When Marie Nipper took on the position of Director at ARKEN in the summer of 2022, there was a need for a new strategy and direction for the museum. Three years later, she and the entire team have achieved a number of significant results:
– ARKEN has changed its name and curatorial focus to become Denmark’s largest museum dedicated exclusively to contemporary art.
– The museum now attracts more first-time visitors, more young people, and more international tourists to Vestegnen.
– ARKEN has entered into new partnerships with, among others, Brøndby IF and WWF World Wide Fund for Nature.
– The museum strives to reach and engage new audiences through close dialogue with young people in Vestegnen and by aligning its opening hours with the daily rhythm of families with children.
– ARKEN is developing new and robust revenue streams by investing in a strong and outward-facing events department.
– Combined with tight financial management, this has resulted in a surplus in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Marie Nipper does not hide that her decision to step down as Director of ARKEN was not an easy one, as the museum still has many exciting projects in the pipeline. However, she looks forward to continuing her work with art as a driver of development and community.
Marie Nipper would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board and all ARKEN’s employees, the many foundations that have generously supported the museum throughout its strategic transformation, and of course all the artists who have been an integral part of ARKEN’s life over the past three years:
“ARKEN now has a new executive management team that, together with the Board, has set a clear course for the museum’s future. So after more than three years as Director, I confidently hand over the museum to a new leader. It has been a great honour and privilege to head ARKEN during these years — to help develop its profile, exhibitions and collection, and to lead a complex organisation with many disciplines and high ambitions in a time of transformation has been both meaningful and rewarding.
I could never have done it without the many talented, dedicated employees, foundations, and gifted artists. Together we have ensured that ARKEN today stands in a very different place than when I began — stronger, more visible, and ready for the future. I conclude my tenure with pride in the progress we have achieved together.”
Chairman of the Board Lars Kirdan thanks Marie Nipper for the turnaround she has accomplished at ARKEN since 2022:
“I would like to thank Marie Nipper for her great and truly decisive contribution through what has at times been a very challenging process.
It has been a great personal pleasure working closely with Marie. Under her leadership, ARKEN has reimagined itself as an art institution and taken major steps toward becoming a leading museum for contemporary art in the Nordic region. Now Marie moves on. On behalf of the entire Board, I wish her the very best of luck in her new venture.”
Practical information:
The position of Director of ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art will be advertised at the end of October 2025. Marie Nipper will remain in her position until the end of the year.