Fotografiska, the for-profit Swedish museum, is adding three new locations to its existing roster of sites in Stockholm, Tallinn, and New York. The private museum will expand to Miami, Berlin, and Shanghai throughout 2022 and 2023. Once unveiled, these six spaces will make Fotografiska the largest private museum in the world.
The non-collecting institution aims to cash in on the experience economy with immersive exhibitions, curated shops, and high-end restaurants and cafes. It opened its first venture in 2010 in Stochkolm, before expanding to New York and Tallinn in 2019.
“The concept for Fotografiska has always been to invite culturally curious audiences to view art in a welcoming environment,” said Yoram Roth, executive chairman of Fotografiska’s parent company CultureWorks, in a statement. “At Fotografiska, we introduce hospitality and community into the overall experience, and know these feelings of belonging, connecting, and being inspired by photography will translate across the globe.”
Kunsthaus Tacheles Fotografiska Berlin. Courtesy Fotografiska
It will continue its focus on staging curated exhibitions of photography and “film-based artwork” that combine the “ultra-contemporary” with shows that aimed at a broad audience. Current and recent exhibitions include presentations on Andy Warhol, photographer Nick Brandt, as well as thematically focused shows.
The 58,000-square-foot location in Berlin will be at the former Kunsthaus Tacheles, a building originally founded as a Jewish department store in 1908. In the 1990s, it became a multi-faceted arts space. A major refit is currently underway, designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Studio Aisslinger. Its unveiling is set for September 2022.
In Shanghai, Fotografiska will install itself in a 50,000-square-foot warehouse complex being revamped by Neri&Hu, near what is being billed as the Shanghai very own High Line on the Suzhou Creek waterfront.
Render of Fotografiska Shanghai. Courtesy Fotografiska
The 42,000 square-foot Miami branch of Fotografiska, which is set to open in 2023, will be located in Allapattah in a Rockwell Group-renovated industrial building. Conveniently, the site is opposite Superblue, which specialises in experiential art, and next-door to the Rubell Museum.
“Fotografiska’s expansion is a tremendous win for Miami,” said Mera Rubell of the Rubell Collection and Museum in a statement. She called the museum “a perfect fit for the vibrant, multicultural nature” of the city. “We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Fotografiska Miami to the neighborhood,” she said.
This announcement follows the company’s merger with the co-working members’ club NeueHouse and the subsequent formation of their parent company CultureWorks that took place earlier in 2021.