3, 2, 1... Now!

After a long and challenging reconstruction, we are finally opening the new Slovak National Gallery (SNG) in Bratislava! From 11 December 2022, you can enjoy the three opening exhibitions and the unforgettable sensation of something uniquely new, something we have all been waiting for for a very long time.

That's why we decided not to wait for the interiors and permanent exhibitions but to gradually open individual parts of the gallery complex on the banks of the Danube for your viewing pleasure. We will begin with the Prologue - an exhibition located across all spaces. Its curators have combined several "situations" assembled from large installations that became part of SNG during those long years of closure. They will be accompanied by selected works from the SNG's collections, and together they will speak to the visitors and communicate with the spaces in which they will be placed.

Another novelty will be the interactive exhibition Art. What for?, in which the curators undertook the task of answering the visitors' frequently asked questions relating to art. The last layer will present the building itself and its common and social spaces. In the spirit of the great palatial traditions of the past, we have prepared a tour of works of art placed within architecture to make your stroll through the gallery more enjoyable.

Throughout 2023, we will gradually open permanent exhibitions, a cinema theatre, a modern library, a café, and a gallery bookstore. Together with you, our visitors, we will populate the entire space of the new SNG.

The long story of SNG's restoration short

SNG has been looking forward to its restoration since 2001 when due to emergency concerns, we closed the exhibition spaces in the neo-modern Bridge, with which the architect Vladimír Dedeček connected the two wings of the historical Water Barracks. Gradually, the other parts also degenerated into disrepair - Water Barracks themselves, depositories and the administrative building. We searched for our gallery's new design in two architectural competitions, and in 2005 we started project preparations according to the winning design of the architectural firm BKPŠ Kusý - Paňák. Their proposal respects the original 1970s architecture of Vladimír Dedeček, providing high-quality exhibition spaces and connecting them with the city. We started construction in 2016, and after various ups and downs, we finally reached our goal in 2022. And so - it's ALREADY here!

Have you got questions? Ask us by sending an e-mail to info@sng.sk.