Oslo

Initiatives

Venues

• 0047, art, architecture and urbanism platform, Rodeløkka, since 2007
• 1857, experimental platform for contemporary art, *2010
• Akademirommet, gallery, Kunstnernes Hus, downtown, *2013
• antipodes café, Bjørvika
• Atelier Nord, platform for contemporary art with focus on media art, *1965
• Baklengs, record shop, *2016
• Big Dipper, record store
• Bitraf, makerspace, downtown, *2011
• Black Box teater, contemporary performing arts venue, Grünerløkka, *1985
• Blå, alternative music venue and club, downtown, *1998
• Blitz, activist centre, downtown, *1982
• ByKuben, center for urban ecology, *2018, [1]
• Café Mir, Grünerløkka
• Cinemateket, cinema, downtown
• Demon's Mouth, artist-run gallery, Rodeløkka, *2014
• Destiny's, artist-run gallery, Majorstuen, *2016
• Fellesverkstedet, open production facility for artists and designers, Grünerløkka, *2011
• Flatbread Society, urban farm and art centre, Bjørvika, *2012
• Fotogalleriet, fotohalle, downtown, *1977
• Gimle, cinema, Gimle, *1939, [2]
• Grünerløkka Lufthavn, artist studios, Grünerløkka, *1994
• Grusomhetens Teater / Theatre of Cruelty, downtown, *2002
• Guttormsgaards Arkiv, Blaker
• Hackeriet, hackerspace, Hausmania, downtown, *2009
• Haus der Kunst, artist-run gallery, downtown, *2019
• Hausmania, autonomous cultural centre, downtown, *2000
• Henie-Onstad Art Centre, museum, Høvikodden, *1968
• Holodeck, non-profit project space, downtown, *2011
• John Dee, music venue, downtown
• K4 galleri, artist-run gallery space for video art and moving image, *2016
• Kafé Hærverk, bar, club, concert venue & record store, downtown, *2017, [3]
• Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo (KHiO), art academy, *1996
• Kunstnerforbundet, artist-run gallery for contemporary art, downtown, *1910
• Kulturhuset i Oslo, cultural centre & cafe, downtown, *2013
• Kunsthall Oslo, non-profit art space, Bjørvika, *2010
• Kunstnernes Hus, centre for contemporary art, *1930
• Kunstplass, venue for contemporary art, downtown, *2012
• Losæter, arena for art and urban farming, Bjørvika, *2011
• Louise Dany, artist-run initiative, Majorstuen, *2016
• LYNX, artist-run exhibition space, *2013
• Melahuset, cultural centre
• MELK, artist-run space for photography, *2009
• Nitja Centre for Contemporary Art (formerly Akershus Kunstsenter), Lillestrøm, *1986
• Noplace, artist-run gallery, *2011
• Nordic Art Press (NAP), bookshop & distribution network, *2018
• Nordic Black Theatre & Cafeteatret, self-run theatre, *1992
• Norlis, second hand bookstore, downtown, *1890
• Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA), *2001
• Oslo Apiary & Aviary, Kunstnernes Hus, downtown, *2013
• Parkteatret, music venue, downtown, *1907/2002, [4] [5]
• Podium, artist-run gallery, downtown, *2004
• PUB, project space for publishing, Bjørvika, *2017
• Reshow, materials free for reuse in cultural initiatives
• ROM, gallery for art and architecture, Grünerløkka, *1987
• Sagene Kunstsmie, art centre, Sagene, *2014
• Salt, art and music, downtown, *2014
• Schloss, exhibition space, Sofienberg, *2016
• Schous Bøker, bookstore, Grünerløkka, *2016
• She Will, occasional space for art events in a disused petrol station, Ski, *2018
• Sub Scene, cultural centre, downtown, *2002
• Tegnerforbundet, artist-run organisation and gallery, *1916
• Tenthaus, project space for contemporary art, downtown, *2011
• Tiger, record store, downtown
• Torpedo, non-profit art publisher and bookstore, downtown, *2005
• Tronsmo Bokhandel, bookstore, downtown, *1975
• Uhørt, cultural venue, downtown, *2014
• UKS (Young Artists' Society), gallery, downtown, *1921
• Vandaler Forening, artist-run space, Lille Tøyen, *2015
• Van Etten, non-profit gallery space, Grønland, *2020
• Vega Scene, art cinema & theatre, downtown, *2018

• more: USE-IT city guide, 2017, Indie Travel Guide.
• Past spaces: Khartoum Contemporary Art Center (conceptual arts initiative, downtown, 2017-2023, [6]), Kazachenko's Apartment (2013-2016), Stein og Jord (record store), Pink Cube (exhibition space, 2011-2016), Slow Space Bjørvika [7] (2010-2014), Tidens Krav (artist-run gallery, -2014), Sound of Mu (2006-2014), Atopia (experimental film and video art initiative and gallery, 2003-2017), GUN (Galleriet uten Navn) (artist-run gallery, 2000-2003), Zoolounge (artist-run space, 1996-1999), Galleri Struts (artist-run gallery, 1994-1998) [8], Herslebsgate (artist-run gallery, 1992-1998) [9], Museum of Contemporary Art (1990-2017), Månefisken (*1989).

Initiatives with no permanent event venue

• Another Space, curatorial collaboration and independent book publisher for art and architecture, *2012
• Coda Press, independent publisher
• Femme Brutal, feminist club concept and booking collective, *2012
• Filmbyrået Jack, film distributor, *2022, [10]
• First Supper Symposium, collaborative feminist art project, *2012
• Foot Books, independent publisher
• Growlab Oslo, design studio working with urban food culture, *2012
• House, initiates and produces art in public space, *2014
• Hverdag Books, artist books and risograph, *2016
• Kunstkritikk, art review, *2003
• Locus, artist-run gallery space & publishing house, *2006
• MakersHub, architectural collective and volunteer organisation, *2015
• Masahat, open spaces for Arab culture in exile, *2015
• Metronomicon Audio, record label, *2001
• NorCD, record label, *1991, [11]
• Norsk Risoforening, *2018
• Norwegian Association of Curators, *2011
• Notam, center for technology in music and the arts, *1992
• nyMusikk, centre for experimental music and sound art, *1938
• Objektiv, photography publisher & journal, *2009
• O. Gudmundsen Minde, vinyl label for strange and wonderful music, *2017
• Øreverk, experimental music events, *2017
• Performance Art Oslo (PAO), artist-run initiative, *2012
• Plastic Strip Press, record label for Scandinavian avant-garde music, *2006
• PNEK, production network for electronic art, *2000
• Praksis, platform for creative research and production, *2015
• Prisms, association for alternative film cultures, *2021
• radiOrakel, women's radio, at Blitz, *1982
• Sofa, record label, *2000, [12]
• Subjekt.no, online cultural magazine, *2013
• Tekstbyrået, independent publisher
• Underskog
• Uten Tittel, art and culture publisher, *2016
• Vandaler Forening, *2015
• Verdensteatret, theatre company, *1986
• Verk Produksjoner, theatre company, *1989
• Video Art Archive, *2011

• more: Oslo in Action(s) (*2020).
• Past initiatives: Prisma Records (record label, 2008-2016), Volapük (literature and cutlure forum, *1990).

Events

• All Ears, festival for improvised music, *2002
• CODA Oslo International Dance Festival, *2001
• Dans for Voksne, concert series, *2003
• Drawing Triennial (Tegnebiennalen), *2002
• F/ eks, concert series for electronic music and experimental pop, *2019
• FORART Lectures, *2004
• Fotobokfestival Oslo, *2009
• God natt, literature festival, *2018
• Masahat, festival for Arab arts and culture, *2021
• Merge Norge, festival for contemporary circus, *2016
• Mirage, art film festival, *2022
• Off the Page, music festival without music, *2014
• Only Connect, festival of sound, *2005
• Open Forum, a student run initiative for exchange of ideas, *c.2011
• Oslava, experimental music festival, 2022
• Oslo Arkitekturtriennale, *2000
• Oslo Internasjonale Teaterfestival, *2013
• Oslo Biennalen, *2019
• PAO Festival, performance art festival, *2013
• Periferien, minifestival for contemporary and experimental music, *2016
• Praksis Development Forum (PDF), monthly peer-support group for creative community
• The Seminar of Aesthetics, interdisciplinary forum for new research at the intersection of aesthetic theory, philosophy and art, *1988
• Struktura, event series, 2019-2020
• Ultima, contemporary music festival, *1991
• Winter Solstice, annual nocturnal art project and happening, *2012
• We Do, contemporary Polish arts & culture festival, *2019
• Event listings: Concerts in Oslo, Broadcast concerts and clubs in Oslo, Oslo Art Guide (exhibition guide, formerly U.F.O.), Underskog.

Past events

• Norsk Lydarkivkonferanse, 2022
• Bande à part, conference on independent art institutions, 2019, [13] [14]
• Canon No Canon, conference, 2018
• Technology and Emotions, conference, 2017
• An Army of Liars: Situationists in Scandinavia, exhibition, 2016
• How to Raise a Teenager, seminar on art publication and distribution, 2016. [15]. FB.
• Oslo Pilot, 2015-2016
• PolyFøkt, festival for experimental and noise music, 2013
• Academy Lectures, 2012-2017
• Oslo Lux light, space and technology festival, 2011-2015
• Art.on.Wires, festival for live and interactive art & technology, 2010-2012
• Fluxus East, exhibition, 2010-2011
• Oslo Screen Festival, video art festival, 2008-2014
• RAM2, 2003
• Electronic Art in Public Spaces, conference, 2002
• Den Tredje Vei, short film festival, *1998
• International Rostrum of Electroacoustic Music, biennial, 1990

Art workers

• Anne Hilde Neset
• Anne-Lise Stenseth (1959)
• Apichaya (Piya) Wanthiang (1987)
• Atle Selnes Nielsen (1978)
• Bjørn Bjarre
• Bjørnar Habbestad (1976)
• Camille Norment (1970)
• Christian Blom (1974)
• David M. Berry
• Dušan Barok
• Eirik Blekesaune
• Ellef Prestsæter
• Ellen Røed
• Eivind Røssaak
• Espen Sommer Eide
• Farhad Kalantary
• Frode Weium
• Geir Johnson (1953-2021)
• Harald Fetveit
• HC Gilje (1969)
• Hild Borchgrevink
• Ida Lykken Ghosh
• Ieva Gudaitytė
• Ina Blom
• Inger Lise Hansen (1963)
• Ingrid Hölzl
• Ivar Smedstad
• Jana Winderen
• Jina Chang
• Jiska Huizing
• Jonas Ekeberg (1967)
• Katya García-Antón
• Kenneth Korstad Langås
• Kristin Bergaust
• Kristoffer Myskja (1985)
• Lars Cuzner (1974)
• Lars Mørch Finborud
• Lasse Marhaug
• Lesia Vasylchenko
• Marius Watz
• Marit Paasche
• Markus Moestue
• Mike Sperlinger
• Natasha Barrett
• Niklas Adam
• Nikhil Vettukattil
• Per Platou
• Per Teljer
• Petr Svárovský
• Randi Nygård
• Rhea Dall
• Rob Young
• Sara R. Yazdani
• Signe Lidén
• Silja Leifsdottir
• Siri Austeen
• Sten Ove Toft
• Susanne Østby Sæther
• Taina Bucher
• Terje Rasmussen
• Ulf A. S. Holbrook

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