About us
The museum was inaugurated with great ceremony in 1933 and has gone by several names over the years, including Hallands Museum and Länsmuseet i Halmstad (The County Museum in Halmstad). Since 2011, the institution has focused on art and operates under the name Hallands Konstmuseum (Halland Art Museum) .
The Organisation
Hallands Konstmuseum is part of Stiftelsen Hallands länsmuseer (the Halland County Museums Foundation), together with Hallands kulturhistoriska museum (the Halland Museum of Cultural History), which also includes Kulturmiljö Halland (Halland’s Cultural Heritage). The foundation’s mission is to support and promote a vibrant artistic and cultural heritage throughout Halland.
In spring 2010, a decision was made that the two county museums (in Halmstad and Varberg) would receive individual regional mandates from Region Halland and be restructured as limited companies, jointly owned by Region Halland and the respective municipalities. However, this decision was never implemented, as further legal review found it to be in conflict with Swedish foundation law. Instead, the museums were organised under Stiftelsen Hallands länsmuseer.
The founding members of the foundation are Region Halland, the municipalities of Halmstad and Varberg, Hallands Museiförening (the Halland Museum Association), and Föreningen Varbergs museum (the Varberg Museum Association). The foundation also receives funding from the Swedish government.
History
Hallands Museiförening was founded in 1886 with the aim of collecting objects from the past and eventually displaying them to the public in an exhibition space. Initially, parts of Norre Port in Halmstad were used for this purpose. The association also worked to preserve historic buildings, acquiring and saving them from demolition. Among these were Kirsten Munch’s house on Bastionsgatan (Halmstad), Brooktorpsgården on Kyrkogatan (Halmstad), and the buildings at the open-air museum Hallandsgården, founded in 1925.
The museum was run entirely on a voluntary basis until 1928, when Dr Erik Salvén was appointed. His primary mission was to see through the construction of a new museum – Hallands Museum. The building on Tollsgatan was completed in September 1933, funded by proceeds from a national lottery.
Until 1979, Hallands Museiförening operated the museum at a county level, led by a county antiquarian. In 1979, Stiftelsen Hallands länsmuseer was formed in collaboration with what was then the Varberg Museum. Stiftelsen Hallands länsmuseer donated all its collections, funds and properties to the new foundation, and has since acted as a supporter and promoter of the museum’s work.
Between 2000 and 2016, Hallands Konstmuseum (formerly the County Museum in Halmstad) was managed by the non-profit association Länsmuseet Halmstad on behalf of the foundation. The association’s board included representatives from Hallands Museiförening and the Municipality of Halmstad.
