Closed due to mounting new exhibition: 23. September – 3. October
October 4. open 16-17 VERNISSAGE
July, August and autumn vacation week 42 also open on Mondays.
Adults DKK 80
Children (3-11) DKK 40
+89 free entrance
Free admission for children under 3
Groups from 20 people can obtain discount
Museum for Paper Art is located in Blokhus in North Jutland. The town is easily accessible by public transportation from nearby cities like Aalborg and Frederikshavn. If you go by car, you can park right outside in our large parking space, which also offers bus parking.
Dogs are not allowed, but you’ll find free dog-parking on the grounds – at own risk.
Guided tours are available for booking by groups that would like to experience Museum for Paper Art. Contact us by phone +45 60129492, or send an e-mail with your request to info@museumforpapirkunst.dk.
A unique experience awaits you at the Museum for Paper Art in Blokhus. Associations, families, school classes, organizations, and friends on day trips will all have an exciting experience with us. We look forward to seeing you!
Groups from 20 persons and more are offered discounts. Contact us to learn more about your options.
Our café offers locally sourced food from quality suppliers. See more here.
To ensure the best possible experience, groups are asked to reserve at least five working days in advance.
Call +45 6012 9492 or email us at info@museumforpapirkunst.dk – we’ll find the solution best suited to your requirements.
The Museum for Paper Art invites you to delve into the exciting world of paper art, buy exquisite paper products in the gift shop and enjoy locally sourced food in the café. The centre’s paper studio gives all visitors an opportunity to explore their creativity with paper material. To learn more about the experiences waiting for you, please click here.
Exhibitions
When you step into the Museum for Paper Art, a whole new world will unfold before your eyes. A world of sensory perceptions that will change the way you see the fine, white material. Experience the core exhibition by Bit Vejle; the temporary exhibitions by high-profile Danish and international paper artists; as well as events and workshops.
Leave time behind, and step into the captivating and magical world of Bit Vejle, a Danish-Norwegian artist who cuts beautiful stories in paper. In our permanent exhibition, the world-renowned artist shows a wide selection of the many impressive works that she has created with her sewing scissors over the past 30 years.
Bit Vejle opened her first exhibition at the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Trondheim, Norway in 2008, and since then her works have been exhibited in prominent museums such as The National Museum in Stockholm, Victoria & Albert in London, Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle, To Day Art Museum in Beijing, and H.C. Andersen’s House in Odense. In addition to her many exhibitions, which have broken visitor records worldwide, Bit Vejle has collaborated with a vast number of exclusive brands. She has conducted commissioned work for the French fashion house Hermés, Hilton Hotels, Porsgrund Porcelain Factory, Nidaros Cathedral, Røros Tweed, and Georg Jensen.
Bit Vejle’s imagery is narrative and consists of beautiful motifs, but her artworks are more than delicate flowers and birds. In each cut, a unique story unfolds, inviting the spectator to interpret and reflect. Some confront deep seriousness, while others simply celebrate the joy in the small things. In several works, you will be able to spot Bit’s take on a modern heroin, Ballerina Bulldog. At first glance, she may appear to be but a tender ballerina. In reality she is powerful, as are her power tools, which she uses to make smart choices on her balancing act through life.
Psaligraphy is Greek and literally means the art of painting/drawing with scissors. The art form developed in China, where paper was invented, and spread via the Silk Road to the rest of the world during the 1300s. Psaligraphy is still a highly valued form of folk art in China, but in fact, Denmark also holds a strong position in paper cutting. This can be linked to H.C. Andersen, who in addition to his famous fairy tales also told stories with paper and scissors. And not least the ancient Danish tradition of the ‘Gaekkebrev’ – a form of binding letter with paper cuts and a riddle that people send to loved ones at Easter.
Psaligraphy is truly the epitome of slow art. A discipline of painstaking patience, which requires the artist’s utmost concentration. Each and every cut is carefully planned, and there is no room for error when your brush is a small pair of scissors and your canvas a delicate sheet of paper. This is part of what makes psaligraphy so fascinating. Observing a work of art that has been created over hundreds of hours and with an unbelievable amount of patience and concentration.
The artworks are accompanied by a specially-composed soundscape created with saxophone and scissors by Professor John Pål Inderberg and Henning Sommero. Lightning is by British lightning master Steven Laffoley-Edwards.
Scissors for a Brush is curated by Karen Kjærsgaard.
Qiao Xiaoguang is both an academic professor and a recognized artist. For decades, he has explored the basis of modern art in traditional popular art. He is a Professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing, where he is also Director of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Centre. The Paper Dialogues is the result of an art project established in connection with the 60th anniversary in 2014 of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Norway and China. The exhibition premiered in Beijing, then travelled via Shanghai and Oslo to Trondheim and, most recently, to Jersey in the Channel Islands.
Photo by Poul Nymark, Artists, Danish Minister of Culture and Norwegian & Chinese ambassadors.
Photo by Poul Nymark. Danish Minister of Culture speech.
The exhibition is supported by Spar Nord Fonden, Kulturministeriets Udlodningsmidler, ArtHouse Jersey and Jammerbugt Kommune.
Paper is a fascinating material that has been a part of our everyday for many years. The exhibition Poetry in Paper explores art made from paper.
Experience the book in new and surprising forms when artists from around the world recreate paper into new and fascinating stories.
Contributing artists:
Su Blackwell
Su Blackwell (1975) is an English artist whose sculptural universe exudes inspiration from the world of fairy-tale. The Little Match Girl is a diorama sculptured from books installed in a lighted peep show box.
Blackwell’s works explore different atmospheres in which a sense of melancholy and the loss of childhood innocence are brought into play. Su Blackwell has also illustrated the anthology The Fairytale Princess with her book sculptures. Read more about Su Blackwell on her website.
Amanda Betz
The artist and architect Amanda Betz (1978) works in a universe that challenges and tests the limits of the paper’s potentials. In Close to Nature artworks and objects are combined with poems, thus creating a symbiosis of paper artwork and words.
The meeting of Betz’ art and the poems by Peder Frederik (1978) resulted in a work inspired by the Japanese garden and their love of Danish cornfields alike. Read more about Amanda Betz on her website.
Cecilia Levy
The Swedish artist Cecilia Levy’s (1963) contribution consists of a large number of multi-facetted objects created from old books. Levy rethinks and transforms the traditional connotations of the book’s potential.
Her recreation of paper into new forms exploits the unexpected materials to encourage the spectator to observe and reflect in new and unwonted ways.
Brian Dettmer is an American artist whose sculptural work centres on the book and how it can be sculpturally transformed. Western Civilization belongs to a work series cut from the eponymous reference book.
The surgical precision of the artists’ processing of varnished and sealed books allows the different aspects of the books to reveal themselves in new ways.
Adrien Mondot & Claire Bardainne
With Snow does not make sense the French artist duo Adrien M (1979) and Claire B (1978) place themselves in the crossroads between the book’s tactile tangibility and modern digital and interactive technology.
In the book, which is a retrospective of the artists’ careers and their work, the artists’ play with technology emerges clearly in the required interaction between the book and its dedicated app. Read more about on the artists website.
Mette Olsen og Tinne Delfs
With their work Perler (Pearls) the Aarhus-based artist duo Mette Olsen (1953) and Tinne Delfs (1957) have retrived and transformed literary pearls by four Danish women writers as real strings of pearls.
Underscoring the inherent playfulness of the work, the pearls were created from book pulp and finished in a way that recalls real pearls. Apart from the actual strings of pearls, Perler shows photographic images of four living female authors carrying the pearls in a symbolical transfer of our cultural heritage.
The Ballerina Bulldog brings on her life’s journey a number of different power tools (inner strengths), which she produces and uses when in need of extra power. She finds her life power in her heart. The Bulldog is by far the Ballerina’s most important power tool. Hardly a beauty, the Bulldog has personality – and is faithful! The Bulldog thus symbolizes the need to be yourself and to be true to who you are.
The Ballerina Bulldog concept is depicted in 22 paper cuttings with the Ballerina Bulldog character in the title role.
It is no coincidence that Bit Vejle chose a ballerina as her lead character for this concept. The Ballerina was not cast because of her good looks – quite the opposite! She symbolizes what human beings can achieve when they apply themselves to the task. A ballerina has many, many years of extremely demanding and dedicated work ahead of her before she achieves the utmost in her art.
This concept is rooted in Søren Kierkegaard’s philosophy. Kierkegaard speaks of the path of life that we all walk (the Ballerina’s line). In the course of life, the path will sometimes divide into two. We are forced to stop, think deeply, and decide whether to turn left or to turn right. We must make a decision and continue along the life path we have chosen. And … the wonderful thing is that another fork will appear at another point in the road – offering us the chance to make a new and even wiser choice.
On her tightrope dance through life, the Ballerina Bulldog unpacks her power tools when faced with challenges that demand a solution. The power tools remind us that we all possess strong inner powers when we need them.
BULLDOG Yelp when life bites, and be true to yourself.
KEY It is in your power to open up or lock away things in life.
HEART Put your whole heart into everything that you do.
DOVE Make peace with yourself and your neighbour.
BUMBLEBEE If you want it badly enough, the impossible is possible.
POWER TOOL You can move mountains.
MAGIC WAND Create magic in your own life.
46664 Forgive, as Nelson Mandela did.
HAND MIXER Whip up the mood when it’s needed.
BUTTERFLY You can always change.
SCISSORS Use your creative powers.
CROWN You are the queen of your own life. You define the laws and the rules for how your life should be lived.
HOURGLASS Take care of the time you have – use it well.
DICE Dare take chances.
CAKE Remember to sweeten your life.
VIOLIN Listen and find your life’s melody.
ANCHOR Never give up hope.
CROSS Believe in something larger than yourself.
FORK Eat wisely and take care of your body.
LOCK Solidarity and loyalty give strength.
REVOLVER Aim at your goals.
WINGS Use your imagination to discover new possibilities.
Today’s children and young people are facing great demands – and many children and young people place unreasonably high demands on themselves. Such pressure can become so intense that serious problems may arise.
Figuratively speaking, the young generation find themselves on a difficult tightrope dance as they begin life. Every day, they must balance the massive requirements from the world around them, other’s ideals, and their own ideals, all of which are hard to live up to. They try to adapt and acquire the characteristics that they believe are expected from them. This means that they lose, or never get in contact with, their own unique, personal attributes and strengths. The result is unhappiness and, in the worst case, mental and physical illness.
Could it be that a role model in which they could mirror themselves might help? We need the Ballerina Bulldog on the field.
Like many children and young people, the Ballerina Bulldog can no longer stand to live up to all these intense demands. She has therefore decided to find her own way of balancing on her path through life. And she is happy to pass on her coping skills to other people.
The Ballerina Bulldog concept is here to bring joy to children and young people, to motivate them to become conscious of their inner strengths, and to inspire them to be the best version of themselves.
21 September 2018–10 March 2019
Herman Coppus
See how paper, geometry and colour fit together.
Herman Coppus (b. 1955) is a graduate of Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts in the Netherlands. His visual works draw inspiration from modern artistic trends, such as constructivism and geometrical abstraction. He has developed his very own visual language, characterized by a clear focus on colour, rhythm, and light effects. Another characteristic is his perfectionist approach to the production of his artworks.
21 September 2018–10 March 2019
Above Earth Below
Above Earth Below by Theresa Maria Jessing. Jessing is a trained illustrator who has had several books published; she is also a highly skilled and innovative craftswoman. Theresa is a trendsetter with the unique ability to communicate the meaningfulness of themes, such as ecological trends, slow living, and the inherent value of low material consumption – in short, she is endowed with the gift of giving pictorial form to the big questions that increasingly inspire and engage our times, and young people in particular.
Many visitors will already know Theresa, though for reasons entirely unrelated to paper art, as she is the wife of DR TV’s self-styled country bumpkin, the back-to basics farmer Frank Erichsen, whose life at Kastaniegården has been followed closely by viewers for the last 10 years.
In the Above Below Earth exhibition, Theresa creates a wondrous narrative world that will inspire young and old alike – a world in paper which shows an entirely new way of regarding the interplay between the human, the animal, and the natural worlds.
23 March- 9 September 2018
The charming Easter geck letters are an age-old tradition unique to Denmark. At the Centre for Paper Art, we celebrate this tradition!
The exhibition Geck letters to . . . allows you to experience a selection of historical geck letters from the collection of the Historical Museum of Northern Jutland. You will gain a truly special insight into our popular Easter tradition and its development over the centuries. In collaboration with Jammerbugt Municipality schools, we show geck letters cut by 5th-grade students. The word geck comes from old German, meaning ”a tease”.
The Danish geck letter tradition associated with Easter dates back to the 18th century. We cut and
compose a little letter in order to “play geck” with the receiver. If the receiver is unable to guess who the sender was, a chocolate egg or a kiss is owed.
A snowdrop
A summer fool
A bird without wings
A little friend who holds you dear
A loving greeting brings
23 March–9 September 2018
“The Centre for Paper Art in the Making” is a process exhibition showing the refitting of the old industrial building into an art centre.
In the spring and summer of 2018, the centre’s Current Gallery offers an insight into the transformation of the old industrial building into the Centre for Paper Art. This refitting was in the hands of the Danish main contractors Ambiente. Photos and time-lapse videos are among the exhibition’s exhibits.
Each year, the Museum for Paper Art hosts several functions. We are also represented at events in Hune and nearby Blokhus. Sign up for our newsletter (currently only in Danish) to hear about coming events or follow us on Facebook, where events are regularly announced.
Museum for Paper Art is closed during construction of new exhibitions.
Paper Dialogues. The exhibition can be experienced at Museum for Paperart up until the 22nd of September 2019.
The geck letter tradition has existed for several hundred years and belongs to the Danish cultural heritage. You can experience geck letters made by Jammerbugt municipalities 5th graders. In the paper-workshop, you can try creating your own geck letters.
Slow Art Day is celebrated by chosen museums all over the world. As the only venue in Denmark, Museum for Paperart invites you to an art-experience devoted to contemplation.
THE PAPER CUT-OUT EXPERIENCE Workshop by Kaisu Koivisto
The transformation of an image through the simple process of cutting is inspiring. The central idea of the workshop is to make paper cuttings, either improvising or using the stencils and patterns made by Kaisu Koivisto. Discarded magazines are good materials for paper cutting. The end result is always a surprise. It really boosts creativity and imaginatin as one sees how new shapes, images and ideas evolve from the printed matter used as material. On another level it deals with the imagery we are surrounded with, and the empowering notion that one can play with images, shapes and colors.
The workshop participants can create paper cuttings individually, or make a bigger entity using the cuttings as modules for it. Kaisu Koivisto has made informative books of cut-outs which can be used for ideas and getting started.
Kaisu Koivisto is inspired by the environment in which she lives and works in. In her works she has a multi-disciplinary approach, combining different materials and methods into installations. The thematic focus of her artistic practice is rooted in the notions of place, history and landscape, and in the different ways in which environments are represented, commodified, and stereotyped.
The workshop is free when entrance to the Museum for Paper Art is paid.
Visit us during the event.
The Museum for Paper Art is closed during mounting ‘Poetry in Paper’
Vernissage of ‘Poetry in Paper’
Café
In our café, you can enjoy a delicious array of refreshments and artistic taste sensations from local manufacturers. Try our sandwiches with locally sourced meats, cakes, or ice cream from Ryå.
Menu
Coffee, 2 variants. From Nørre Snede Kafferisteri. Small (35cl.)
35 kr.
Coffee 2 variants. From Nørre Snede Kafferisteri. Large ( 1 l.)
90 kr.
Tea, green, with Goji berries
35 kr.
Tea, black. Earl Grey, organic
35 kr.
Beer from Skagen Bryghus (50 cl.) Various selections, see the bar
65 kr.
Artisan Apple juice with different taste. See the bar for selections
22 kr.
Sparkling water/with citrus (25 cl.)
20 kr.
Coca-Cola (25 cl.)
20 kr.
Water, per person
10 kr.
Wines
Glass
Bottle
Red wine, French. Louis Invino, Merlot. Vin de Pays d’Oc
55 kr.
185 kr.
Red wine, French. Château de Ruth Grande Sélection, Côtes Du Rhône, 2016
75 kr.
250 kr.
White wine, French. Louis Invino, Sauvignon Blanc
55 kr.
185 kr.
White wine, French. La Forge Estate Viognier, 2016. Vin de Pays d’Oc
75 kr.
250 kr.
Green matcha muffin
38 kr.
Dancing Ballerina fragilité
38 kr.
Brownie with edible paper picture ‘ Bit Vejle Design’
45 kr.
Bun with salted butter
25 kr.
From 11.00.
Please order in advance:
Charcuterie serving per person
119 kr.
Deer meat sandwich
58 kr.
Bun with cold meat
48 kr.
Paper Studio
In a digital era, where time is a scarce resource, it is more crucial than ever that we let our imagination and creativity run free. That we nurture the urge to create that lies in all of us, and immerse in something that challenges our imagination and fine motor control.
Our paper studio is a place to do just that. Here, we make room for curiosity, explore paper as a creative material, and stimulate innovation in adults as well as children.
In our paper studio, you can let out your inner paper artist and try your hands at arts and crafts, Danish ‘gaekkebreve’, origami or paper silhouettes – with help and guidance from professionals, of course. Design your own lamp shade, fold a paper plane, build a kite, or make the prettiest invitations, place cards, or paper boxes.
Don’t forget to try the SILHOUETTE CABINET
In the shop, you can buy several creative paper projects. See the projects in the peek cabinet by the Studio.
Visitors’ shop
In our shop, you’ll find a wide selection of paper goods, arts and crafts, as well as Bit Vejle’s unique designs.
The assortment includes beautiful handmade note books, interior design, postcards, porcelain tableware with paper décor cut, handmade paper crafts, art, wowen rugs, a big selection of Christmas products, and much, much more.
Looking for a present for that birthday, or for your dinner host – or something for a wedding party, or a confirmation gift? Come find it here.
Our gift shop features beautifully hand-crafted notebooks, postcards, China with paper cuttings, handmade paper, scissors, handicraft, books, a large selection of Christmas products, salted and dried cod (airsealed!), and edible paper – to mention just a few things from our offerings.
Married a year ago? Then it’s time for your paper wedding anniversary! Come visit our shop to enjoy our great selection of beautiful flower decorations for your party. Let us help you celebrate your happiness.
Bit Vejle’s numbered and signed artworks are sold in the shop. A choice of Bit Vejle’s unique paper designs are also on sale on the internet.
About
You may think you know paper. The thin sheets or fibres that constitute a natural part of our everyday lives: Writing paper. Baking paper. Wrapping paper. Copy paper. But paper is so much more.
When you step into the Museum for Paper Art, a whole new world will unfold before your eyes. A world of sensory perceptions that will change the way you see the fine, white material. Museum for Paper Art is the only art centre in Scandinavia that focuses solely on paper: cut, folded, shaped, ripped, or carved. We invite you to experience impressive and fascinating contemporary paper art, crafts, and design by national and international artists.
A new kind of heartbeat
Stepping into our exhibitions, you will feel time moving a little bit slower. Paper art is the epitome of slow art – for the artist as well as the spectator. So leave time behind for a moment and get lost in captivating works that will make you stop and wonder – a much-welcomed break from a restless, fast-moving, and demanding world. Museum for Paper Art is a haven and a place for peace and reflection. A place where you can enjoy the here and now and just let yourself get carried away.
Paper as a creative material
Paper is a fascinating material, which has played a central role in our society for centuries. The fine sheets of fibres have connected people and cultures for ages, enabling us to write down laws, love poems, and historical events. We have used it to exchange ideas and to communicate, to write letters and contracts. Today most of our communication takes place online, and the role of paper in everyday life has changed significantly. But the diverse material holds a vast potential that goes way beyond its traditional use. Paper also makes for great art – psaligraphy, origami, decoupage, sculpture, and other impressive forms of expression.
Behind the Center
Museum for Paper Art was founded by Bit-Denmark ApS in collaboration with the non-profit Foundation for Psaligraphic Art.
Else Marie Bukdahl, Anne Vilsbøll, and Anni G. Walther
Joensuu Art Museum, Finland, Paparsbruk Museum, Sweden, Telemarksgalleriet, Norway, and Centre for Paper Art, Denmark.
Our grateful thanks go to everyone who has supported the Museum for Paper Art. Please email us to learn about sponsoring opportunities with the Centre for Paper Art.
