The history of the museum

The idea of establishing a museum of contemporary art in Roskilde was born in the mid-1980s among a group of local citizens looking to create a platform for new experimental art.

This interest grew out of the erstwhile Galleri Sct. Agnes in Roskilde, which showed mainly Danish experimental art in the 1980s. The activities culminated in Festival of Fantastics, a Fluxus event that drew a large number of international artists to Roskilde. (www.festivaloffantastics.com)

Support from Roskilde Municipality made it possible to open the Museum of Contemporary Art in 1991. A few years later, in 1994, the museum was approved by the government, making it Denmark’s first museum of contemporary art under the Museum Act, with special responsibility for temporal and hybrid art forms.

For the first 30 years, the museum was located in the Yellow Mansion in the city of Roskilde, showcasing the latest art forms in solo and group exhibitions. At the same time, the museum was present in urban spaces with the ACTS performance festivals, the Images 16 biennial and, starting in 2012, the Light Festival Parade which has become a tradition at the city’s annual Light Festival.

The museum today

In 2021, to better showcase hybrid and transient art formats, the museum became Denmark’s first and only art museum without a permanent building. The aim is to create an accessible, engaged and mutable museum exploring new ways of communicating contemporary art.

The museum’s offices are located at Bagtæppet 10, Musicon, 4000 Roskilde.

Photo: David Stjernholm, Ro’s Event, the nightclub where the A Feeling of Healing exhibition was shown.

Board of Directors

Kristine Kern
Chairperson
Rector of the Funen Art Academy

Honza Hock
Vice Chairperson
Artist, Professor at the Jutland Art Academy

Mikkel Bogh
Board member
Professor, University of Copenhagen
Former Director of the National Gallery of Denmark

Signe Lopdrup
CEO, Roskilde Festival

Filiz Sarah Thunø
City Council Member (A)

Ulrik Schmidt
Associate Professor, RUC

Morten Kroon
Associate, Partner,
Lawyer (H), Kammeradvokaten/
Poul Schmith Law Firm

Christian Ulrich Lauersen
Director of Libraries and Citizen Services,
Roskilde Municipality