Swedish Museum of Performing Arts

Swedish Museum of Performing Arts
FriskoKry · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Name	Swedish Museum of Performing Arts
Established	2010 (museum merged; origins earlier)
Location	Stockholm, Sweden
Type	Performing arts museum
Collection size	diverse holdings in theatre, dance, film, music, puppetry

Contents

Swedish Museum of Performing Arts is a national institution in Stockholm dedicated to the documentation, preservation, and presentation of theatre in Sweden, dance in Sweden, film of Sweden, music of Sweden and puppetry heritage. The museum traces roots to earlier collections and institutions associated with Royal Dramatic Theatre, Dramaten, Kungliga Operan, and archives connected to Swedish cultural figures such as August Strindberg, Ingmar Bergman, Alf Sjöberg, Astrid Lindgren and Greta Garbo. It functions alongside European counterparts like the Victoria and Albert Museum, Deutsches Theatermuseum, Comédie-Française, Museum of London Docklands and Museum of the City of New York.

History

Origins lie in nineteenth- and twentieth-century collections linked to Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm City Theatre, Dramaten and the Royal Swedish Opera archive alongside private collections from figures such as August Strindberg, Selma Lagerlöf, Ingmar Bergman, Alf Sjöberg and Gustaf Molander. During the twentieth century the museum worked with institutions including Uppsala University, Stockholm University, Kungliga biblioteket, Nationalmuseum and Swedish National Heritage Board to consolidate artefacts from companies like Royal Shakespeare Company tours, Cirque du Soleil exchanges and touring shows of ABBA tribute productions. Its formal establishment followed mergers of archives and collections from bodies such as the Swedish Theatre Museum and the Stockholm City Museum with advisory input from curators who had worked at Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Nationalmuseum and Göteborgs konstmuseum.

The permanent holdings include stage costumes linked to performers like Greta Garbo, Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, Max von Sydow and Ingrid Thulin; set models associated with directors such as Ingmar Bergman, Alf Sjöberg, Olof Molander and Per Verner-Carlsson; puppetry pieces reflecting creators influenced by Jim Henson, Bengt Brusewitz and Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt; film props connected to productions by Bo Widerberg, Jan Troell, Roy Andersson and Lukas Moodysson; and musical instruments tied to Birgit Nilsson, Jussi Björling, Nils Frahm and ensembles like the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Exhibitions have showcased thematic displays on August Strindberg’s dramaturgy, Ingmar Bergman’s rehearsal practice, Astrid Lindgren adaptations, the history of pantomime in Scandinavia and international surveys referencing collections from La Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House and Bolshoi Theatre. The museum collaborates with archives such as Swedish Film Institute, Svenskt visarkiv, Nordiska Museet, Folkoperan and Kungliga biblioteket to curate exhibitions drawing loans from institutions including British Museum, Musée de la Musique, Deutsches Theatermuseum and Rijksmuseum.

Housed in historic structures in central Stockholm, the museum occupies premises formerly used by institutions like Stockholm Concert Hall, Södra Teatern and warehouses close to Sergels torg, Östermalm and Norrmalm. Architectural interventions were influenced by conservation practices seen at Historic England-listed projects, refurbishment approaches used at Tate Britain and adaptive reuse models like Zeitz MOCAA and Museum of Old and New Art. The retrofit combined preservation of industrial elements with galleries designed for stage set reconstruction, drawing on technical standards used by Walt Disney Archives, Museum of the City of New York and Victoria and Albert Museum for climate control and object handling. Surrounding urban context includes landmarks such as Royal Palace, Stockholm, Stockholm Central Station, Kulturhuset and the Stockholm City Hall.

Educational programs encompass partnerships with Stockholm University, Karolinska Institutet (for performance health), Royal College of Music, Stockholm, Dramatiska Institutet (now part of Stockholm University of the Arts), Teaterhögskolan and international exchanges with Juilliard School, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, École nationale supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théâtre and Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch. Public programming includes family workshops referencing Astrid Lindgren stories, masterclasses with practitioners connected to Royal Swedish Opera, Gothenburg Opera House, Malmö Opera and guest curators from Les Archives Nationales, Museum of Performance + Design and New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The museum runs residency schemes modeled on programs at Tate Modern, Brooklyn Academy of Music and Somerset House to support creators from collectives such as Improvisation Consortia and companies influenced by Pina Bausch, Merce Cunningham and Martha Graham.

Governance structures reflect oversight by Swedish cultural bodies like the Ministry of Culture (Sweden), collaboration with agencies such as Swedish Arts Council (Statens kulturråd), Swedish National Heritage Board and funding streams including state grants, municipal support from Stockholm Municipality, project funding from private foundations such as Wallenberg Foundation, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond and corporate partnerships with cultural sponsors comparable to patrons of Royal Swedish Academy of Music and donors to Nationalmuseum. The museum engages in international grant applications to entities like European Cultural Foundation, Creative Europe and partners with museum networks such as ICOM and European Museum Forum for governance benchmarking and ethical standards. Staffing includes curators, conservators and educators with professional links to International Council of Museums, The Association of European Conservators and research collaborations with Uppsala University and Lund University.

Category:Museums in Stockholm Category:Performing arts museums