What is good art? And who decides? Have you ever wondered why some works of art make it into museums and others do not?

“I Call it Art” takes the pulse of contemporary art in Norway today, with works by almost 150 artists and groups of artists. The exhibition shows works that concern the audience, and that address important topics in society, such as identity, belonging, nationality and democracy. 

 “I Call it Art” explores this boundary between who is inside and who is outside the art world, and weighs established art against the alternative, the sterile against the personal, and the abstract against the banal.

‘I Call It Art’ is the inaugural exhibition in the Light Hall – the large room for temporary exhibitions located atop the new National Museum. Filling the Light Hall in its entirety with works that use widely different formats, materials and art forms, the exhibition presents works by 147 artists and artist groups who work in Norway today. 

In search of new art and new artists, the National Museum’s curators scoured the entire country. The museum also received contributions from over 1,000 artists through an open call. 

„The point of the title is that you should come in and experience the exhibition on your own terms and from your own perspective. You should let yourself be guided by your instinctive reactions and your own feelings. Discussing whether something is art or not isn’t all that interesting. In this exhibition we want instead to show different works of art that are all valid and relevant in their own way. We try to show many different things under the same roof. So then it’s okay to say “we call all of this art”. And then the question rather concerns who the “I” in the title refers to. „ – Max and Aseel, are two 21-year-old students – they have been in charge of putting this exhibition together 

The exhibition fills the entire Light Hall, the new National Museum’s large space for temporary exhibitions. The Light Hall’s 2,400 square metres of floor space and seven metre-high ceiling make it a unique experience.

„The aim of the exhibition is to convey contemporary art. But the aim is also that someone who has never been to a museum before shall come into the museum and see and experience both older and contemporary art with all of their senses. Visitors shouldn’t meet a legion of explanatory texts and interpretations. We also want you to feel that the exhibition is talking to you in a way that sticks with you once you’ve left the museum. The exhibition shall touch visitors, and people should feel that this is relevant and important to them.” –  Max and Aseel.

The exhibition also features a separate mini-exhibition that will be changed halfway through the viewing period. The artists here are selected using an automated algorithm. In addition, a large video and performance programme and a series of events will be presented during the exhibition period.

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„I Call It Art”

11 June–11 September 2022

The National Museum of Norway

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