Nationalmuseum presents Crossing Borders at Arlanda this spring

During the spring and summer of 2014, Nationalmuseum will present a photographic exhibition, Crossing Borders, at Stockholm Arlanda Airport. The exhibition will feature portraits of internationally celebrated Swedes who have challenged and crossed borders in a variety of ways. Among the personalities featured will be Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Tomas Tranströmer, Noomi Rapace, Jan Eliasson and Ingvar Kamprad.

Crossing Borders is the title of an exhibition by Nationalmuseum in Terminal 5 at Arlanda Airport opening 19 March 2014. The exhibition will comprise photographic portraits of famous Swedes who have achieved international success by challenging and crossing borders in various ways. They include sporting heroes such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Therese Alshammar, big names in music, literature and cinema like Ann Sofie von Otter, Tomas Tranströmer, Noomi Rapace and Tomas Alfredson, and prominent politicians and business leaders such as Inga-Britt Ahlenius, Jan Eliasson and Ingvar Kamprad. The portraits are the work of various Swedish photographers, including Denise Grünstein, Hans Gedda, Eric Broms and Thron Ullberg.

The exhibition is part of a joint project with Swedavia to put art and design on show. Exhibiting at Arlanda Airport, which handles 20 million passengers annually, gives Nationalmuseum the opportunity to reach a wider, more international audience. The exhibition also ties in with Nationalmuseum’s drive to step up activities relating to the Swedish National Portrait Gallery, today under the museum’s umbrella.

The Swedish National Portrait Gallery has its main location at Gripsholm Castle and is the world’s oldest national portrait gallery. It contains over 4,600 portraits of prominent Swedes from the 16th century to the present day. These include a large number of royal personages, but also famous figures such as Greta Garbo, Ingmar Bergman and Dag Hammarskjöld. Nationalmuseum is acquiring the works to be included in the Arlanda exhibition as part of a concerted effort to increase the number of contemporary Swedish newsmakers represented in the portrait collection.

The joint project with Swedavia will continue in the autumn at Umeå Airport, as part of Nationalmuseum’s contribution to the year-long program of events marking Umeå’s reign as European Capital of Culture 2014.

The exhibition Crossing Borders will be on show in Terminal 5 at Stockholm Arlanda Airport from 19 March to 3 August 2014.

Further information and press images
Hanna Tottmar, Press Officer: hanna.tottmar@nationalmuseum.se, +46 767 234632

Caption
Photo: Thron Ullberg, Noomi Rapace. © Thron Ullberg