MARTa Herford is a contemporary art museum in

Herford Herford (; nds, Hiarwede) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the lowlands between the hill chains of the Wiehen Hills and the Teutoburg Forest. It is the capital of the district of Herford. Geography Geographic locat ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Building and history

The idea for the museum formed in 2000, drawing from Herford's status as a German center of furniture and home furnishing production. The name ''MARTa'' is an acronym for ''Möbel'' (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

for ''furniture''), ''ART'' (simply ''art'' in English), and ''Ambiente'' (ambience). The founding director of the museum was

Jan Hoet Knight Jan Hoet (; 23 June 1936 – 27 February 2014) was the Belgian founder of SMAK (''Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst'' or Municipal Museum for Contemporary Art) in Ghent, Belgium. Biography Jan Hoet was born in Leuven, Belgium. Thr ...

, a noted Belgian curator. took over as director in 2009. The building was designed by

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considered ...

and built by

Archimedes GmbH Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists ...

. Construction began in 2001, and it officially opened to the public on May 7, 2005.

Images

File:Martadach.jpg, A photo from across the street, showing some of the roof detail, the

Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogn ...

poem inscribed on Goebenstrasse, and sculptures by the entrance File:MARTa Paolo Chiasera www.tupacproject.it.jpg, Statue of

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

by at the entrance

References

External links

* Herford (district) Frank Gehry buildings Art museums and galleries in Germany Modern art museums 2005 establishments in Germany Art museums established in 2005 {{Germany-museum-stub