Organizer Information
Sorø Art Museum was founded in 1943 and is housed in a listed building from 1832 on Sorø's main street, expanded in 2011 with an award-winning extension by Danish architects Lundgaard & Tranberg. Its collection spans roughly 300 years of Danish art, from the era of Holberg through the Golden Age and modernism to contemporary work, including artists such as Thorvaldsen, Eckersberg, and Olafur Eliasson, alongside a distinct collection of Russian icons.
Holstebro Art Museum opened in 1967, founded by art historian Poul Vad, and is recognized today as an independent, state-recognized institution known for its strong public-art tradition in the city of Holstebro — including the acquisition of Alberto Giacometti's Woman on Cart and works by artists such as Astrid Noack, Lawrence Weiner, and Bjørn Nørgaard. The two museums have jointly organized the biennial sensory exhibition series Sans! New Worlds since 2024, with support from the Faerch Foundation, the 15 June Foundation, and Nordea-fonden — the latter a major Danish philanthropic foundation established in 1989 that funds projects in health, exercise, nature, and culture across Denmark.
Title & Description
SANS! New Worlds 2028 — Open Call for Exhibition Proposal
Sorø Art Museum and Holstebro Art Museum invite professional visual artists to create a sensuous and imaginative exhibition project for the third and final installment of their SANS! New Worlds series. The exhibition should be built around seductive visual and tactile environments that appeal to both sensation and reflection, inviting visitors to see, touch, smell, and listen. The organizers emphasize that the exhibition must contribute to a tangible, curious relationship with art and the larger questions it raises, and that active audience participation is a central element of the series — the ambition is to create playful, narratively rich, total artistic experiences.
Theme
A sensory, playful exhibition experience for children and adults alike, designed around the series' recurring premise that "by experiencing art with the body, we learn more about ourselves and our surroundings." This edition is the third and final exhibition in the Sans! New Worlds series.
Categories
- Visual Arts
- Installation
- Interdisciplinary Arts
- Multiple Disciplines
- Design
- Architecture
Eligibility
- Open to professional visual artists
- May apply individually, as a duo, or as a group
- May apply in collaboration with scenographers, architects, or designers
- Applicants must be citizens of an EU/EEA country and hold permanent residence permit status
- The museum states they actively work to present a diverse exhibition program with artists across age, gender, sexuality, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds
Program Benefits & Awards
- Selected exhibition project: total fee of DKK 200,000, incl. VAT, covering concept development, production of works, and installation/build for both venue showings
- A separate display/exhibition-copyright fee (visningsvederlag), paid in addition to the above
- Artists may apply for additional external foundation/grant funding beyond the project fee
- Artist talks, events, and outreach activities are compensated separately
- Museums cover transport, insurance, maintenance, outreach/education, and PR costs
- Museums provide installation/build assistance
- Accommodation provided during the build period and for any related performances or talks
- Shortlisted applicants invited to the October 2026 presentation round receive a preparation fee of DKK 10,000, incl. VAT
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Applications should be emailed as a single PDF to opencall@sorokunstmuseum.dk, addressed to Ida Lehrmann Madsen at Sorø Art Museum.
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 21 September 2026
- Response on Shortlisting: mid-October 2026
- Presentation Round (for shortlisted applicants), Sorø Art Museum: 23 October 2026
- Exhibition Opening, Sorø Art Museum: Spring 2028
- Exhibition Opening, Holstebro Art Museum: Autumn 2028
Location
Sorø Art Museum and Holstebro Art Museum, Denmark
Additional Details
Selection is made by the artistic management and staff of both museums. A shortlist of the strongest projects is invited to an in-person presentation round on 23 October 2026 at Sorø Art Museum, where applicants present their project in more detail, including a draft budget, and meet the curator and exhibition team; the final exhibition project and artist(s) are chosen after this meeting. Selection criteria emphasize imagination, sensuality, and play combined with aesthetic and artistic quality; strong artistic quality; an aesthetically grounded and visually stimulating exhibition; a sense of the total installation's narrative and audience-engaging potential; sensory diversity and opportunities for interaction, imaginative play, and creative co-creation; an exhibition that takes children seriously as an audience; and durability, safety, and functionality appropriate to the target age range of 5–12.
Artists are expected to budget roughly 2 additional weeks of work for adapting and rebuilding the exhibition for its second venue showing, and physical presence at special events during the exhibition run is considered an advantage, though not stated as mandatory. All applicants are guaranteed anonymity; with the exception of the winning submission, all project materials are deleted from the museums' server once the selection process concludes.
Contacts: Ida Lehrmann Madsen (ilm@sorokunstmuseum.dk / +45 5210 9248), Marie Louise Helveg Bøgh (mlb@sorokunstmuseum.dk / +45 5210 9247), Anders Gaardboe Jensen (agj@holstebrokunstmuseum.dk / +45 9339 8054).