A long-term promise

The passion for visual arts of Monica and Ole Robert Reitan, owners of a holding company, led them not only to found a museum of modern and contemporary art in their hometown of Trondheim, Norway – the PoMo Museum, opened on February 15, 2025 – but also, just a few months later, to transform it into a foundation open to local and international audiences with an extensive program of exhibitions, outreach activities, and events. Ole Robert Reitan states: “This is our contribution to the city, and a long-term promise that art will have a central place in the centre of the city.”

This inclusive and stimulating cultural destination finds its home in the historic downtown post office, decommissioned in 2011 and an integral part of the local identity. An Art Nouveau building, with a surface area of 4,000 square meters distributed over five floors, it was skillfully transformed by architects Erik Langdalen and India Madhavi, in their first museum project. They combined solid conservation principles with a vibrant and joyful renovation, aiming to connect past and future. The rough granite facade from Østfold is paired with a bold use of color, starting with the new fuchsia metal and glass entrance door: a transparent and permeable membrane that forms the museum’s portal.

Vibrant colors continue inside – the museum shop appears as a pink ash wood box – guiding visitors through a surprising experience with pathways throughout the entire building. Color progressively intensifies starting from the basement, dedicated to special events, where a deliberate absence of color is compensated by the use of concrete, stainless steel panels, and wire mesh, conveying a sense of spontaneity. Moving upwards, three floors of exhibition galleries host both temporary exhibitions and displays of permanent collections. A series of fragmented and colorful intermediate spaces regulate flow and circulation, offering an additional form of visual stimulus. Higher up, the reading room surprises with a pop vision of forgotten Nordic folk art, reinterpreted by artists Gijs Frieling and Job Wouters through a series of decorations that, along with the pixelated carpet and custom furnishings, express a concept of the simultaneous union of different stylistic languages (Gesamtkunstwerk).

Founders: Monica and Ole Robert Reitan
Original building: by Karl Norum, 1911
Architects: Erik Langdalen and India Mahdavi
Associated designers & artists: Vibeke Fonnesberg-Schmidt (Lounge Room), Sébastien Gafari, Trumeaux Mirrors (PoMo Project Room), Martino Gamper, Off Cut Lino Table (Lounge Room), Massproductions, Crown Armchair (Meeting & Reading Room), Charles Kaisin, K-Bench (PoMo Project Room), Gijs Frieling, Jobs Wouters, (Reading Room) Isometrix Lighting Design
Current exhibition (until 31 May 2026): Louise Bourgeois – Echo of the Morning, curated by Philip Larratt-Smith and organised in collaboration with The Easton Foundation