Denmark’s National Gallery (Statens Museum for Kunst, SMK), will renovate and redesign 6,700 square metres of exhibition space in Copenhagen over the next three years. The project, financed by private foundation donations worth DKK 70.5 million (about €9.4 million), will also change how the museum presents a collection spanning around 700 years of art history.
The museum said the new collection displays will open gradually between 2027 and 2029, while SMK will remain open throughout the works.
SMK renovation will bring more of its collection into public view
The project goes beyond renovating the galleries. SMK plans to create a more flexible exhibition system that will allow artworks to be rotated more frequently and presented in changing contexts.
The museum holds around 200,000 works, but most are currently kept in storage or displayed at castles and other public buildings across Denmark. The new approach is intended to bring a larger share of the collection into the museum over time, including works that have rarely or never previously been exhibited there.
The first phase will focus on European Art from 1300 to 1800. According to SMK, around half of the works shown in the renewed galleries will be pieces that visitors have rarely, if ever, been able to see at the museum.
SMK director Astrid la Cour said the institution wants its permanent collection to evolve alongside art historical research and society.
“Denmark’s largest art collection belongs to us all.”
The new displays will also introduce different interpretations of familiar works, incorporating new research perspectives and broader social and historical questions.
A more flexible and accessible National Gallery
The architectural redesign is being developed with Copenhagen-based Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter.
Rather than substantially changing the historic museum buildings, the project will introduce modular exhibition structures while preserving their existing architectural character. Plans include improving physical accessibility, making it easier for visitors to navigate the museum and highlighting more of the original architecture designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup.
Digital tools and new forms of interpretation will also be introduced to provide different routes through the collections according to visitors’ interests, backgrounds and previous knowledge.
The museum describes the changes as part of a broader shift among major international museums towards making greater use of their existing collections rather than relying primarily on temporary exhibitions.
The museum will remain open during the works
SMK plans to close only one collection area at a time, limiting the disruption for visitors.
The first to close will be the galleries dedicated to European Art from 1300 to 1800, which will shut on 1 November 2026 after a farewell event during Copenhagen’s Culture Night on 9 October.
They are expected to reopen in autumn 2027. The renewed Danish and Nordic Art galleries covering the period from 1750 to 1900 will follow in autumn 2028, while the galleries for Danish and International Art after 1900 are scheduled to reopen in autumn 2029.
Research-based temporary exhibitions will continue during the renovation, including exhibitions devoted to Danish artist Lene Adler Petersen, American artist William H. Johnson and the working methods and materials of Vilhelm Hammershøi.
Five foundations are financing the transformation
The project is supported by five Danish foundations: Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond, Den A.P. Møllerske Støttefond, Augustinus Fonden, Det Obelske Familiefond and Ny Carlsbergfondet.
Together, they have provided the DKK 70.5 million (about €9.4 million) needed for the new collection displays and related exhibitions.
For Denmark’s national art museum, the renovation therefore represents both an architectural project and a change in how its cultural heritage is presented. By 2029, SMK expects to have galleries that can change more frequently and bring substantially more of its collection before the public.
