Opening Weekend

On the weekend of March 22-23, 2025, MAPS will open its doors to the museum’s largest international exhibition to date, The Story of Public Art – Dancing in the Streets (On Power), which explores groundbreaking artistic experiments in public spaces from 1960 to today. You are invited to the opening celebration, spanning the entire weekend with a program of events and performances taking place both at the museum and in public spaces in Køge and Copenhagen.

SATURDAY MARCH 22ND
MAPS, NØRREGADE 29, 4600 KØGE, KL. 2-6PM

2:10-2:30 PM Welcome and speeches by Ken Kristensen, Chair of the Culture and Sports Committee in Køge Municipality, MAPS’ Director Ulrikke Neergaard, and exhibition curator Charlotte Sprogøe, Senior Curator at MAPS.

2:30-6:00 PM The exhibition is open.

2:30-4:00 PM Performance commission Forwards in the installation Passage by Maria Hassabi.

4:00-6:00 PM DJ set by Bella Sky High.

Artists Maria Hassabi, Göksu Kunak, Alfredo Jaar, and Suzanne Lacy will attend the opening. During the event, complimentary food and snacks, ice cream, and cold drinks will be available while supplies last.

COPENHAGEN CITY HALL, NØRREPORT, AND ARCH,
NØRREGADE 41, COPENHAGEN, 10PM

After the opening at the museum in Køge, MAPS presents a special commission by the legendary American artist Jenny Holzer on the two iconic billboards at Copenhagen’s City Hall Square. Starting March 22, Holzer’s animations will run in a continuous loop, interwoven with regular advertisements, 24/7.

On Saturday night, MAPS invites you to an afterparty and a teaser for Sunday’s major performance by Göksu Kunak at nightclub ARCH, located at Nørregade 41 in Copenhagen, at 10:00 PM. At ARCH, you can experience ’a performative celebration on gender performativity’ by Göksu Kunak with Markus Hausmann. MAPS guests will have free entry between 10 and 11 PM, and the club is open until 5:00 AM. The first guests will be welcomed with a complimentary drink. On your way home, you can experience a striking artistic intervention by Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar, who disrupts the stream of advertisements on the screens above Nørreport in Copenhagen. Jaar’s work will also be displayed in Odense on the four screens above Fisketorvet.

SUNDAY MARCH 23RD
COPENHAGEN CITY HALL 6:30PM

At sunset, Göksu Kunak—one of the most acclaimed young artists on the international art scene will present the performance VENUS Vol. 2 directly in front of Copenhagen City Hall, featuring five dancers.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

The Story of Public Art – Dancing in the Streets (On Power) is curated by Charlotte Sprogøe and tells the story of groundbreaking media art and performances in public spaces. The exhibition is designed by the Italian design studio Formafantasma, known for projects such as Milk of Dreams, the main exhibition at the 2023 Venice Biennale. At MAPS, they have created a conceptual and performative design that transforms throughout the day.

Dancing in the Streets (On Power) presents projects by more than 70 artists including: Jenny Holzer, Lawrence Lek, Maria Hassabi, Theaster Gates, Ibrahim Mahama, Pope.L, Alfredo Jaar, Jeremy Deller, Franco Mazzucchelli, General Idea, Gordon Matta-Clark, Guerrilla Girls, Günter Brus, Göksu Kunak, Heidi Bucher, Hélio Oiticica, Rosemary Mayer, Sanja Ivekovic, Suzanne Lacy, Vito Acconci, Wolf Vostell, Yoko Ono, Michael Rakowitz, Mierele Laderman Ukeles, Nadya Tolokonnikova, Pussy Riot, Erik van Lieshout, Ewa Partum, Hi-Red Center (Genpei Akasegawa, Natsuyuki Nakanishi and Jiro Takamatsu), 3Nós3 (Hudinilson Jr., Mario Ramiro, og Rafael França), Alex Mlynarcik & Stano Filko, Allan Kaprow, Anna Halprin, Big Tail Elephant (Liang Juhui, Lin Yi Lin, Chen Shaoxiong Xu Tan), Bjørn Nørgaard & Lene Adler Petersen, Curtis Cuffie, Danh Vo, Daniel Felstead with Jenn Leung, DIS.

The Story of Public Art is generously supported by New Carlsberg Foundation, The Augustinus Foundation, The A.P. Moller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Moller Foundation, The Obel Family Foundation, Beckett-Fonden, 15. Juni Fonden, and The Danish Arts Foundation. The exhibition is sponsored by Besana, Expromo, Værksted for fotografi, VINK, Matrix og NielsenGlas. Hotelpartner on The Story of Public Art is ProfilHotels Copenhagen Plaza, a part of Ligula Hospitality Group. The opening program in Copenhagen on Saturday evening, March 22, is presented in collaboration with ARCH. Special thanks to Streetbites, Skarø Is, Agrain, Siefert Vine, To Øl, and 1664 Blanc.