The former post office in Trondheim, Norway, has been renovated to host a new museum of modern and contemporary Art, Pomo. New Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art Opened in Trondheim.
The old Art-Nouveau building, designed by the Norwegian architect Karl Norum, and finished in 1911, once connected the city of Trondheim to the wider world, and will now connect the city with the world once again by showcasing world-class art.
The new PoMo Museum (Named PoMo – short for ‘Posten Moderne’ (meaning ‘Post Office Modern’) features colorful interiors by India Mahdavi. “It’s a spectacular building and the perfect frame for a brand-new museum,” says director Marit Album Kvernmo. The building was once the proud emblem of Norway’s new identity after the dissolution of its union with Sweden in 1905.
Monica and Ole Robert Reitan have been passionate about visual art for many years. This passion led to their dream of creating a world-class museum in their hometown, Trondheim. They also wanted to make international modern and contemporary art accessible to everyone.
“It’s loaded with symbols of national pride thanks to the local materials and traditional handcraft,” says Album Kvernmo. “It was a community space where people got their news and socialized.”
At PoMo you will also find a varied program of events that delve deeper into the world of art, also offering tailored activities for kids designed to inspire learning and reflection. The museum is also dedicated to creating the most outstanding museum shop in Norway, making it a must-visit attraction by itself!
The new 4,000 sq m museum was reimagined by French-Iranian architect and designer India Mahdavi, in collaboration with Norwegian architect Erik Langdalen. Although the post office closed in 2012, the inhabitants of Trondheim are still fond of it. “There’s no single day when people are not approaching me and telling me that they are looking forward to the building reopening,” said Album Kvernmo. Promo opened its doors on 15 February 2025.
According to the museum, the PoMo collection will be developed into a collection that is relevant, original, and of high international quality. The collection will represent a broad diversity of artists across gender and origin. “With this foundation, we are building a collection for eternity,” it claims.
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‘We wanted to make this an inclusive, joyful space,’ says Mahdavi, who with PoMo marks her first museum project. Alongside this ambition lay the responsibility and desire to honor the heritage of the Grade I-listed building. The four-story building is clad in rusticated granite and mint-green-painted plaster with a crowning corner turret.
India Mahdavi and Erik Langdalen have kept as many original features as they could and refreshed the building’s interiors with bright pops of colors – orange for the main staircase and pink for the museum shop.
The permanent collection is complemented by two annual exhibitions featuring major international loans, with several works being shown in Norway for the very first time. The permanent collection will dedicate 60 percent of its budget to female artists. The opening exhibition, titled “Postcards from the Future,” will bring together works held by PoMo with international loans in order to explore how postcards, like artworks, facilitate storytelling.
PoMo’s opening coincides with the launch of an adjacent theatre, designed by Skibnes Arkitekter. Both buildings, owned by Trondheim resident entrepreneurs Monica and Ole Robert Reitan, aim to activate this city block into a buzzing cultural quarter.
New Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art Opened in Trondheim, Tor Kjolberg reporting.