Visitors to the Kunstpalast Düsseldorf can now lift weights and ride stationary bikes surrounded by centuries-old art.
Felix Krämer installed over 70 training machines and 23 movement stations across the museum’s historic halls, ddorf-aktuell.de reported.
The unconventional setup, titled “GYM,” aims to challenge traditional museum habits. Technogym supplied the latest digital equipment, allowing visitors to exercise while passing paintings, altarpieces, and sculptures.
Museumgoers can bring drinks in sealable bottles, an item normally prohibited in the galleries, to stay hydrated during workouts.
“We are interested in the question of what happens when we question our usual ideas of a museum visit,” Krämer said, according to ddorf-aktuell.de. A vague local historical connection links the initiative to the GeSoLei, a highly progressive exhibition for health care, social welfare, and physical exercise held 100 years ago that prompted the construction of the Ehrenhof complex and the Rheinterrasse.
Heavy treadmills, rowing machines, and strength-training devices occupy rooms typically reserved for quiet contemplation. Test participants turned their backs on historical artworks to focus on instruction screens during bicep curls and knee-strengthening exercises, ddorf-aktuell.de reported.
Digital screens track calorie burn and praise visitors for completing routines. One station places stationary bikes in the Belvedere with views of the Tonhalle, while a Pilates bank sits near nineteenth-century paintings in the Classical Modernism section.
Test person Ulrike turned her back on the altar relief depicting the birth of Christ featuring the “Saint Jerome in His Study” artwork during bicipital training, while a determined couple made treadmills whir in front of the busts of Elector Jan Wellem and his wife Anna Maria without contemplating the spirit of the Baroque period.
The “GYM: Fit mit Kunst” exhibition runs through February 21, 2027, in the museum spaces at Ehrenhof 4-5. Admission is included with the standard 17-euro museum ticket, while children under 18 and Urban Sports Club members enter for free, ddorf-aktuell.de reported.
The museum scheduled a class program featuring yoga, pilates, barre, and interval training. Visitors can also join an after-work workout session with music on Thursdays from 6 PM to 9 PM.
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