Bildmuseet — Attraction in Umeå kommun

In seven floors of striking architecture Bildmuseet shows exhibitions of international contemporary art, sometimes along with art historical retrospectives. Existential, political and philosophical issues are intrinsic to our programme. As visitor you are invited to guided tours, artist talks, lectures, film screenings and other events with free admission. Open workshops inspire creativity. Bildmuseet is a place for experiences, reflection and discussion.

The exhibitions are produced by Bildmuseet in collaboration with artists, museums and universities around the world, and they often attract national and international attention. Bildmuseet has received a Special Commendation from the European Museum of the Year jury , and was among the top candidates for the Swedish Museum of the Year Award as well as for the Council of Europe Museum Prize.

After 30 years at the Gammlia museum area we moved to the new museum building by the shores of the Umeälven River, right next to Umeå Academy of Fine Arts, Umeå Institute of Design and Umeå School of Architecture. The new museum building, designed by Henning Larsen Architects in collaboration with White, has been named one of the world's most beautiful university museums. On May 20th 2017, Bildmuseet celebrated five years at the Umeå Arts Campus.

Bildmuseet has seven floors and is 36 metres high, on a base of 22 x 22 metres. The façade consist of a panel of Siberian larch - a wood that, over the years, will fade to a light silver-grey - and varied, irregularly placed windows. Three large exhibition halls with ceilings 5.5 metres high fill each floor and have been allowed to determine the form of the building. Around the halls, a narrow external space against the façades - niches that let natural light filter in and blend with the warmer artificial lighting. They are places to take a break from experiencing the art and to gaze out over rivers, the city, and the landscape.

The stairwell towards the south and the river forms a main attraction in itself with its sculptural stairs, the play of the light, and the vistas out over nature. The entrance and reception desk floor stretch over the three lowest floors with boutiques, a picture shop, and a multi-purpose conference hall. In the middle of the building, in the façade marked with a row of windows, are the Bildmuseet...

The building is incredible. It has beautiful view, a lot of light pouring in, it has enormously big elevator that can take the whole group of people... however, as for me, most of modern art hosted choice is questionable. There is sometimes interesting and special exhibitions, but most of the time, it feels like room space is used not rationally... Big plus of this museum is space, so it can give it monstrous territory for big and peculiar installations! It has all potential to host massive art! Because even not interested in art people will come here, just because the museum itself is extremely “instagramable”. Kids-friendly, extremely...

A beautiful place from both outside and inside. Situated near a beautiful river and the view is mesmerising from the musuem. A very fun and interesting place to spend a day. Lot of activities happening every week during the spring which are absolutely free of cost and anyone interested in those can join. It's open for all. They have various kind of art exhibitions with different kind of themes. Sometimes there are guided tours by students of arts school when they portray their own artistic work. And some art shows on tv screens in the form of a documentary. Also many kinds of quizzes are also held sometimes. Real friendly people...