Ingrid Eggen, Knax #7, 2018. From the exhibition Knex, Knax, Knoxs, Virvx and Handl, Fotografihuset 2020. Photo: Fotografihuset.
Our vision
Fotografihuset’s vision is to establish an international center for photography in Oslo that can become a gathering point for those interested in photography and create bountful viewing and learning experiences for all visitors.
We shall achieve this by presenting engaging exhibitions at a high national and international level, developing a rich dissemination program and creating inclusive meeting places.
Why Fotografihuset?
Photography is one of the leading cultural expressions of our time. It is with us everywhere: at work, in social contexts and at home. At the same time, photography is a strong commercial force, a powerful journalistic weapon and a fantastic means of artistic expression.
With the mobile camera and the sharing of images online, the use of photography has increased enormously. People around the world take more than a trillion photographs every year. Every day we upload hundreds of millions of photographs to social media. At the same time, sales of traditional, analogue black-and-white film are increasing. The photograph is both a social glue and a means of personal expression.
Photography has a unique ability to touch and evoke emotions. This can contribute to social movements with transformative power. But it can also be used for propaganda and fake news. In other words, photography is a battle zone, where aesthetic and ethical attitudes are shaped and challenged.
In recent years, the popularity of photography as an exhibition medium has increased enormously. Hundreds of thousands flock to exhibition venues such as the International Center of Photography in New York, Jeu de Paume in Paris, Foam in Amsterdam, c/o in Berlin and Fotografiska in Stockholm. Fotografihuset will become a Norwegian answer, but we will do it our way. We will show the major exhibitions, address the major themes and reach a large and diverse audience. But we will also contribute to critical perspectives on image culture. In our vision, exhibitions, dissemination and social involvement are juxtaposed and strengthen each other.
From #bristustilling at Sukkerbiten 2020 with Alier Ajak Woui and Jibril Lateef. Photo: Fotografihuset.
If we get what we want, Fotografihuset will be Oslo’s next major cultural institution. Through exhibitions, tours, lectures and workshops in our galleries and online, we will invite amateurs and professionals, children, young people and adults, to explore photography with us. We will examine what it means to see through a camera, how we see, and why. In short, we will present and discuss photography, both as a social phenomenon and artistic expression.
The photography house will become a place for intimate meetings and great experiences. This is what we should strive for. This means that you will experience the best of Norwegian and international photography with us. You should also be able to come to Fotografihuset to develop yourself as a photographer. And to learn about history, being human or a burning current social issue. And you should expect that what you see is presented in an inclusive and interesting way, whether you are visiting family or on a research project in our library.
Fotografihuset wants to be all of this, both for Oslo citizens and visitors. At the same time, we will be a collaborative partner for schools and businesses, and a meeting place for the Norwegian photography community, for tourists and for guests from the local area. In short, we want to become a great living room for photography, right in the center of Oslo.
Main goals and subgoals
Our main goal is to establish Fotografihuset in permanent premises in Oslo by 2025. To make this a reality, we are reaching for four strategic sub-goals in 2021 and 2022:
- To create high-quality audience and learning experiences in temporary premises until the permanent premises are established.
- Cultivating strong and productive relationships with the political environment, the business world, the local environment and the photography environment, in Norway and internationally.
- To develop public, private and own sources of income, and to act financially and administratively responsible.
- To contribute to an ethical and financially sustainable development of the cultural city of Oslo.
Where will the house be located?
We have a letter of intent with HAV Eiendom AS to build Fotografihuset on the seven-acre, land-locked island of Sukkerbiten in Bjørvika. In 2019, the architectural firm Atelier Oslo won the competition to design the house with the Trelett project. This Nordic-inspired, pavilion-like building will give us the best conditions to achieve our goal of reaching out with the best of Norwegian and international photography to a wide audience. At the same time, the project frees up 2/3 of Sukkerbiten to the public in the form of open areas and wharves, including facilities for swimming.
In the autumn of 2019, the architect office Atelier Oslo won the competition for the Fotografihuset at Sukkerbiten with this proposal, which goes by the name "Trelett". © Atelier Oslo / HAV Eiendom / Fotografihuset.
A few weeks after this project was made public, the Oslo City Council decided to investigate the possibility of re-regulating the entire Sukkerbiten into a free area. This meant that Fotografihuset’s construction plans had to be put on hold. The city council’s report on the Sukkerbiten is expected during the spring of 2021. Then the discussion about this wonderful plot of land in the middle of Oslo comes up in full breadth.
Our opinion is that the photography house and outdoor area can be combined. At the same time, we welcome the city council’s investigation and a broad discussion about Sukkerbiten. If a photography house is to be built on Sukkerbiten, we want the whole town to get behind it. If there is no Fotografihus at Sukkerbiten, we would like to have an alternative ready by the end of 2022.
Future program
The Fotografihuset will, when it opens, operate within four program modes:
- Main program
The main program will consist of exhibitions, publications and events within all photographic genres, however with four core professional areas: artistic photography, documentary photography, historical photography and new technology. It is planned to be programmed in one larger and two smaller galleries, with exhibition changes 4-5 times a year:
The large gallery will accommodate significant mid-career exhibitions and retrospective exhibitions with well-known Norwegian and international photographers, as well as group exhibitions that put significant artistic and social issues on the agenda. These should be exhibitions that all those interested in culture in Oslo should take part in.
The two smaller galleries are to be programmed as complementary and/or in contrast to the main gallery. In these galleries, among other things, smaller exhibitions with photographers in the establishment phase, project exhibitions and historical point exhibitions are shown.
The main program will be designed by Fotografihuset alone or in collaboration with art institutions and photography organizations in Norway and internationally.
- Dissemination program
The outreach program will consist of tours, lectures, workshops (both for school classes, enthusiasts and professionals) partly based on the main programme, partly as independent activities. Active use of new technology becomes an important and integrated part of the communication programme.
- Cultural program
The cultural program will consist of a high-profile series of concerts, film screenings, author meetings and high-quality lectures, preferably in Fotografihuset’s multi-function room. The cultural program gives the main program a wider soundstage and introduces new audience groups to the house.
- Partner program
The partner program will provide the opportunity for a broad commitment to photography and the Fotografihuset for, among other things, the photography organisations, Norwegian photography institutions, partners and sponsors. The partners will be able to collaborate with Fotografihuset or present their own exhibitions and activities in our premises.
Operating model
In Norway today, there are on the one hand cultural institutions that receive most of their budget as public support and on the other hand cultural institutions that are completely private. We are planning an operating model for Fotografihuset that lies somewhere in between. 1/3 public funding, 1/3 private funding and 1/3 own income is the right model for us, because we both fulfill an important public task and have a large audience potential.
One of the critical factors to ensure Fotografihuset’s operation will be to achieve financial cooperation between Oslo municipality and the State through the Ministry of Culture. Another critical factor will be to ensure substantial private financial participation. When the operation is underway, the own income will depend, among other things, on Fotografihuset’s ability to produce a program that triggers the public’s willingness to pay, as well as a cafe/restaurant offer that provides commission income.
The establishment of Fotografihuset will take place in three phases (the indication of the year is tentative):
- Development period 2020–2021
These are the years until the location is decided. Fotografihuset will during this period have a compact administration and run a pilot program with project funds.
In 2020, Fotografihuset received a total of NOK 1.35 million in support from Oslo municipality, Fritt Ord, Norwegian Professional Photographers Fund and the Culture Council.
- Construction period 2022–2025
During the estimated construction period of 3-4 years, Fotografihuset will run the construction process, further develop the business in all its details and continue the pilot programme.
- Operating period 2025–
After the opening, the biggest costs will be related to rent and operation of the 3,700 square meter building, personnel costs and production of the main program and the dissemination program. The cultural program and the partner program are basically intended to be financially self-sustaining.
Fotografihuset has high ambitions, and the future operating model is based on 20 employees, 12 exhibitions per year and 100,000 paying visitors annually. The opportunity to adjust the level of activity and sublet parts of the premises will give Fotografihuset the opportunity to regulate operating costs.
The operating model is adapted to the location at Sukkerbiten. Other plots or buildings will provide other opportunities and set other requirements. When the location has finally been determined, the goal has been to get Fotografihuset’s public and private supporters involved in a binding dialogue that will enable us to develop a healthy future operating and financing model together.
Pilot program 2020-2021
Fotografihuset is an ambitious project, and it will take a few years before we are fully operational.
On the way there, we want to show some of the best Norwegian and international photographers have to offer, and to invite a broad conversation about photography’s status as artistic and documentary expression – and as everyday language. We have collected these exhibitions and discussions in our pilot programme, which in 2020 and 2021 will take place in our temporary exhibition pavilion at Sukkerbiten.
From Fotografihuset's Conversations on Photography with Benjamin Alexander Huseby and Eline Mugaas, 28th of August 2020.
The program consists of, among other things, “Conversations about photography”, “Platform for photography” and “Photography for all”. The aim is to explore the central elements in Fotografihuset’s artistic profile, and create relationships and insights that lead to the establishment of the house in a separate building.
See our exhibitions and What’s up for details on the pilot programme.
Organization and history
Fotografihuset AS was established in 2014 with the following purpose clause:
“Fotografihuset AS shall ensure the dissemination of photography, rooted in high artistic and professional competence, through comprehensive programs that invite reflection and debate. Fotografihuset will contribute to illuminating photography as a phenomenon and form of expression from different perspectives. […] Fotografihuset AS will be a cultural meeting place for everyone who has an interest in photography and reflect the current way we communicate.”
Foto-Norge, which represents Norwegian photography organisations, and Stiftelsen SE, a private initiative, are behind the creation.
The member organizations in Foto-Norge are the Norwegian Photographers’ Association, Norwegian Advertising Photographers, the Association of Free Photographers, Norwegian Nature Photographers, the Norwegian Photohistorical Association, the Norwegian School Photo Association, the Association of Institutional Photographers, the Norwegian Society for Photography, and the Foundation SE. Pressefotografenes Klubb is outside Foto-Norge, but is an important dialogue partner for Fotografihuset.
With a unanimous decision in the city council in February 2015, Oslo municipality stood behind the project. A case was opened in the Ministry of Culture in the same year. Fotografihuset was noted in the state budget for 2019, where the Storting asked the Government to find a solution for the public part of the funding.
In 2018, Fotografihuset entered into a cooperation agreement with HAV Eiendom to develop Fotografihuset at Sukkerbiten in Bjørvika. In September 2019, the architectural firm Atelier Oslo won a public architectural competition for the design of the house with the project “Trelett”.
From September 2020, Jonas Ekeberg is artistic and general manager of Fotografihuset. The board consists of representatives of the owners, the Norwegian photography community and Norwegian cultural life.
You can contribute!
We invite individuals, companies and organizations who share our vision of an international center for photography in Oslo to get in touch. We need volunteers, partners and sponsors. In return, we offer the opportunity to be involved in art and photography in Oslo’s youngest and most expansive district.
Oslo, 18th of Januar 2021
Leif Holst Jensen, chairman of the board
Linda Bournane Engelbert, board member
Ingvild Skrivervik Løken, board member
Maria Lundberg, board member
Tuva Trondsdatter Trønsdal, acting board member
Jonas Ekeberg, artistic and general manager
