Find us
The park is located at Umedalen, roughly 5 kilometers from the city centre. From Vasaplan, take bus number 1 to Umedalen and get off at bus stop Glädjens gränd. The journey takes about 15 minutes. To find the best route with bus go to tabussen.nu
About the park
Umedalen Skulpturpark is one of Europe’s most prominent sculpture parks, located 5km fromt the town centre of Umeå, in the Umedalen area. Umedalen was built in the 1930s as a mental hospital area, but was phased out and sold by Västerbotten County Council in 1987 to real estate company Balticgruppen, nowadays renamed to Fort Knox.
Fort Knox chose to transform and develop the old health care institution to a modern and attractive area for living and working. As part of its ambition to change the connotation of the area’s charged name – leading many Swedes to think of mental illness – the company, in collaboration with Galleri Andersson/Sandström, created the art project Umedalen Skulptur; the gallery to be responsible for the artistic content and Fort Knox for funding the project.
The first exhibition was held in the summer of 1994 and became a huge success, which meant a continued series of summer exhibitions each year until the millennium. From the year 2000, Umedalen Skulptur was turned into a biennale, and was held every second year up to 2012.
Over the years, almost two hundred prominent Swedish and international artists have exhibited their work in the park of the former hospital area. Fort Knox has bought many of the sculptures, to be added to the park’s permanent collection. This means that there is now an impressive collection in the park, consisting of fourty-four permanent works by Miroslaw Balka, Louise Bourgeois, Tony Cragg, Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor and Clay Ketter to name a few.
Thanks to the art project Umedalen Skulptur, the Umedalen park today is one of the county’s main tourist attractions with over 20,000 visitors each summer. What makes Umedalen Skulptur unique is above all the artworks in the collection. The work of the prominent sculptors which forms the collection is usually presented to visitors in highly guarded international museum and biennials contexts, not as part of a park which also gives space to kindergartens, libraries, pharmacies and northern pines.
Another unique point is the fact that it is an entirely privately funded initiative, that it is open and accessible to everyone around the clock, all year long and free of charge.
Umedalen Skulptur has received considerable attention and numerous awards. These include:
Magazines of Sweden Best European art event in Sweden in 2000, Swedish Arts and Business Awards 2004, Council of Urban Planning’s 2006 prize for the best example of art and design in the public domain and the Umeå region tourism price in 2007.
NUMBER OF EXHIBITIORS SINCE 1994:
190 artists
NUMBER OF ARTWORKS IN BALTICGRUPPEN’S PERMANENT
COLLECTION AT UMEDALEN:
43 sculptures
NUMBER OF VISITORS ANUALLY:
Around 20 000 visitors
OPENING HOURS :
24/7, all through the year
ENTRANCE FEE:
None. It is a public park and everyone is welcome!
Guided tours
GSA Gallery offers guided tours of the region’s most visited tourist attraction – Umedalen Skulptur. These have to be pre-booked. All the guides can give the visitors an in depth presentation of the sculpture and its position within the wide spectra of contemporary art.
The tour lasts for about one hour and costs 2500 SEK including VAT. Groups larger than 30 persons require additional guide(s). Book through email to orjan@nopolo.se. Please note that the guided tours will need to be booked at least one week in advance to make sure that a guide can be provided.
Bistro le Garage
The restaurant on the park’s grounds is a perfect place to stop for lunch, coffee or dinner during your visit. It is of course possible to start or end a guided tour at Bistro Le Garage (larger groups will need to book in advance). For more information and opening hours contact the restaurant at
Web: bistrolegarage.com
Tel: +46 90 316 52
Start
From the opening in 1994 onwards, 190 eminent Swedish and international artists have exhibited their works in Umedalsparken. For 20 years Fort Knox – the owner of the park – has financed the art project ”Umedalen Skulptur”, curated by Galleri Andersson/Sandström. Through the years Fort Knox has purchased 43 sculptures forming today an impressive permanent collection. Umedalsparken is one of the county’s major tourist attractions with more than 20 000 visitors each year and has received considerable attention and numerous awards. These include Swedish journals prize for Best Art Event in Sweden 2000, Swedish Arts and Business Awards 2004, Council of Urban Planning price in 2005 for the best example of Art and Design in the public domain and Umeå Region Tourism Price 2007.
Visiting Umedalens Skulpturpark is completely free and the park is open around the clock all year round.
Welcome!