Take the Money and Run, 101-166/532 (3:100)

In 2021, Jens Haaning was commissioned by the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, Denmark, to recreate two older works of framed banknotes representing the average annual salary in respectively Denmark and Austria for an exhibition on modern working conditions. However, Haaning delivered two empty frames and kept the money – approximately DKK 532,000 ($84,000) – as part of the artwork itself. This new work, Take the Money and Run (2021) challenged ideas of (artistic) labour, value, and institutional expectations, turning the museum's commission into a provocative statement on economic power structures. Haaning argued that this aligned with the intent of the exhibition, highlighting unfair working conditions and financial struggles. The museum displayed the empty frames but later sued the artist for breach of contract. Take the Money and Run has since been acquired for the museum's collection and remains a bold critique of capitalism and the art world, questioning the nature of artistic authorship and contractual obligations.

This framed edition makes it possible to own a part of the sum of money that was never returned to the museum. The banknote has a Take the Money and Run stamp and the artist's studio stamp, and has been signed, numbered and framed in a light wood frame similar to the empty ones of the original work.