The building features a windowless yellow tower at its centre, flanked by two volumes, one pink and one green. The museum's architecture is eye-popping and unique, but despite this, it has not had the same impact as other famous museums, such as the Guggenheim Bilbao.

## New Programming and Core Values Gortzak is seeking to change this with a renewed focus on contemporary art, and a new programme that will commence in September. The programme will be based on three core values that Gortzak has inferred from the building: experimental, interdisciplinary, and collective. These values will guide the museum's curation and programming, with a focus on acquiring contemporary art that is mainly woman- or non-binary-led. Gortzak believes that this approach will help to redress an imbalance in the types of creative voices that have historically been platformed at the museum.

## Upcoming Exhibitions The museum's new programme will commence with four interconnected exhibitions opening simultaneously, including one entitled The Architect and the Housewife: Cleaning the House, Building the Future. This exhibition will explore power dynamics in daily and domestic life, as well as the similarities between the behind-the-scenes problem-solving of architecture and of housework. The exhibition will feature a model of Zaha Hadid's Music Video Pavilion and a collection of 98 vases made by Alessandro Mendini and decorated by a series of designers. The museum's programme will revolve around the two characters of the architect and the housewife for a year, as a springboard for discussions about who is allowed to think big, and how creative endeavours can be balanced with the demands of the everyday.

The Groninger Museum's renewed focus on contemporary art and its unique architecture make it a fascinating institution that is worth exploring. With its new programming and core values, the museum is seeking to increase its reputation and become more famous, and it will be interesting to see how this approach develops in the coming months and years.