Gender Museum Denmark

KØN - Gender Museum Denmark

KØN - Gender Museum Denmark
KØN - Gender Museum Denmark
Established	1982 (1982)
Location	Aarhus, Denmark
Website	konmuseum.dk/

KØN - Gender Museum Denmark, formerly Kvindemuseet (Women's Museum), is a history museum in Aarhus, Denmark focused on the cultural history of gender and sexuality in Denmark.¹ KØN was originally founded on 31 October 1982 as a women's history museum, and since 1984 has been housed in the former Aarhus City Hall, built in 1857.²

In 2016, the museum's thematic focus was expanded to encompass issues of gender and sexuality in the broadest sense, and as a result of that, the museum's name was changed to KØN (Gender in English) in February 2021.³ The museum is spread over 3.5 floors, with 1200m² of exhibition space. There is also a café and bakery at KØN. In the 1990s, the museum created the Mathilde Fibiger Garden, a public space alongside the museum for hosting outdoor events. The museum was also further expanded in 2005.¹⁴ Their permanent exhibitions highlight women's role in democracy, gender roles, sexual education, the #MeToo movement, the Red Stocking Movement, and also highlight the history of the building in which the museum is based.⁵⁶

As of 2012, the museum operated on a budget of DKK 10 million from state, municipal and private funding.⁷ In addition to its permanent and temporary exhibitions, KØN provides educational outreach programs.⁸ In 2014, the Aarhus municipality approved an annual grant of DKK 500,000 to KØN to teach sex education, gender equality and democracy to schoolchildren.⁹⁴