Then AG in May took stock of the plans for Greenland’s National Gallery in Nuuk, the assessment from front person Kristine Spore Kreutzmann was that the project was closer to realization than previously.
According to the chairman, around DKK 100 million had already been secured out of a total financial framework of approximately DKK 250 million, and the board was working on a new strategy, an update of the construction project and a renewed effort to obtain the remaining funds.
Then AG in May took stock of the plans for Greenland’s National Gallery in Nuuk, the assessment from front person Kristine Spore Kreutzmann was that the project was closer to realization than previously.
According to the chairman, around DKK 100 million had already been secured out of a total financial framework of approximately DKK 250 million, and the board was working on a new strategy, an update of the construction project and a renewed effort to obtain the remaining funds.
– We hope that something will happen next year, Kristine Spore Kreutzmann told AG at the time.
Now the AG has asked the board to take stock of what has concretely happened since then.
The answer shows that the work is still in a strategy phase. The board states, among other things, that it is working on both an overall strategy for the project and a separate strategy for the fund applications.
At the same time, the project is being reviewed and updated.
– There are many corners of the 14-year-old good project that must both be updated and adapted to today’s requirements, writes Kristine Spore Kreutzmann in her reply to AG.
No concrete targets for the funding
The most crucial issue is still funding.
In May, Kristine Spore Kreutzmann stated that around DKK 150 million was missing before the construction could be realized. The AG has therefore asked how many fund applications the board expects to send, how large an amount it hopes to receive commitments for within the coming year, and whether the new strategy implies that, for example, new international funds or collaboration partners must be involved.
However, the board does not set specific figures or deadlines for the fundraising work.
Kristine Spore Kreutzmann refers, among other things, to the fact that the fund’s work takes place in confidence.
– The board is therefore aware of the scale of the project and the challenges of construction and therefore it must appear sharp and up-to-date for the fund application process, just as the board cannot tell in detail about the fund application strategy, as this work often takes place in confidential rooms.
Thus, there is still no public timetable for when the remaining millions can be in place.
The construction project is maintained
After her resignation, the former project director Nivi Christensen raised criticism of the way the project had been approached. A central point of criticism was that, in her opinion, one should first clarify the contents and functions of the National Gallery and then decide what physical framework is needed – rather than starting from an already existing building project.
AG has therefore asked whether the criticism has subsequently caused the board to consider changing or downscaling the construction.
The board states that various options for the physical design of the National Gallery have been discussed throughout the project’s more than 20-year history. This also applies to the possibility of using existing buildings.
But this has not changed the board’s basic course.
– However, this has not shaken the board’s desire to implement the very project that has been tendered in an architectural competition, writes Kristine Spore Kreutzmann.
However, the building project must be updated, both in terms of the building proposal itself and the interior design, before it is included in the further funding application process.
New office and artist seminar
Concrete things have also happened since the previous status.
The board has been given an office, which also provides accommodation for artists staying in Nuuk for shorter periods. In addition, the foundation’s approximately 20-year-old statutes have been updated.
The board is also working on holding a seminar with artists about the future gallery and wants to involve artists’ associations and spread the idea of the national gallery to the whole country.
It is a continuation of the desire that Kristine Spore Kreutzmann expressed in May to create a wider grassroots anchoring of the project outside of Nuuk.
When the seminar will be held, and what other concrete initiatives the public can expect in the coming months, does not appear from the answer.
No new director on the way yet
The organization of the project also remains undecided.
After Nivi Christensen’s resignation, an acting project director was appointed. The AG has asked about the status of the recruitment of a permanent director and about the relevant person’s terms and any other employment.
The board does not answer specifically the questions about her remuneration or other employment.
On the other hand, it appears that a new hiring round is not immediately on the horizon.
According to the board, the day-to-day administration will be handled for the time being by assigning consultants to different parts of the work. Only when the strategy work has progressed will the board decide on the organization and a possible new hiring process.
– The board therefore assesses that there are many different tasks in the process, which the board wants to define in more detail and think about in the strategy phase, before the next hiring process is initiated, writes Kristine Spore Kreutzmann.
“The gallery stands in year 0”
While the board emphasized in May that the project was in a more realistic place than before, Kristine Spore Kreutzmann now describes the situation with a different formulation.
She emphasizes that the National Gallery does not yet exist as a building or as an actual institution in the operational phase, and writes:
– The gallery is in year 0 after many years of voluntary work for its realization.
The board therefore also believes that some of the criticism that has been directed at the project’s future operation comes too soon. First, the physical framework and financing must be secured.
At the same time, the board maintains the belief that the national gallery will be created.
However, compared to the status in May, several of the central questions remain open: the strategy is not yet complete, concrete goals or a timetable for raising the remaining fund funds have not been published, and a new permanent project director must only be found when the board has clarified the future organization.
On the other hand, the construction project remains the board’s clear starting point.
– The board is confident that the project will be realised, writes Kristine Spore Kreutzmann.
