‘Europe’s cities have come to life again’
From seminal exhibitions to new museums, Nick Trend suggests 50 reasons to take a cultural break now
It’s always good to have a special reason to travel, to add to the thrill of being away with the excitement of a special event. And over the next couple of months we are spoilt for choice – especially when it comes to city breaks.
That’s because there is such an upbeat mood among the world’s arts capitals. After months of disruptions, postponements and delayed openings, they have suddenly come to life again with a perfect storm of cultural happenings – from seminal exhibitions to historic festivals and new museums.
Nowhere is the feeling stronger than in Oslo, where I have been this week. For the past decade or so, the Norwegian capital has been positioning itself as a cultural magnet to compete with the best in Europe. First was the opera house, which defines the city’s seafront on the beautiful Oslofjord. Then just along the dockside came the Renzo Piano-designed Astrup Fearnley museum of contemporary art. Next June these cultural temples will be joined by a monumental new National Museum.
But right now the major attraction is a new gallery dedicated to Edvard Munch. Jutting out into the harbour right by the opera house, the 13-storey Munch Museum is a tower clad in rippled sheets of perforated aluminium, with the top storeys toppling towards the sea. It opened on Friday and is to be known simply as MUNCH.
Thirteen storeys is a lot for a single artist, even if he is the man who virtually invented Scandi Noir. But he needs the space: Munch donated some 26,000 paintings and other works to the nation – self portraits, nudes, landscapes and a comprehensive collection of his incomparable images of angst, jealousy and loneliness. These include three of the
Thirteen storeys is a lot for a single artist, even if he virtually invented Scandi Noir
several versions he made of The Scream.
Meanwhile, seven of the 11 exhibition spaces – which you navigate via a series of escalators – will be devoted to temporary exhibitions, the first exploring Tracy Emin’s lifelong fascination with his work.
It’s a splendid museum and a brilliant addition to the city’s re-imagining of its waterfront. So my vote for this autumn goes to Oslo. But I had no trouble at all in finding another 49 inspirational reasons to start booking a cultural break, with Berlin, Amsterdam, New York and Paris all offering an especially rich mix.