Tone Hansen became the brand new director of the Munch Museum in 2022. A year before that, the museum — rebranded as simply MUNCH — opened its doors in a brand new home on Oslo’s waterfront.
The hugely impressive — and simply huge — museum is home to the world's largest collection of works by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, with 26,000 pieces in total. They were donated by the artist to the city in 1944.
But the museum’s move to this shiny 13-storey building in 2021 wasn’t just about having more space to display more Munch, as welcome as that was. It was the start of a new era where MUNCH would champion art and artists in all forms, and in new ways.
It’s this spirit that has just seen them inaugurate the MUNCH Award.
This new annual gong aims to recognise champions of free artistic expression. It was created in direct response to the increasing suppression of freedoms across the globe. Winners will be those who have distinguished themselves with courage and integrity throughout their career.
The first recipient of the NOK 300,000 (£20,000) prize is Rosana Paulino, an acclaimed Brazilian artist who the judges said “has been a leading voice in black feminism, with a steadfast commitment to the struggle of afro-Brazilian communities and the ongoing fight against racism”.
To mark the inaugural Munch Award, here I interview MUNCH museum director Tone Hansen to discover more.
Alongside chatting about why the award was so urgent, we discuss the current boom time for Norway’s museums, the current state of funding, and how they keep Edvard Munch relevant year-after-year.
Hi Tone! So firstly, why have you established the MUNCH award?
Artistic freedom is under increasing political and social pressure. Our new MUNCH Award pays tribute to the artist’s role as a critical voice in society.
Edvard Munch was a champion of artistic freedom, experimentation, and individual liberation in his time. The museum continues this legacy as a space for artistic expression, generating novel perspectives, fostering dialogue, and understanding.
The MUNCH Award will be presented annually in the spirit of Edvard Munch, using the museum's international reach to highlight important issues that artists have raised through their work and participation in public discourse.
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Why did the jury select Rosana Paulino as the inaugural winner?
Rosana Paulino has contributed to some of the most important conversations about art, histories, and society in Brazil and beyond.
Over the course of several decades, she has radically committed her artistic practice to unpacking the violent histories and continuities of gender and race. She has created an immensely broad and poetic oeuvre of installations, drawings, artist’s books, and videos. Through her teaching practice, Paulino has continuously been engaged in an intergenerational dialogue.
There was no public shortlist for the first MUNCH Award — each of the five jurors brought their proposals to share with the group and through a process of debate and discussion, we came to a unanimous decision to award Paulino.
Are contemporary artists working today too afraid to speak their mind and create honest work for fear of backlash?
Artists have long taken risks to express themselves, often working alone, which leaves them particularly vulnerable to economic cycles and political shifts.
Yet, art has consistently proven to be a powerful tool for advancing social change, but not without consequences. Through the creation of the Rosana Paolino Institute's research library in São Paolo, which the award’s financial prize will contribute towards, Paolino is making a lasting contribution to societal progress.
In Norway, artists are lucky to be supported by large publicly funded institutions, something we might take for granted — but this is certainly not the case in many other places, and it’s our responsibility to provide a platform for debate and discussion in our museums for artists from around the world.
How will you grow the Award's profile in the coming years?
We aim to continue to announce the Award each year in Paris in October, where the art world gathers annually for the [Art Basel] fair. The official award ceremony will take place in Oslo, with a keynote speech from the winning artist.
This year’s Award is already receiving extensive coverage, both in Paulino’s home country of Brazil and in international media outlets like The Guardian and The Art Newspaper — and, of course, here in Norway. All of this helps to raise the Award’s profile and recognition.
There's been a museum boom in Norway in recent years. Not only your museum reopening, but the National Museum, Kunstsilo, PoMo. Do you have any worries about the increased competition for visitors, attention, or funding?
Our funding is secured mostly by the City of Oslo, combined with revenue and sponsors. But we see challenges going forward, as budgets change. We are paying close attention to this.
So far the City of Oslo has been generous and that results in us being able to make Edvard Munch and MUNCH a museum for all our inhabitants, and everyone visiting Oslo.
As for other museums, we warmly welcome our friends and friendly competitors. This dynamic only elevates everyone, providing access to even more art from Norway and abroad. Funding varies across museums, so this "friendly competition" is primarily about each finding its unique voice and ensuring we don’t become too similar.
Is it difficult to keep the museum relevant when it's dedicated to a single, deceased artist?
MUNCH is no longer a single artist museum, but a museum for Edvard Munch, Modernism and contemporary art and this gives us a broad mandate to create a programme that expands on ideas explored by Munch. We challenge ideas of what a museum might be by making art feel vital and relevant to a range of different people.
It’s important to have an eye for what is evolving on the contemporary scene and to combine this with large scale presentations of artists living or long dead. We remain open to multiple perspectives and experiences, with an emphasis on the inclusion of younger voices and viewpoints through an extensive music, performance and educational programme.
We play an active role on both local and global art scenes through Edvard Munch, creating spaces of free expression for artists, diverse audience groups and our employees.
Munch was constantly evolving as an artist, and remained open to new influences. He became a significant presence in the art world, and often defied conventions. And we develop with him by challenging the perception of the artist through bringing new perspectives to the museum.
If people are coming to Oslo to visit MUNCH, where else should they not miss on their trip?
I would recommend the saunas in Bjørvika, the large bar and bistro at Sommero Hotel, jogging at Bygdøy, the best coffee at Kaffe Fuglen, and of course there’s no better place to have a cocktail and soak in the view than at our bar on the 13th floor where you can watch the sun set over the beautiful city.
Finally: Munch’s Scream. Is the figure screaming or is he hearing a scream? Settle it once and for all!
Isn't the mystery what keeps us guessing? And who's to say it's not a 'she'?
— Read more interviews with Europe's museum leaders, including Gibraltar's Fortress House Director Henry Little and Marja Sakari on Ateneum Art Museum's reopening in Helsinki.