- Source: Kunsthallen Nikolaj
Nikolaj Kunsthal is a contemporary arts center in Copenhagen which occupies the former St. Nicholas Church. It is one of the city's oldest churches and an architectural landmark. It is situated on Nikolaj Plads, a few steps away from Amagertorv and Strøget. The church building is noted for its fanciful Neo-Baroque 90 m (300 ft) long spire. The tower is the third highest in Copenhagen.
History and architecture
= St Nicholas Church
=The original church building was constructed in the early thirteenth century and is one of Copenhagen’s oldest churches. It was located near Copenhagen's shore of the Øresund, and named after the patron saint of seafarers St. Nicholas. The church did not have a tower or spire when it was originally built. In 1530, the Lutheran theologian Hans Tavsen (1494–1561) preached the first Lutheran sermon within Copenhagen in St Nicholas Church. He became known as the ‘Danish Luther’ and the church was the center of the Lutheran Reformation in Copenhagen. The Dutch renaissance church tower was built in 1591. During a winter storm in 1628, the church lost its spire.
The fire of 1795 burned down most of the building, and there was not enough funding to rebuild it. In 1805, the congregation was dissolved and it was no longer an official church. Though church ruins were demolished, the sturdy tower survived and can be seen in the front hall of Nikolaj Kunsthal today.
= A versatile tower for business and culture
=From 1805 to 1868, the ruins of the tower functioned as a fire outlook post for the City Watchmen. The tower also functioned as a ‘time-ball’ from 1868 to 1908. Every day at 1pm a large ball would fall down on a pole, letting the locals and ships know what time it was. Until the second half of the 1800, the surrounding area functioned as Copenhagen meatpacking district and became known as ‘Maven (The Stomach).’ The artist and inventor Robert Storm Petersen began his career as an apprentice working in his fathers butchers shop in ‘Maven.’ Butcher stalls occupied the area around the tower until the second half of the 1800s when they were closed.
The tower was also the focus of Hans Christian Andersen's drama, Love of Nicolai Tower performed in 1829 at the Royal Theatre. When the internationally notable Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen returned to Copenhagen in 1838 after living and working for 40 years in Rome, a flag was hoisted on the tower when his ship approached to alert residents of his arrival.
The current building, which opened in 1912, is by a design of the architect, Hans Christian Amberg (1749–1815), representing a modern reconstruction of the destroyed church. The building is recognised for its red bricks and Neo-Baroque church windows. The current spire is also a modern reconstruction of the original, financed in 1905 at the initiative and expense of the brewer Carl Jacobsen (1842-1914). A topping out ceremony for the new spire for the old Tower was held in 1909.
The 35-meter tower is the third highest in Copenhagen and adorned in iridescent green copper.
St Nicholas Church was rebuilt with the support of The Permanent Secretary P.N. Rentzmann and his sister Ida P.N. Rentzmann, who bequeathed their fortune to the reconstruction and reestablishment of the church. The Permanent Secretary P.N. Rentzmann lived in an apartment in the building until his death in 1923. The church was used by The Veterinary Council during First World War. With the completion of the renovation of the building, the mayor of Copenhagen decided that the church should be used for cultural activities, and it functioned as Copenhagen’s Public Library up until 1958 and a naval museum from 1958 to 1978. The church's organ was built by Marcussen & Son in 1930, and the first to have a mechanical action and slider chest in Denmark.
= An art center in Copenhagen
=In 1957, art pioneer Knud Pedersen established a fine art library in the building, providing the opportunity to borrow original artworks. During this period, the venue hosted several noteworthy avant-garde events and exhibitions, including some of the earliest international Fluxus performances organized by Knud Pedersen and Arthur Köpcke in 1962.
Since 1981, the building has served as a Kunsthal and the City of Copenhagen's exhibition center for contemporary art. It was known as Nikolaj Udstillingsbygning till 2006, and Kunsthallen Nikolaj from 2006 to 2010. It has since 2010 been known as Nikolaj Kunsthal. Helene Nyborg Bay has since 2018 been Director of Nikolaj Kunsthal.
Nikolaj Kunsthal collaborates with a range of organisations locally, nationally and internationally in the realm of new artistic forms and media. The art center's focusses on Copenhagen's contemporary art scene, presenting a program of changing exhibitions and events which has included artists Leonard Cohen, Andreas Emenius, Helmut Newton, Ditte Ejlerskov, HuskMitNavn, Candice Breitz and Superflex.
Directors
Lise Funder (1984 - 1993)
Elisabeth Delin Hansen (1993 - 2015)
Andreas Brøgger (2015 - 2018)
Helene Nyborg Bay (2018–present)
Exhibitions
= 2024
=Rune Bering: Bycatch
Super High End Underground
= 2023
=Shane Brox: Beauty in the Beast
Kunstnernes København
Mikkel Carl: Truth is like Poetry
Tova Mozard: ILOVERUSS
Signe Heinfelt & Jo Verwohlt: Interference
Louise Bonde-Hansen: Neither Day nor Night
Platform
Emilie Alstrup x Anna Bak
Lydia Östberg Diakité x Awa Konaté
Samara Sallam & Kate Sterchi
Laurits Malthe Gulløv x Rebekka Elisabeth Anker-Møller
Lina Hashim & Anne Zychalak Stolten
Toke Højby Lorentzen & Marie Vinther
= 2022
=DRIFT - Thorbjørn Lausten
Anna Ørberg - Tech-High!
CryptoPong - Radar Contemporary
Ditte Ejlerskov - The Cult of Oxytocin
Københavnerstykker - Rådet for Visuel Kunst 2018-2021
Arto Saari - The Champagne of Skateboarding
Planet VR
Lasse Lau & Flo Maak - Hang On, Hang Tight
Platform
Ditte Marie Frost & Mai Dengsøe
Mette Riise & Rebecca Krasnik
Ruby Mariama Laura Andersen Ndoye & Aysha Amin
Clara Busch & Nanna Saplana
Yujin Jung & Eli Ståhl
Astrid Sonne & Ilethia Sharp
= 2021
=Lotte Nielsen: Letters from St. Petersburg
Sisters Hope: Sensious City
Foo/Skou: Disharmony of Spheres
Lau & Maak: Fairy Tales
Thomas Øvlisen: Anden Stjerne til højre
Nikolaj: Københavns kunsthal 40 år
David Lynch: Infinite Deep
Nikoline Liv Andersen: Eden
= 2020
=Vibeke Bryld: Havfolket kalder mørknet vand
Skate Works
Venedig filmfestival VR i Nikolaj Kunsthal
Hartmut Stockter: Flipperoraklet i panorama-arkaderne
Nicolai Howalt: Variations of Old Tjikko
FOKUS 2020
= 2019
=Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything
Camilla Brix Andersen: Supernova
Korea in Denmark: Welcome to the Moon Palace
Korea in Denmark: The Way a Hare Transforms into a Tortoise
Anna Domnick: It's all white
FOKUS 2019
Andreas Emenius: When the Unknown becomes Familiar
Lotte Nielsen: Haus of Dragons
The Icelandic Love Corporation, Jacob Tækker: VIDEO VIDEO
= 2018
=Bank & Rau: Menneskebyen
YOKE: Konstruktur
HuskMitNavn: TEGN
Arthur Van Der Zaag: Windows of Light
Tommy Støckel: Things for a Symmetrical Tower
Anohni: Miracle Now
Haroon Mirza: Dancing with the Unknown
FOKUS 2018
Stine Marie Jacobsen: Law Shifters
= 2017
=Troels Lybecker & Christian Finne: Art in a Minefield
Eske Kath & Oh Land: The Ship
Japanese Connections
Julian Rosefeldt: Works 2001-2016
FOKUS 2017
= 2016
=Larissa Sansour: In the Future They Ate from the Finest Porcelain
Rune Fjord & Trine Bastrup: Lost Love
Trine Boesen: Holes in Space
Santiago Sierra: Black Flag
Group Show: Hybrid Matters
Sectioning: My Holy Nacho
John Akomfrah: Vertigo Sea
FOKUS 2016
The Lake: Works for Radio
= 2015
=The Museum is Closed - An Exhibition about Knud Pedersen
Embodied: Performance & documentary
Copenhagen Art Festival: TRUST
Group Show: Let There Be Light
Clement Page: The Light that Obscures
Stan Douglas: Fotografier 2008-2013
FOKUS 2015
Ian Ingram: Next Animals
= 2014
=Gruppeudstilling: Afghan Tales
Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen: Being human being
PIXELADE - en udstilling for alle fra 0 til 116
Daniel & Geo Fuchs: Stasi Secret Room
Shahzia Sikander: Parallax
Hanne Nielsen & Birgit Johnsen: Drifting
Jeanette Ehlers: Say it loud!
FOKUS 2014
= 2013
=Karin Sander: Zeigen. En audiotur gennem København
Marika Seidler: Human Animal
Roger Ballen: Retroperspektiv
Dias & Riedweg: Possible Archives
Gruppeudstilling: Enten / Eller
Eric Andersen: Liaison
FOKUS 2013
= 2012
=Tracy Rose: Waiting for god
Eva Koch: I Am the River
Fluxus 50 år: Die Irren Sind Los
Copenhagen Art Festival: Conversations
Afgang 2012
Mie Olise: Den Tavse Station
Patrick Huse: Northern Imaginary 3rd Part
Gruppeudstilling: Artreach
FOKUS 2012
= 2011
=Space Invaders
Hotel Nikolaj
Jan Banning: Bureaucraties
Afgang 11
Gil & Moth: totally Devoted to You
FOKUS 2011
References
External links
Kunsthallen Nikolaj Official website Archived 2015-03-01 at the Wayback Machine
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Kunsthallen Nikolaj
- Kunsthalle
- Karen Andersdatter
- Lille Kirkestræde 1
- Knud Pedersen
- Vertigo Sea (2015 video installation)
- Fortunstræde 1
- Museum of Copenhagen
- Andreas Emenius
- Hans Christian Amberg (architect)
