New Stockholm Photography Museum Welcomes Annie Leibovitz, Boots ABBA

Stockholm’s Fotografiska

Stockholm’s first ever photography museum, Fotografiska, is set to open its doors to the public on May 21, welcoming them with exhibitions from photographers AnnieLeibovitz, Joel-Peter Witkin and Lennart Nilsson. Swedish photography lovers wait in anticipation, while fans of the iconic pop group ABBA shake their heads.

Built in 1906, the red brick building overlooking the city’s harbor where Fotografiska now calls home was supposed to be the world’s largest ABBA museum. The building, a stop for trade ships in the early 20th century, was largely abandoned until the bell-bottomed boogiers decided it would be a great place for an homage to the colorfully costumed pop stars.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your musical tastes), construction costs forced delays and the building was handed over to Fotografiska. The revamped building will have 2,500 square meters of show space, making it one of the world’s largest photography museums.

Fotografiska is set to have its grand opening with the globe-trotting retrospective “Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life 1990-2005.” The exhibition features many of Leibovitz’s professional photographs of celebrities, like Bill Clinton, Demi Moore and Michael Jordan, as well as her personal images of friends and family.

The museum plans to have at least four major exhibits a year, as well as 15-20 minor exhibitions.