carmen curlers - staged - Museum Vestsjælland

Visit Kalundborg Museum and see the award-winning special exhibition "carmen curlers - staged".

Carmen Curler's factory

In 1964, Arne Bybjerg opened his now iconic carmen curlers factory on Hareskovvej in Kalundborg. The time was ready for carmen curlers and therefore you as a visitor will have no doubt that you have been taken back to the 1960s and 70s in the exhibition.

Why is the exhibition called "carmen curlers - staged"? Staging is something that repeats itself throughout Arne Bybjerg and the factory's work. From the many catchy advertisements and the buses that brought women to the factory from all over West Zealand - to tailored smocks and the golden Rolls Royce.

Before the factory's opening, there was a long period of more or less successful test attempts and then work to get the customers' eyes open to the product. All in all, the story of Arne Bybjerg and the Carmen curlers is a stellar example of the stubborn entrepreneur who ended up making his mark on an entire city.

About the exhibition "carmen curlers staged"

In collaboration with the internationally renowned scenographer Rikke Juellund, Museum Vestsjælland takes visitors on a journey through time and experience in the story of Arne Bybjerg and the Carmen curlers.

The exhibition is structured as four scenes. In the first scene we meet the housewife who has got a job at the factory. This has given the family more money in their hands, but it also means that the family must adapt to a different family life. In the next scene we find ourselves in the office of Arne Bybjerg and his partner Willy Beckmann. Here it is told, among other things, about Arne's journey to success, about the curler and about the factory's focus on unity through sports and parties. In the third scene, we enter the factory and look at production, working conditions and the time after Arne Bybjerg sold the factory to American Clairol. In the last scene, we travel to New York and visit Clairol's advertising universe and one of the many Carmensalons that were used in connection with advertising promotion.

The exhibition's communication consists of several layers. On screens distributed around the exhibition, Carmen's story is told by the people who experienced it. It is the trustee, the factory worker, the production manager, the salesperson, the blacksmith, children of a factory worker, etc. The sound is heard in headphones.

Arne Bybjerg and the overall history of the factory is told on strategically placed wallpaper and wooden panels around the exhibition. And on the walls, chairs, cupboards and tables there are texts with quotes from former employees, Arne Bybjerg, the press and others.

You can therefore choose for yourself whether you want to spend a long time and hear the many exciting and personal stories, or whether you want to go through the exhibition a little faster and get an insight into the history of Carmen Curlers.

Please note that the Carmen Curlers exhibition is unfortunately not wheelchair friendly.

Thanks to:
Augustinus Foundation
Bent O-Jørgensen's Foundation
Knud Højgaard Foundation
Nordea – life in the local area
The foundation in support of Kalundborg Museum
Kalundborg Museum Association

See Tv2Øst's coverage of the exhibition's first opening day: