1. Cultural policy system
Norway
Last update: February, 2024
Cultural policy objectives
The main objectives of Norwegian cultural policy were defined in the latest white paper on culture:
A free and independent cultural sector that:
- produces artistic and cultural expressions of the highest quality
- fosters education and critical reflection
- protects and disseminates cultural heritage
- creates and disseminates a cultural offering that is viewed as relevant, and which represents the population
- is available to everyone and encourages each person to experience and participate in cultural activities
- provides meeting places and builds communities
- transforms itself and shows an ability to transform
- has an international impact and fosters intercultural understanding
- strengthens the Norwegian language, the Sami languages, the national minority languages, and the Norwegian sign language as fundamental bearers of culture
Despite changing governments, the main objectives of Norwegian cultural policy has been steady for the last 20 years or more. There are few controversies about these objectives in public debates.
Main features
The Norwegian cultural policy model cannot be characterised as an archetype of any of the classical cultural policy models, such as the arms-length model, the interventionist model, the entrepreneurship model or the decentralised model. Instead, it contains elements of all of the models, excluding the entrepreneurship model. In the Norwegian model, the public authorities have played a considerable role in the culture sector, not least by giving financial support to a range of cultural and artistic activities. The relationship between the public authorities and the culture sector can be characterised by the terms of corporatism on the one hand and the arms-length principle on the other. While artists' organisations have played a crucial role in the administration of some public support schemes for artists, the work of the Arts Council is based on a relatively autonomous position vis-à-vis both the government and the field of art. However, the corporatist element of the Norwegian cultural policy model seems to have declined over the past two decades, although it is more significant than in many other countries.
National definition of culture
The latest white paper on culture draw a special attention to cultural expressions and freedom of speech when defining culture. This is emphasised in the introduction:
Art and culture are expressions that build society, and cultural policy must be based on freedom of speech and tolerance. The cultural sector and civil society are prerequisites for an educated and enlightened public, and thus an investment in democracy.
The emphasise on freedom of expression has also a juridical backdrop. In 2004, the paragraph on press freedom in the Norwegian constitution was changed from “There should be freedom of press” into “There should be freedom of expression”. The paragraph was further expanded with the governmental responsibility of providing the fundament for an “open and informed public discourse”. The paragraph underlined the government’s responsibility to ensure a framework for production and distribution of expressions and thus cultural content.
Even though the main ambition for Norwegian cultural policy emphasise freedom of expression, the national definition of culture are rather broad and includes both sport and sociocultural activities.
Historical perspective: cultural policies and instruments
In 1814, Norway gained its freedom from Denmark, established its constitution and founded its national assembly – the Storting. In that same year, Sweden invaded Norway and the Norwegians were forced to accept a peace treaty which created a union with Sweden under the Swedish king. Norway kept its new constitution (with some amendments) and the Norwegian parliament. The union was finally dissolved in 1905 when Norway became an independent country.
Although some schemes for the public support of cultural and artistic activities and institutions were established in the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century (i.e. artists' scholarships, public support for libraries, art education, museums and theatres), a cultural policy has only become a distinct policy domain in Norway from the Second World War and thereafter. From the 1930s onwards, the welfare ideology gradually gained a foothold as the main rationale for the Norwegian policy system in general, which was also applied to the cultural domain. The welfare model was not solely due to financial limitations before the end of the war period. During the war, the German occupants and the Nasjonal Samling, a national socialist/fascist party in power from 1940 to 1945, established the Ministry of Cultural and Public Educational Affairs, which was responsible for a distinct part of the state budget. The war time cultural policy was formulated by the controlling regime as a tool for the political propaganda of the German occupants.
During the post-war period, a considerable emphasis was laid on the democratisation of culture. Arts and culture were then considered as both an important measure for the welfare of the entire population and as a useful tool for public education. In order to democratise culture, the state established important arts institutions with a nationwide function, one for theatre - The Norwegian National Touring Theatre - in 1949, one for the visual arts – National Touring Exhibitions - in 1953 and one for music – Concerts Norway – in 1958. In addition, the National Opera was established in 1957.
In the period from the pre-war years to the early 1960s, the number of publications within Norwegian “highbrow” fiction fell substantially, with this situation contributing to the foundation of the Arts Council Norway in 1965. In order to defend the Norwegian culture and language, one of the main responsibilities of the Council was to administer a scheme for purchasing new Norwegian publications. Although the state gave a small number of artist grants from the 1830s, a significant range of support schemes for artists was introduced during the 1960s.
During the 1970s, major efforts were made to decentralise the cultural policy and the cultural administration system in Norway. Cultural affairs committees were established in most municipalities, and the municipal authorities gradually appointed directors and secretaries of cultural affairs. A similar system was developed at the county level, and new grant schemes were introduced. In this way, substantial responsibilities were decentralised in order to bring decision-making closer to the general population. Closely linked to this reform was a redefinition of culture, which was also taking place in other countries. The concept of culture was expanded in order to include the cultural interests of various parts of the population, which incorporated a renewed interest for amateur cultural activities. In addition, sport was included in the concept of culture. The more traditional elements of Norwegian cultural life also received financial support from the public authorities during the 1970s. A new Libraries Act was adopted in 1971, a new grant scheme for theatres was established in 1972 and a new decentralised grant scheme for museums was introduced in 1975. As the result of a white paper presented to the Storting in 1978, artists were granted the right to negotiate wages with the central government and improved schemes were developed in this field.
While the public culture budgets had expanded considerably during the post-war period, budget cuts and efficiency improvements characterized the 1980s and 1990s due to the stagnation of economic development in Norway. However, cultural expenses, not least at the municipality level, increased significantly in the 1980s. Today, Norwegian municipalities in total spends approximately the same amount of money on culture as the state level does.
In 2005, the former centre-left government proclaimed an ambition to increase the share of the national budget allocated to culture to 1% within 2014 and that all arts form should benefit from this. Between 2005 and 2013 the governmental spending allocated to culture thus expanded from NOK 5 billion (EUR 625 millions) in 2005 to NOK 9,95 billion (EUR 1,2 billion) in 2013. In real terms, a spending growth of approximately 46 %.
In 2014, a new conservative government was elected. They did not pursued this policy ambition but they did not made significant budget-cuts. In the Norwegian parliament, there is more or less consensus concerning the main lines of culture policy.
During the pandemic, the Norwegian government spent more than EUR 700 million in extra allocations to the cultural sector. This helped most creative industries financially during the pandemic. However, there were several controverses regarding this funding since some large cooperations and institutions made huge profits due to the covid-funding.
Last update: February, 2024
Last update: February, 2024
At the state level, the decision-making apparatus is relatively complex. Considerable authority is centred in the political and administrative body of the Parliament, the government and the ministries. Formally, the main framework of cultural policy is determined by the Storting (the parliament), while the Ministry of Culture prepares documents for the Storting. All legal, financial, organisational and information means are applied in order to achieve political goals. However, the national budget is the most important instrument, with the Ministry of Culture maintaining the responsibility for a total budget of approximately NOK 12,5 billion (2019). The Ministry also administers gaming profits from Norsk Tipping AS, which are allocated to culture (18%), sports (64%) and other humanitarian purposes (18%). The total profit in 2019 was NOK 5,7 billion.
Other Ministries concerned with cultural affairs are the Ministry of Climate and Environment, which is responsible for cultural heritage (except museums, archives and libraries) and cultural environments. The Ministry of Education and Research is responsible for education, including artists' education, as well as music and culture schools for children. The Ministry of Education and Research is also responsible for academic libraries and university museums.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been given the responsibility for the presentation of Norwegian arts and culture abroad, including exchange projects with developing countries. Other ministries are also relevant to cultural policy, but play a more modest role. The Ministry of Finance plays a coordinating role in the budgetary process. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries has the responsibility for governing all types of business in Norway, including a role in the development of the various culture industries
A considerable amount of authority is also delegated to arm’s length institutions and expert bodies. Arts Council Norway is formally administered and financed by the Ministry of Culture, but it retains a largely independent position and is therefore characterised as an arm’s length institution. Each year, the Storting provides an overall allocation to the Cultural Fund, which is administered by Arts Council Norway as one of its principal tasks (10 % of the state budget for culture).
In addition, the Arts Council acts in an advisory capacity to the central government and public sector on cultural affairs, as well as organising experimental cultural activities in areas which the Council considers to be of particular interest. In e.g. museum affairs, Arts Council holds a responsibility for the development of museums involving allocating special grants for projects of museum development even though museums are directly funded by the Ministry of Culture. The advisory tasks of the Arts Council will be separated from the funding tasks in a separate department named Kulturdirektoratet (Directorate for Culture) from 2023
The National Library of Norway holds a similar position as an advisory body in the library field.
The Norwegian Film Fund is responsible for administering national support for film production in Norway. According to its statutes, the Film Fund shall also advise the Ministry for Cultural on film policy.
Other expert bodies such as The Language Council of Norway, KORO – Public Art Norway and The Norwegian Media Authority hold administrative, advisory, coordinative and development responsibilities in their own fields.
Last update: February, 2024
All former 19 counties established cultural boards and administrations during the 1970s. These are independent regional and local cultural administrations responsible to the county councils. Since the 1990s many counties have reorganized their cultural boards and administration, and integrated them into broader units, e.g. into regional development units.
The responsibilities of regional authorities include self-defined initiatives and subsidies for regional cultural activities and subsidies for regional institutions, which are partly state-funded and regulated by formal agreements on a shared responsibility.
I 2020 a regional reform reduced the number of counties from 19 to 11. As part of the reform, one aimed at providing the regions with increased responsibility for cultural policy. This has not yet happened.
Last update: February, 2024
At the political level, two third of the municipalities (356 in Norway) hold independent cultural boards where matters of cultural policy are decided. In some municipalities, the board is combined with other political areas1. At the administrative level, approximately half of the municipalities holds a certain entity for culture policy administration.
The responsibilities of municipalities include self-defined initiatives and subsidies for local cultural activities, including shared responsibility for cultural institutions. However, the most important areas of local cultural policy includes local cultural schools (kulturskoler), public libraries as well as infrastructure for culture and sports.
From 2017 to 2020 a regional reform reduced the number of municipalities from 428 to 356. However, this reform has not led to any changes in the responsibility of the municipalities.
1 Miland, K. P., & Kleppe, B. (2022). Kommunal kultursektor 2022: Organisering, prioritering og planlegging. TF-rapport nr. 707:Bø.
Last update: February, 2024
NGOs holds an important role in Norwegian cultural policy. It is somewhat difficult to define what organisations that might be characterized as NGOs since most cultural organisations are independent organisations receiving public funding from one or several governmental levels.
The voluntary cultural sector in Norway consists of a wide range of organisations where the activities include performing activities (choirs, bands, amateur theatres, folk dance etc.), promoting activities (jazz clubs, live organisations, art societies, film clubs etc.), and heritage activities (historic societies, folk art and craft associations, antique vehicle associations etc.). Some of these organisations are most occupied with serving the activity for their members, others are working close with an audience or a local community, while some work mostly political. Nevertheless, all of them to some extent influence the cultural policy decisions.
There is further a strong tradition for artists unions in Norway and most Norwegian artists holds a membership in one or several such organisations. These organisations have also influenced cultural policy decisions quite heavily, a practice often referred to as corporatism1.
1https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10286632.2015.1084297 / https://www.idunn.no/doi/pdf/10.18261/ISSN2000-8325-2015-01-04
Last update: February, 2024
The cooperation and coordination between different ministries are primarily dealt with according to the character of the actual matters, although some arrangements hold a more permanent inter-ministeral, cooperating structure:
The Cultural Rucksack is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research that was established in 2001. The Cultural Rucksack provides all pupils in elementary and secondary schools with arts and culture such as music, dramatic arts, literature, cultural heritage, dance performances, visual arts etc. The initiative is primarily administrated by the counties in cooperation between the culture and education divisions. At state level, the programme is administrated by Kulturtanken – The Cultural Rucksack Norway.
Music Norway is an umbrella organisation promoting Norwegian music abroad. The organisation is an NGO working according to the arms length principle, though it receives support from both the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Last update: February, 2024
Most of the culture infrastructure in Norway consists of public or "semi-public" institutions. Many of these institutions are organised as independent foundations with an executive committee. They are mainly financed by one or several public bodies (state, regions, municipalities).
The private cultural infrastructure primarily consists of cinemas, cabarets and revue theatres, popular music venues and some art galleries.
Last update: February, 2024
Cultural heritage: The Norwegian Museum sector consists of approximately 106 different museum organisations running more than 500 small and large museums sites all over the country.
Visual arts: There are both public art galleries and art museums in Norway. Some of the art museums are organized within the 106 museums mentioned. Art galleries are mainly NGOs financed by one or several public bodies.
Performing arts: There are one large opera house and three large theatres in Norway with state funding. Further, there are 13 theatres with a combination of state, regional and local funding. All these theatres are large producing theatre with permanent staff. In addition to this, there are approximately 100 fringe theatres partly financed by the Arts Council Norway.
Libraries: Public libraries in Norway are owned and financed by the municipalities. The state funded National Library has a certain responsibility for the general development of libraries.
Audiovisual: Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation is the only state owned broadcasting organisation in Norway. It is financed mainly by a licence fee payable by anyone who owns or uses a TV or device capable of receiving TV broadcasts.
Interdisciplinary: Most cities hold their own culture house primarily owned and financed by the municipality. Such culture houses may include a cinema, one or several stages for performing arts, art galleries, libraries or sport venues. In recent years many such houses has been built.
Table 1: Cultural institutions financed by public authorities, by domain
| Domain | Cultural institutions (sub-domains) | Number (2021) | Trend (++ to --) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cultural heritage | Cultural heritage sites (recognised)1 | 8 | + |
| Museums (organisations) | 105 | -2 | |
| Archives (of public authorities) | 11 | ||
| Visual arts | Public art galleries/exhibition halls | ||
| Art academies (or universities)3 | |||
| Performing arts | Symphonic orchestras | 7 | |
| Music schools4 | 356 | ||
| Music/theatre academies (or universities)3 |
|||
| Dramatic theatre | 16 | ||
| Music theatres, opera houses | 1 | ||
| Dance and ballet companies | 2 | ||
| Books and Libraries | Libraries | 356 | - |
| Audiovisual | Broadcasting organisations | 1 | |
| Interdisciplinary | Socio-cultural centres / cultural houses5 |
Source(s): Statistics Norway.
Notes: It is problematic to choose which and how many institutions can be included in such a list. The institutions chosen here are limited to those that the government holds a particular responsibility for. Domains not specified with numbers are a problem to separate.
1Only includes World heritage sites
2Several museums have merged as part of a reform
3Academies are founded by the ministry of education and research, and are often part of a university or college.
4Almost all 356 municipalities in Norway offer out of school music and art training due to legislation. However, some municipalities cooperate.
5There are several culture houses around Norway that are primarily owned by the municipalities. No exact number can be found.
Last update: February, 2024
Most Norwegian public cultural institutions experienced a growth in public funding during the years 2005 to 2015. As an example, the three state financed theatres have increased their state funding by fifty percent during this period. Since then, the funding has not increased considerably in real terms.
Since the millennium, there has been a considerable establishment of large local and regional culture houses. From 2003 until 2018 municipalities have spent more than 13 billion NOK on the establishment of local culture houses1.
In the museums sector another important reform has taken place. The reform aims to reduce the number of museum units at the regional level and to strengthen the existing units professionally and administratively. The reform, which is often termed "consolidation", has focused on mergers between museums in the same regions and on the establishment of national networks (see also chapter 4.2.2).
Compared to other public sectors in Norway, there has been relatively little outsourcing of activities and privatisation of institutions in the culture sector.
1 Numbers collected by the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten: http://www.aftenposten.no/kultur/Kulturhus-boom-til-nesten-14-milliarder-7497309.html
Last update: February, 2024
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture share the responsibility for international cultural cooperation.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for the presentation of Norwegian arts and culture abroad, including exchange projects with developing countries, in cooperation with several cultural institutions (that receive their funding from Ministry of Culture).
The Norwegian foreign services missions (administrated by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs) play a key role in establishing and administering cultural cooperation with other countries.
The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), which is a directorate under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is also involved in international cultural projects and provides assistance for culture, media and information activities.
The Ministry of Culture is responsible for multilateral cultural cooperation, Nordic cultural cooperation as well as the domestic part of cultural exchange.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, (including the Norwegian foreign service missions), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the Ministry of Culture are responsible for cultural cooperation with other countries.
State-funded institutions and professional organisations particularly aim at stimulating artistic exchange and promoting Norwegian artists and works of art, not least through the administration of specific grant schemes. The following organisations administer support programmes on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
The Norwegian Film Institute (NFI) works to preserve, support and distribute Norwegian and foreign films so that film as an expression of art and culture becomes more visible. The NFI also distributes and markets Norwegian films abroad and administers the Ministry of Foreign Affair's support programme for the promotion of Norwegian films.
NORLA – Norwegian Literature Abroad (NORLA) plays an important role in providing information on Norwegian literature and Norwegian authors of fiction and non-fiction. NORLA facilitates contact between Norwegian authors and publishers, translators, universities and others interested in Norwegian literature abroad. In addition, NORLA provides translation subsidies to publishers of Norwegian literature abroad, offers travel grants for Norwegian authors and their translators and provides promotional subsidies for sample translations and presentations of authors.
- The Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA) was founded by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2001. The main aim of OCA is to develop collaborations in contemporary art between Norway and the international art scene. OCA supports Norwegian contributions to major exhibitions abroad, the international activities of Norwegian artists and curators, and foreign curators and critics who wish to carry out research in Norway.
- Music Norway is the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ formal advising organisation on music matters. They act as an adviser for the political establishment and serves as a facilitator and enabler for the entire Norwegian professional music scene.
Music Norway administers the Ministry of Foreign Affair's tour support programme in order to facilitate the international touring activities of Norwegian artists and bands.
- Performing Arts Hub Norway (PAHN) works to facilitate independent theatre and dance activity in Norway. PAHN administers the Ministry of Foreign Affair's tour support programme in this field.
- Norwegian Crafts is the national organisation for professional practicing artists, whose task is to administer the grant scheme for the activities of crafts artists abroad.
- The MFA’s advisory-organization within design and architecture is Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture (DogA). DogA was established in 2014, when the Foundation for Design and Architecture in Norway and the Norwegian Design Council merged. Prior to that, the advisory role was carried out by the Foundation for Design and Architecture in Norway, an organization established at the initiative of the Ministry of Culture in 1992.
Last update: February, 2024
Multilateral cooperation in the cultural field includes Norwegian participation in the activities of international organisations such as:
Nordic Cooperation
Multilateral cooperation in the cultural field includes Norwegian participation in the activities of international organisations such as The Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers.
The Nordic Council was formed in 1952 and is the forum for Nordic parliamentary cooperation. Since then, cultural cooperation has been the core component of intra-Nordic cooperation. The Nordic Council of Ministers, which was formed in 1971, is the forum for Nordic governmental cooperation. Culture is defined as one of the major areas for cooperation.
In 2007, a new structure for cultural cooperation was implemented. The aim was to add more energy, visibility and new working methods to Nordic cultural cooperation and to add more focus to the national contributions.
The overall aim of this reform was to allocate more money for projects, while spending fewer resources on administration. One of the main structural changes was the establishment of Nordic Culture Point, an arms-length body which replaced former committees.
In order to give the culture and media sector in the Nordic region more opportunities to work together, the Ministries of Culture have set up several programmes and support schemes:
- The Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture aims to enhance cultural and artistic collaboration in the Nordic and Baltic countries by funding travel, networking and residential visits. The programme includes three different support schemes: Support for Artist Residencies, Mobility Funding and Network Funding.
- Culture and Art Programme is available for all fields of culture and the arts. The aim is to promote new ideas and initiatives, help establish Nordic partnerships and encourage the arts and culture in the Nordic countries and beyond.
The Nordic Culture Fund (Nordisk Kulturfond) is a Nordic body of cooperation whose task is to support cultural cooperation in a broad sense among the Nordic countries. In 2021 The Nordic Culture Fund awarded approximately EUR 4 million to cultural projects in the Nordic Region or to Nordic projects outside the Nordic Region. The projects that are supported reflect the entire spectrum of cultural life and involve all areas, including visual art, theatre, music and dance, literature and new media.
Every year, the Nordic Council awards a literature prize, children’s literature prize a music prize, a film prize and a nature and environment prize.
The Nordic Council's Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the Nordic languages. The intention of the prize is also to increase interest in the literature of neighbouring countries, as well as in Nordic cultural fellowship.
The Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize was awarded for the first time in 2013. The award reflects the Nordic Culture Ministers desire to strengthen and elevate literature for children and young people in the region.
The Nordic Council's Music Prize recognises musicians of a high artistic standard. The prize is awarded to a piece of music by a living composer and to a small or large ensemble of high artistic and technical standards. The prize was launched as early as 1965, and was originally awarded every third year.
Nordic Council Film Prize was awarded for the first time as a trial in 2002 and became permanent prize in 2005. The prize is awarded to scriptwriters, directors and producers. The criteria for winning the prize is the creation of an artistically original film rooted in Nordic cultural circles.
Further information on Nordic cultural cooperation is available at http://www.norden.org/en.
European Union
Although not a member of the EU, Norway is closely associated with the European Union through the Agreement on the European Economic Area, which also encompasses cultural cooperations. Norway takes part in relevant programmes such as:
- Creative Europe is a EU program for the cultural and creative sectors. The program enables Norwegian cultural workers within TV, film, art and culture opportunities to collaborate internationally and to reach out to a wider European audience. Arts Council Norway is responsible for culture within Creative Europe in Norway while Norwegian Film Institute is responsible for media.
- EEA grants finance cultural exchange with Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania and the Czech Republic. Norwegian artists, producers and arts managers can also be involved in bilateral projects with Bulgaria, Slovakia, Spain and Hungary.
- Through the EEA agreement, Norway has adopted e.g. directive 2014/60/EU (Legislation on return of cultural goods)
The Council of Europe
Norway is one of the ten countries that established the Council of Europe in 1949 and has been a member of the European Cultural Convention – the basic document which regulates the cultural cooperation between the member states – since 1956. Norway takes part in the cultural cooperation of the Council of Europe in the Steering Committee for Culture.
UNESCO
Norway is a member of UNESCO and has participated in the international work for the protection and promotion of cultural diversity, including the Convention on the Promotion and Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in October 2005. Norway ratified the Convention in January 2007. Norway has also ratified UNESCO Convention – the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property – 1970 and The Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
The International Network on Cultural Policy (INCP)
Norway has been a member of the INCP since 1999 and has been active in the working group on Cultural Diversity and Globalisation that elaborated the framework and scope of a cultural diversity instrument, which has been developed and is now carried out by UNESCO.
Last update: February, 2024
Several art institutions, cultural organisations and festivals habitually engage in international cooperation through co-productions or by providing a platform for international arts events.