Swedish Museum of Performing Arts

The Swedish Museum of Performing Arts (Swedish: Scenkonstmuseet) is a museum in Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to dance, music, and theatre. Located in the Östermalm district, it holds one of the country's most significant collections of performing arts material, with approximately 60,000 objects and over 6,000 musical instruments. The museum reopened in February 2017 after a major renovation and transformation into an experience-based museum, following a closure that began in March 2014. Its origins trace back to 1899 through the predecessor Music Museum, making it the institutional heir to more than a century of Swedish performing arts heritage.

The museum's earliest predecessor, the Music History Museum (Musiekhistorisch Museum), was established in 1899 following a theatre and music exhibition held as part of Stockholm's major Art and Industry Exhibition of 1897. Through donations and gifts, two hundred musical instruments were assembled, and the museum opened to the public in 1901. The current institution emerged from the 2010 merger of three museums: the Music Museum, the Theater Museum, and the Puppet Museum, initially operating as the Music and Theater Museum (Musik- och teatermuseet). This institution closed on 30 March 2014 and underwent extensive renovation costing approximately four million euros to become an experience museum. It reopened on 11 February 2017 as the Swedish Museum of Performing Arts (Scenkonstmuseet), with a new conceptual approach emphasizing interactive engagement over chronological display.

The museum's holdings encompass 60,000 objects spanning dance, music, and theatre, with the oldest pieces dating from the 16th century. The collection includes stage designs, handwritten song texts, and premiere pieces, alongside more than 6,000 musical instruments. Puppetry and marionette traditions are represented through puppets and related materials inherited from the Puppet Museum. Costumes form another significant component of the holdings. Since the 2017 reopening, the museum has abandoned chronological arrangement in favor of a storyline-driven presentation drawn from Swedish performing arts history. Interactive elements have become central to the visitor experience, reflecting curator Clara Åhlvik's vision of inspiring visitors to engage actively with singing and theatre.

Among the collection's distinctive features are its extensive array of over 6,000 musical instruments and its puppet and marionette collections, which preserve the legacy of the former Puppet Museum. The holdings of handwritten song texts and premiere pieces document significant moments in Swedish theatrical and musical history. The stage designs in the collection offer material evidence of production practices across centuries. While individual masterpieces are not singled out in available documentation, the gestrument stands out as a signature interactive installation: a device combining gesture and instrument that allows visitors to create music through body movement, with their actions mirrored by an on-screen avatar. This installation exemplifies the museum's post-2017 commitment to dissolving boundaries between visitor and performer.

The museum occupies the former Royal Bakery (Kroonbakkerij), a building in Stockholm's Östermalm district where one of its predecessors first established itself in 1975. The site is adjacent to the Royal Dramatic Theatre (Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern), placing it at a significant cultural junction in the city. The 2014-2017 renovation transformed the interior into an experience museum while retaining this historic location. The building houses a concert hall with a stage for theatre and music performances, as well as lectures, integrating exhibition and live performance functions within a single site.

The Swedish Museum of Performing Arts is located in Stockholm, Sweden, with its official website at scenkonstmuseet.se. As a public institution, it operates under state cultural administration. Visitors encounter an interactive environment where the gestrument and other hands-on installations encourage physical participation in music-making. The concert hall with its dedicated stage hosts regular performances and educational programming, extending the museum's function beyond static exhibition. The museum's transformation into an experience-based institution means that access is conceived not merely as viewing but as active engagement with performing arts practices.