The ongoing positive growth of the museum, which receives large numbers of visitors and school outings, is putting a strain on its current confines and capacity. In order to keep pace with visitor demand, the museum has put forward a sustainable plan to modernise and expand the National Gallery of the Faroe Islands. The museum wishes to create a future-proofed environment which puts its guests, children and youths, art and artist at the heart of its continuing evolution.

The plan has three elements: the building which houses special exhibitions will undergo essential modernisation; the permanent exhibition will be expanded with a new exhibition hall; and the Faroe Islands will receive its first ever children’s workshop, with space for creative activities and an art club. The project will be tailored to the surrounding environment and integrated harmoniously into the park, while the design of the new buildings will raise the profile of the local area.

Special exhibitions in up-to-date surroundings

The museum’s permanent exhibition gallery, built in 1970, is now run-down and does not live up to the standards expected of a modern museum. Consequently the museum is unable to loan artworks from museums in other countries or put on international exhibitions for the public to enjoy. The museum is therefore looking to carry out necessary modernisation of the building, while staying true to the style of the current National Gallery and the spirit of the original Listaskálin. The roof of the new building will feature the familiar pitched roof with its row of windows. The building will be clad with timber shaped to resemble organic forms, a nod to the park’s trees and the surrounding natural landscape. Inside, the expansive, flexible exhibition hall will be preserved, and the building will be equipped with much-needed ventilation, lighting and an elevator to ensure the museum is accessible for all of our visitors. All of these improvements will result in an up-to-date museum and a safe environment fit to host future international exhibitions and collaborative educational projects. The proposal has received the seal of approval of the architect who designed the original 1970 museum building.

Expansion – The fourth pyramid and roof garden

Over the past 30 years the museum’s collection of artworks has more than doubled in size. As a consequence many major works of art are in storage and not on public display. What is more, the museum does not have space to exhibit recent contemporary art, photography and video art, etc.

During the construction phase of the original museum from 1993 the intention was to add a fourth exhibition hall as an extension of the museum’s three existing galleries. There is now a desire to bring the original plans to fruition in order to accommodate its rapidly growing art collection.

The planned new gallery will provide a safe environment in which to exhibit sculptures and light-sensitive artworks such as photographs, prints and video art installations. The building will share the same cubic design as the existing buildings, with the twist that, like the special exhibition gallery, it will be clad with timber shaped to resemble organic forms. The building will feature a roof terrace with a garden overlooking the museum, the park and Tórshavn.

Children’s workshop and lecture theatre

Every day a large number of children visit the National Gallery of the Faroe Islands. However, the museum in its present form was built without amenities such as learning facilities for schoolchildren, a creative workshop or an art club, and without sufficient toilet and cloakroom facilities for children and youth visitors. The museum is an extremely popular destination for school outings and young families with children, and a children’s workshop and learning lab will offer even more activities for kids.

The children’s workshop will be the first workshop of its kind in the Faroe Islands. Stocked with art supplies, it is a place where school outings, daycare centres, young families and budding young artists can explore their creative impulses. The children’s workshop will be connected via a glass-walled passageway to the museum’s vestibule, situated in the original 1993 wing of the museum. The building will also be home to a lecture theatre and an open studio workshop where artists can hold workshops for visitors.

The area surrounding the children’s workshop will be spruced up with new footpaths and a leafy garden complete with seating and a sculpture-themed playground.

The proposal was drawn up by the museum in collaboration with the architectural firm BRIM Arkitektar

The project received pledge of financial support from: Augustinus Fonden, The Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansen Foundation, Villum Fonden and the Faroese government.