Verner Jansson, Three- and Four-sided Surfaces in Black Blue Grey Brown
From the collection of Hallands Konstmuseum

Organisation

Hallands Konstmuseum and Hallands kulturhistoriska museum (the Halland Museum of Cultural History) together make up Stiftelsen Hallands Länsmuseer (the Halland County Museums Foundation). Since the start of 2016, Kulturmiljö Halland (Halland’s Cultural Heritage) is part of Hallands kulturhistoriska museum.

History

Hallands Museiförening (The Halland Museum Society) was established in 1886. The purpose of the society was to collect objects from a bygone era in order to eventually display them for the public in an exhibition space. At first, the group used portions of Norre Port, the old Halmstad city gate, for this purpose. The society also saved some buildings from demolition and purchased others, including Kirsten Munch’s house on Bastionsgatan (Halmstad), Brooktorpsgården on Kyrkogatan (Halmstad) and the buildings that make up the Hallandsgården Open-air Museum, which was founded in 1925.

The society worked on an entirely voluntary basis until its first employee, Erik Salvén, PhD, was hired in 1928. His most important responsibility was to oversee the construction of a new museum building: Hallands Museum. In September 1933, the building on Tollsgatan was completed with funding from the national lottery.

Until 1979, it was the Halland Museiförening that conducted all museum activities throughout the county under the leadership of a county custodian of antiquities. Then Stiftelsen Hallands Länsmuseer was formed together with what was then Varbergs Museum. The Halland Museiförening donated all of its objects, collections, funds and properties to the foundation and assumed responsibility for promoting and supporting the museum.

Since the year 2000, Hallands Konstmuseum (formerly Länsmuseet halmstad) has been run by the non-profit Länsmuseet Halmstad (County Museum of Halmstad) association at the behest of the Stiftelsen Hallands Länsmuseer. The association’s board of directors includes representatives of the Hallands Museiförening and the municipalities of Halmstad.

In the spring of 2010, the decision was taken “that both county museums [Halmstad and Varberg] are to be given their own missions by Region Halland and to be reformed as corporations jointly owned by Region Halland and their respective municipalities.” However, the decision never took effect because it was determined after further study that it would violate the Foundation Act.

Since the start of 2016, Hallands Konstmuseum has been organised together with the Hallands kulturhistoriska museum and Kulturmiljö Halland under the Stiftelsen Hallands länsmuseer.

The name change from the Länsmuseet Halmstad to Hallands Konstmuseum occurred at the start of 2011.