Karin Hindsbo is The National Museum’s new director

Karin Hindsbo (42) will succeed Audun Eckhoff as museum director of the National Museum for a term of six years. Hindsbo comes directly from the position as director of KODE Art Museums of Bergen. She takes over Eckhoff’s position on the 1st of June, 2017.

– The National Museum is one of the most important cultural institutions in the Nordic countries. We are about to enter the museum’s most exciting period ever with the pending relocation to a new building at Vestbanen in 2020. The move represents a historically unique investment in art and I am really looking forward to playing my part in shaping the national museum of the future, says Karin Hindsbo.

– The National Museum’s primary task is to preserve Norway’s cultural heritage. At the same time we have a responsibility to create enthusiasm for our amazing collection and also provide a clear demonstration of the pivotal role art plays in society, says the incumbent director.

– We live in a digital age, a world filled with visual communication we do not necessarily comprehend. Images spread like wildfire between continents and cultures. Do we see these images in the same way? Do we understand their potential effects? Art is a means of understanding. This will be of immense importance for the National Museum in the future: utilising art as a means of comprehending the world we live in.

Karin Hindsbo holds a Master in Fine Arts from the University of Aarhus. She has five years of management experience from the Norwegian cultural scene, having served for three years as director of KODE in Bergen and two years as director of Sørlandets Kunstmuseum in Kristiansand. All in all she has ten years of top management experience, including a term as artistic director for Kunsthal Aarhus and directorship of Copenhagen’s Den Frie Udstilling.

Image above: Photo: KODE / Dag Fosse