Norway Art Agenda Calendar 2026: Upcoming Exhibitions and Cultural Events to Follow

A selected guide to contemporary art exhibitions, festivals and cultural programmes taking place across Norway in the coming months.

Norway’s contemporary art scene is entering a particularly active season, with exhibitions, festivals and institutional programmes unfolding across Northern Norway, Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and beyond.

For Nordrom Kunst, this calendar brings together a selection of upcoming and ongoing events that may be of interest to artists, curators, readers and cultural workers following contemporary art in Norway. The list is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather to offer a curated overview of exhibitions and programmes connected to visual art, contemporary culture, landscape, identity, architecture, memory and public space.

Special attention is given to Northern Norway and the Arctic context, while also including selected national events that help situate the wider Norwegian contemporary art scene.

Until 3 May 2026
Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen
MA Exhibition in Fine Art 2026: Ears to the ground

Bergen Kunsthall presents the MA Exhibition in Fine Art 2026, Ears to the ground, open from 17 April to 3 May 2026. While only open for a few more days, it remains relevant as part of the spring calendar and as a signal of emerging artistic practices connected to the Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design in Bergen.  

Further information:
www.kunsthall.no

Until 17 May 2026
Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum, Tromsø
Outi Pieski

Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum’s ongoing programme includes Outi Pieski, open in Tromsø until 17 May 2026. The museum’s 2026 programme places strong emphasis on Northern Norway, Sápmi, material culture, memory, landscape and contemporary artistic practices connected to the North.  

Further information:
www.nnkm.no

Until 24 May 2026
Nordnorsk Kunstnersenter / NNKS, Svolvær
Nordnorsken 2026

Nordnorsken 2026 is one of the strongest events to follow in Northern Norway this season. The exhibition opened at Nordnorsk Kunstnersenter in Svolvær on 20 March 2026 and remains on view there until 24 May 2026. It marks the 80th anniversary of Den Nordnorske Kunstutstilling and continues afterwards as a touring exhibition to Senja Kunstforening, Terminal B / Pikene på Broen in Kirkenes, Rana Kunstforening, Alta Kunstforening and Bodø Kunstforening.  

For Nordrom Kunst, this is particularly important because Nordnorsken functions not only as an exhibition, but also as a moving map of contemporary artistic production across Northern Norway. The 2026 edition selected 25 artists and 34 works from 287 individual applications and 618 submitted works.  

Further information:
www.nnks.no

Until 31 May 2026
PoMo, Trondheim
Louise Bourgeois: Echo of the Morning

PoMo, Trondheim’s new museum for modern and contemporary art, presents Louise Bourgeois: Echo of the Morning until 31 May 2026. The museum also hosts its permanent collection presentation until 3 January 2027, with a wider programme of events, talks and guided tours.  

Further information:
www.pomo.no

9 May – 11 October 2026
Kistefos Museum
2026 Exhibition Programme

Kistefos opens its 2026 season on 9 May. The programme explores the continuing role of painting in contemporary art, with works by Ragna Bley, Ida Ekblad, Oscar Murillo and Albert Oehlen in The Twist, a solo exhibition by Issy Wood at Nybruket Gallery, and a new monumental sculpture by Dana Schutz.  

Further information:
www.kistefosmuseum.com

28 – 31 May 2026
Oslo
Oslo Art Weekend 2026

Oslo Art Weekend 2026 takes place from 28 to 31 May and brings together more than 50 art institutions across Oslo. The event presents itself as Norway’s largest contemporary art festival, with artist-run spaces, galleries, museums, kunsthalles and other institutions participating across the city.  

Although Oslo is outside Nordrom Kunst’s main geographical focus, the event is important because it gives a broader picture of the contemporary art ecosystem in Norway and of how institutions collaborate to create visibility around contemporary art.

Further information:
www.osloartweekend.no

28 May – 6 September 2026
Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen
Anawana Haloba: The Festival Exhibition 2026

Bergen Kunsthall presents Anawana Haloba as its 2026 Festival Exhibition Artist. The exhibition opens on 28 May and runs until 6 September 2026. On the same dates, Bergen Kunsthall also presents Hanni Kamaly in Gallery V.  

Further information:
www.kunsthall.no

30 May – August 2026
Tromsø Kunstforening, Tromsø
For History, Change Position

Tromsø Kunstforening opens For History, Change Position on 30 May 2026. The exhibition is presented as a commemorative project about the porous Norwegian-Russian border that existed from around 1990 to 2022, and introduces the Border Art Archive initiated by Kirkenes-based curator Hilde Methi together with Dušan Barok and others.  

The exhibition title is borrowed from a 2004 work by Kristin Tårnesvik and refers to a mistranslation of na pamjat, meaning “in memory of”. For Nordrom Kunst, this exhibition is especially relevant because it connects Tromsø, the Barents region, border memory, archive-based practice and the political geography of the North.  

Further information:
www.tromsokunstforening.no

4 June – 8 November 2026
Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum, Tromsø
Mother Dough: The Slow Alchemy of Witnessing

Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum’s 2026 programme also includes Mother Dough: The Slow Alchemy of Witnessing, opening in Tromsø on 4 June and continuing until 8 November 2026. As part of the museum’s wider programme, the exhibition contributes to a year of projects connected to the North, material processes, witnessing, cultural memory and contemporary artistic research.  

Further information:
www.nnkm.no

20 – 27 June 2026
Harstad
Festspillene i Nord-Norge

Festspillene i Nord-Norge takes place in Harstad from 20 to 27 June 2026. The festival is broader than visual art alone, including music, theatre, dance and other cultural forms, but it remains highly relevant for understanding the wider cultural landscape of Northern Norway.

For Nordrom Kunst, it may be useful to follow the festival as part of a larger map of cultural production in the North, especially where its programme intersects with contemporary art, performance, place and Arctic cultural identity.

Further information:
www.festspillnn.no

25 June 2026 – 3 January 2027
PoMo, Trondheim
Catherine Opie: Mountains Don’t Know Their Names

PoMo opens Catherine Opie: Mountains Don’t Know Their Names on 25 June 2026. The exhibition runs until 3 January 2027 and forms part of the museum’s developing international programme in modern and contemporary art.  

Further information:
www.pomo.no

5 – 12 September 2026
Tromsø Kunstforening, Tromsø
Open Out Festival 2026: Dreaming in the Dark

Open Out Festival 2026: Dreaming in the Dark takes place at Tromsø Kunstforening from 5 to 12 September 2026. Open Out is an annual queer art festival in Tromsø, active since 2017, with a programme that includes a main exhibition, performances, workshops, social activities, parties and more.  

For Nordrom Kunst, this is another important signal of Tromsø as a living contemporary cultural city, where art, identity, community and public programming intersect.

Further information:
www.tromsokunstforening.no

Until 23 August 2026
Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum, Tromsø
To nature

Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum’s To nature remains open in Tromsø until 23 August 2026. Within the wider calendar, this exhibition can be read alongside other Northern Norwegian programmes that explore nature, ecology, landscape and the political dimensions of how the North is represented.  

Further information:
www.nnkm.no

Ongoing / Long-term
Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum, Tromsø
Joar Nango: Girjegumpi

Joar Nango’s Girjegumpi, the nomadic Sámi Architecture Library, is part of Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum’s long-term programme in Tromsø. Its presence in the city is especially relevant for Nordrom Kunst because it connects Sámi architecture, knowledge systems, material culture, mobility and artistic research in the Arctic context.  

Further information:
www.nnkm.no

Closing note

This calendar will continue to evolve as more institutions announce their programmes for 2026. For Nordrom Kunst, the aim is to follow these developments with particular attention to Northern Norway, Sápmi, Tromsø and the Arctic context, while also observing selected national events that help shape the broader contemporary art scene in Norway.

From Svolvær to Tromsø, from Oslo to Bergen and Trondheim, these exhibitions and festivals show a cultural landscape in movement: one where contemporary art is connected to place, memory, public space, architecture, ecology, identity and regional visibility.

Nordrom Kunst will continue to follow artists, exhibitions, institutions and independent spaces across Northern Norway and selected European connections.