Nasjonalmuseet of Norway: a cultural renaissance in Oslo
Norway’s ‘gargantuan’ new institution is the third largest in Europe

As a tourist attraction, Oslo has long existed “in the shadow” of Stockholm and Copenhagen, said Thomas Rogers in The New York Times. Yet where once the Norwegian capital was “derided” as “sleepy and overpriced”, it is now in the midst of a bona fide cultural renaissance that may put it on a par with its more traditionally glamorous Scandinavian neighbours. A major redevelopment project, dubbed “Fjord City”, is transforming Oslo’s waterfront into “a glossy district of high-rises and pedestrian plazas”, and a home for a clutch of world-class museums and art galleries.
Chief among these is Norway’s national museum, a “gargantuan” new institution that finally opened its doors to the public in June, after an 11-year gestation. Combining the collections of four pre-existing galleries and costing more than £500m, the Nasjonalmuseet is Europe’s third-largest museum; with 80 rooms and no less than three acres of display space, it will be able to showcase some 6,500 of the 400,000 objects in its inventory, as well as major temporary exhibitions to rival those at Tate Modern or Paris’s Centre Pompidou. Featuring everything from paintings by Edvard Munch (including The Scream, Madonna and other famous works) to 17th century Norwegian tapestries, to contemporary works of art, it takes an “assertive approach to showcasing Norwegian culture”.
This “long-anticipated” museum takes London’s V&A as a major “curatorial influence”, said Helen Barrett in the FT. This means that design will be displayed on an equal footing to art. Among its first big name exhibitions will be a solo show of Grayson Perry’s ceramics and textiles. On display are traditional arts and crafts and, as you might expect, exquisite examples of Norwegian furniture – a highlight is the studio of Terje Ekstrøm, designer of futuristic 1970s chairs, transplanted wholesale into the museum. But there is also industrial design from recent decades, when Nordic companies pioneered many technological advances. There are deep-sea robots, and displays of consumer tech by Finland’s Nokia and Sweden’s Ericsson. (In 2001, Nokia released a camera phone a full six years ahead of Apple’s first iPhone.) Elsewhere, we see a display devoted to “digital graphic design”, featuring curios such as the video for the Norwegian band A-ha’s 1985 hit Take on Me.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The museum’s holdings are fascinating, said Tim Abrahams in the Architectural Record. One moment, you’re looking at Eastern Orthodox icons that ended up in Norway following an 11th century schism with the Western Church; the next, you’re in a room filled with “simple furniture” dating from the 19th century. It’s a shame, then, that the building that houses all this is rather uninspired. The architects, German firm Kleihues + Schuwerk, strived to avoid sculptural elements and idiosyncrasy; the result is a “minimalist” design that underwhelms on almost every level. It is clad in a stone that is neither “attractive or versatile”, and from certain approaches, it looks “astonishingly drab”. Its interior spaces are better, but not by much: the exhibits, you feel, are under-served. Nevertheless, it is possible to spend “a full day immersed” in this “very expensive box”, perusing “vibrant medieval tapestries, remarkable collections of glass and silverware, or the more recent story of a nation told through its modern art”. It is proof that “content, mercifully, can still be everything”.
Now open to the public; nasjonalmuseet.no
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Netflix and the second screen phenomenon
In The Spotlight Programme makers claim they're being asked to cater for distracted viewers
-
How will Labour pay for welfare U-turn?
Today's Big Question A dramatic concession to Labour rebels has left the government facing more fiscal dilemmas
-
Easy listening: the best audiobooks
The Week Recommends Swap hefty hardbacks for hands-free reading this summer
-
The tourist flood in the Mediterranean: can it be stemmed?
Talking Point Finger-pointing at Airbnb or hotel owners obscures the root cause of overtourism in holiday hotspots: unmanageable demand
-
Thai fish pie with crispy turmeric potatoes recipe
The Week Recommends Tasty twist on the Lancashire hot pot is given a golden glow
-
No self-portraits: why art galleries are banning selfies
Talking Point Priceless art has been damaged by visitors desperate to take a snap with star attractions, leading some galleries and museums to start fighting back
-
Axel Scheffler picks his favourite books
The Week Recommends From Steig to Finkelstein, the award-winning illustrator shares his top picks
-
Lovestuck: a 'warm-hearted' musical with a 'powerhouse score'
The Week Recommends Team behind the hit podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno have created a hilarious show about a disastrous viral Tinder date
-
Outrageous: glossy Mitford family drama is full of 'fun, fashion and froth'
The Week Recommends Adaptation of Mary Lovell's biography examines the scandalous lives of the aristocratic sisters
-
F1: The Movie – a fun but formulaic 'corporate tie-in'
Talking Point Brad Pitt stars as a washed up racing driver returning three decades after a near-fatal crash
-
Lost Boys: a 'sobering' journey to the heart of the manosphere
The Week Recommends James Bloodworth examines the 'cranks and hucksters' making money through 'masculine discontent'