MAPS – Museum of Art in Public Spaces creates engaging experiences for local, national, and international audiences through a wide range of exhibitions, art projects, research, education, and events. MAPS is present both in the museum building in Køge and in public spaces, where art fosters new encounters between people and places and addresses current societal issues through ambitious art projects.
From 2025 onwards, MAPS will expand its activities with a dual focus: The Story of Public Art, a semi-permanent art history exhibition, will be established in the museum building, while MAPS will also branch out into an extensive network of public spaces with new art projects.
With The Story of Public Art, MAPS will, for the first time, offer a comprehensive narrative on contemporary art in public spaces’ recent art history. This ambitious, globally oriented exhibition showcases significant historical examples of art’s ability to engage societal questions and everyday life and create lasting changes. Through The Story of Public Art, MAPS offers a solid foundation for understanding and experiencing art in public spaces. In continuation hereof, MAPS will cultivate new partnerships and interdisciplinary collaborations contributing to the production and development of future art in urban spaces, landscapes, digital platforms, and media based public spheres.
Education
MAPS offers engaging educational programs aimed at making art a vital and active asset in the education of children and young people. Education is a central aspect of the museum’s work, and since 2018, MAPS has developed a specific practice and pedagogical methods for teaching art in public spaces. Learn more about MAPS’ educational initiatives.
Research
Research is a cornerstone of MAPS’ mission and identity.
We are a museum dedicated to presenting, commissioning, and co-developing art that critically explores what public space is, was, and could become. Through academically rigorous inquiry and practice-based methodologies, we aim to challenge conventional thinking and advance public art as a field.
MAPS supports research that redefines the role of public art — in Denmark and beyond. We act as a platform for examining how art in public spaces intersects with wider cultural, political, and social dynamics, while staying rooted in art-historical analysis and contemporary curatorial thinking.
Our research is deeply embedded in the museum’s curatorial programs, commissions, and community initiatives. These projects provide fertile ground for exploring urgent themes such as:
- Play as a key to experimenting with and reimagining public space
- Courage to think big as art transforms our shared urban and landscape spaces
- Cultural heritage and the shaping of European identity
- Ocean ecologies and climate-conscious practices in place-making
By bridging theory and practice, MAPS fosters dialogue between artists, scholars, urbanists, and the public.
COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS
We actively engage in cross-disciplinary research partnerships, both nationally and internationally. These include:
- Co-authored publications
- Interdisciplinary residencies
- Symposia and conferences
- Experimental formats for knowledge sharing
MAPS welcomes collaboration with universities, non-profit organizations, museums, and art institutions that share our commitment to critical research in public art.
PHD & POSTDOC OPPORTUNITIES
We are open to discussing PhD and PostDoc research projects that align with the museum’s research strategy and curatorial vision.
For inquiries, please contact:
Malene Natasha Ratcliffe, Director, mnr@mapsmuseum.com
Irene Campolmi, Senior Curator & Researcher, ic@mapsmuseum.com
Collection
MAPS collects, registers, and preserves the material and digital traces of public art projects to ensure they are maintained for future generations and accessible to the present. The collection consists of over 18,000 unique sketches, models, and preparatory works for art in public spaces, along with an archive documenting processes and discussions surrounding the art. The museum’s collection and registration practices bridge the gap between the artistic preparatory works and the archive’s documentation of processes, events, and interactions involving art in public spaces and its engagement with citizens, situations, and contexts in different public spaces.
The museum’s acquisitions focus on expanding and strengthening the collection with significant works and projects that have influenced the development of the field of public art, both nationally and internationally with emphasis on works situated in urban and landscape settings.
History
The museum was founded in 1977 as Køge Skitsesamling and has been known as KØS Museum of Art in Public Spaces since 2009. From January 14, 2025, the museum will be called MAPS – Museum of Art in Public Spaces.
Becoming CLIMAVORE
Cooking Sections, CLIMAVORE: On Tidal Zones, 2017-ongoing. Installation view, Isle of Skye, Scotland. Courtesy: the artists. Photo: Cooking Sections.
MAPS is conscious of the environmental challenges facing our society. Since 2022, the museum has been part of the international network Becoming CLIMAVORE, initiated by the London-based artist duo Cooking Sections. MAPS’ involvement in Becoming CLIMAVORE is integrated into various activities—from exhibitions, event programs, and educational initiatives to the café menu and our annual food market. Learn more about MAPS’ role in Becoming CLIMAVORE.
Contact
info@mapsmuseum.com / tlf. 56 67 60 20
LEADERSHIP
Director
Malene Natascha Ratcliffe,
mnr@mapsmuseum.com
PA to the Director
Emilie Marie Pedersen,
emp@mapsmuseum.com
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
Head of Finance and Administration
Marie Sloth,
ms@caso-aps.dk
COLLECTION
Head of Collection and Production
Ieva Ose,
io@mapsmuseum.com
PUBLIC ART, EXHIBITIONS & PROGRAM
Senior Curator
Kit Leunbach,
kl@mapsmuseum.com / +45 24 90 20 77
Senior Curator
Irene Campolmi,
ic@mapsmuseum.com / +45 28 69 73 37
THE STATUE LANDSCAPE IN DENMARK
Project Manager
Sara Sønderskov Ravn,
ss@mapsmuseum.com / +45 31 31 90 91
Registrar and Research
Camilla Holm Rautenberg,
chr@mapsmuseum.com / +45 31 62 35 62
MARKETING & COMMUNICATION
Head of Marketing and Communications
Karoline Graugaard Boisen,
klgb@mapsmuseum.com / +45 31 32 96 69
EDUCATION & TOURS
Head of Education and Public Engagement
Sofie Andreassen,
san@mapsmusem.com / +45 31 56 11 11
Educators and Guides
Carl Willer Daverkosen
Hannah Teplin
Marie Skousen
Mie Schlüter Nielsen
Senior Museum Host
Emilie Marie Pedersen,
emp@mapsmuseum.com / +45 53 89 38 88
Chief Custodian
Jesper Wrisberg,
jw@mapsmuseum.com
Museum Hosts
Asta Holm-Petersen
Carl Willer Daverkosen
Clara Rosenkrands
Hannah Teplin
Marie Skousen
Otto Uno Jasmund Eilersen
Sine Demime Eda Demirhan
William Nielsen
CAFÉ
Head of the Café
Sara Sønderskov Ravn,
ss@mapsmuseum.com / +45 31 31 90 91
Café Staff
Alfrida Victoria Marker
Clara Rosenkrands
Josefine Specht Helmo
Sine Demime Eda Demirhan
Ulla Blædel
William Nielsen