Henie-Onstad Art Centre
Encyclopedia
Høvikodden
Høvikodden is a headland in Bærum municipality, Norway, located by the Oslofjord near the populated area Høvik, from whence its name was taken.It is the site of the well-known Henie-Onstad Art Centre. A small beach is located nearby....
in Bærum
Bærum
is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandvika. Bærum was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. A suburb of Oslo, Bærum is located on the west coast of the city....
municipality, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
The Henie-Onstad Art Centre is situated on a headland jutting into the Oslofjord
Oslofjord
The Oslofjord is a bay in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the Torbjørnskjær and Færder lighthouses and down to Langesund in the south to Oslo in the north....
, approximately 10 km south of Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. The centre was founded in 1968 by World and Olympic champion figure skater Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion . Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater...
(1912–1969) and her husband, shipping magnate and art collector Niels Onstad
Niels Onstad
Niels Onstad was a Norwegian shipowner and art collector.Niels Onstad as born in Kristiania. In 1935, together with his brother Haakon Onstad, he started the shipping company, Niels Onstad Tank Rederi A / S, which later was named Niels Onstads Tankrederi with headquarters in Oslo...
(1909–1978). Their private collection of contemporary art, total 110 images, as well as funds for construction and operation of the centre was donated by the couple in 1961, when the Sonja Henie and Niels Onstad Foundation was created. The centre, designed by Norwegian architects Jon Eikvar and Sven Erik Engebretsen, also contains Sonja Henie's award collection.
In 1994, the building was extended, and a two-story wing with exhibition spaces and technical rooms was added. This project was designed by the same architects—the new wing abuts the main body of the building as an organic extension. In 2003, another extension was made, this time in the form of an annex that extends into the outdoor park, connected to the main building by a passage leading from the lower level. In addition to six exhibition halls, the Centre also has an auditorium and smaller meeting rooms. Today, the total building area is approximately 9,500 square metres, of which 3,500 are occupied by exhibition spaces.
Henie-Onstad Art Centre organizes exhibitions and performances. Art center is visited by around 100,000 people each year. The centre celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008 with exhibitions, seminars, book, concert and movie titled Høvikodden LIVE.
Director of the museum since 2004 is Karin Hellandsjø.
Other sources
- Hellandsjø, Karin The Henie Onstad Art Centre: The Art of Tomorrow Today : The Collection (Torino: Skira, 2008)