Guests have welcomed the new art museum

There were several critical voices beforehand, and angry letters to the editor were written in Skive Folkeblad – but the public seems to have welcomed the new art museum in Skive.

The city’s classic cultural history museum was transformed into a pure art museum at the turn of the year, and although many people were angry about losing the old exhibition, it doesn’t show in the number of visitors.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

In the first six months of the year, there have been 22 percent more visitors compared to the same period last year, which confirms that museum director Per Lunde Lauridsen was the right decision to take a new path.

– “I think there are certainly some in the organization who had hoped for more explosive growth, because we have made a lot out of this. But when we have over 20 percent more guests, I definitely think it’s a good thing,” he says.

The museum director says that you can also see that more visitors are coming from far away.

More paying guests

He is also pleased that the number of paying guests has also increased.

– Couldn’t it be the interest of the news, so the number of visitors will drop again?

– “We believe that this will continue as long as we can continue to have some exciting and beautiful exhibitions. We have guests who stay here for a long time and who say very positive things. Like all state-recognized museums, we are included in the Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces’ user surveys, and we get many more responses, and they are very happy.

– But aren’t there enough art museums in Denmark?

– It’s a difficult market, and a major competitor has just opened in Thy with the National Gallery of Denmark. But it’s also a market where more and more Danes find art relevant. If we go back a generation, many people rarely went to art museums. Today, more people see art museums as an experience they take with them in their everyday life and leisure time,” says Per Lunde Lauridsen.

The old museum contained both classic cultural-historical artifacts and modern art. It could be described as a mixed bag, which is what the board and management of Museum Salling wanted to move away from.

– “We want visitors to have a clear sense of what kind of museum they are choosing when they visit. Before, it was unclear to many,” says the museum director.

Sticking to criticism
Ivan Andersen likes the new museum. But he still thinks it was a big mistake to scrap the old cultural history museum.

But the decision was also controversial. Ivan Andersen from Krejbjerg was one of those who protested. TV MIDTVEST invited him in to see the new museum, and his impression was positive.

– “It’s a very, very nice result. We can’t get finer in Skive,” was his immediate reaction.

But he stands by his criticism. He still believes that Skive needs a classic cultural history museum and is worried that the old artifacts will now be hidden away in storage.

– “We can’t do without a cultural museum, and I don’t believe that we’ll actually replace it with anything. But let’s see,” says Ivan Andersen.

In response, museum director Per Lunde Lauridsen says that they are still working on a solution that will satisfy everyone.

– “We’re currently looking at new exhibitions at Spøttrup Borg, and we’ve created a new exhibition at the museum in Glyngøre.

Source: TVMidtVest