Oslo Open offers everybody an opportunity to experience art in the studio of the artists. One weekend each year nearly 400 Oslo artists open their doors and invite for a personal and informal meeting with the public.
The stage is set for an intensive weekend full of unique art experiences and opportunities to participate in events such as Open Studios, Children’s Workshops (BOO!), Guided Tours and numerous exhibitions organized by and with Oslo’s artists.
Around 9,000 people visit Oslo Open every year, and the Studio Weekend is free of charge and open for everyone.
A GPS-map on your mobile phone will make it easy to get around to all the artists’ studios.
Beneath you will find detailed information about us, as well as our events.
Welcome to Oslo Open!
Photo: Cato Aurtun Editing and music: Christian von Hanno
Open studios
Every year around 400 artists situated in Oslo open their doors for a personal and informal meeting with the audience. The city is divided in half – artists with studios on the East side of Akerselva (the Aker river) open their studios Saturday 17th of April and artists with studios on the West side of Akerselva open on Sunday 18th of April. This division makes the artists themselves able to visit their colleagues one their day off. In the Norwegian art field the artists are often each other’s most important clients. The overview of participating artists you find here.
Guided Tours
Every year Oslo Open provides guided tours to the artist studios. In 2019 we had 15 new tours where we visited the city’s artists together with experienced guides who have become well acquainted with the artistic practices. The guided tours are a fun and easy way to get to know some of the artists participating in Oslo Open, their studios and studio communities! The tours last for about 1,5 – 2,5 hours, and take place in different parts of town. All tours are drop in, free of charge and no sign up is needed. Here you will find a list of the guided tours.
BOO! – Oslo Open for Children
BOO! is Oslo Open’s Children’s programme, events directed towards children and teenages between 0 and 18 years old. The big variety of workshops give the children a taste of the artists’ reality, at the same time as it gives them an opportunity to create their own works in the studios. In 2019 19 artists held 13 different workshops. To mention some: Sound-workshops, puppet making, ghost-print, jewelry and garbage workshop, and book binding. BOO! is free of charge, made and led by professional artists. An overview of all workshops is found here.
Satellite Program
Every year Oslo open’s artists arrange a variety of events that the audience can participate in. Here you will find exhibitions, film programs, performances, workshops and other exciting events – Something for every taste! Oslo galleries showing participating artists are also listed in this program.
International program
Through the international program Oslo Open invites 35 curators, galleries and writers from the international scene, to discover and meet the artists of Oslo. To make the international program accessible for as many artists as possible, we organize a juried speed date. The program was initiated in 2014 as a collaboration between Oslo Open, Norwegian Crafts and the Ministry of Foreign affairs. See a list of previous participants here.
Atelier – an app for art sales
Oslo Open is continuing the collaboration with the sales-app Atelier – a digital service for sales directly from the artist, from the studio or in the app. Atelier gives art lovers access to a big variety of high quality art created in the artists work space. All artists found in the app are recommended by other artists. The service makes art available to everyone, for a price both seller and buyer can benefit from.
Coast Contemporary Art Price
For the fifth year in a row Oslo Open is collaborating with the art and communication platform Coast Contemporary which is handing out a prize to highlight and honour an artist who opens up their atelier during Oslo Open. The prize is awarded after the Oslo Open is finished and is made visible during the same year’s Coast Contemporary. Read more about the prize and the 2020 winner here.
Oslo Opens Honorary Prize
In 2019 Oslo Open established the Oslo Open Honorary Prize. In 2019 the prize was handed out by the Mayor of Oslo, Marianne Borgen, before the opening party at the House of Artists. The purpose of the award is to honor those who make an effort for the artists’ work situation – for the studio, production and working conditions. The recipient of the award can be an individual, a group, an institution or an organization that has made a difference of significance to the artists’ work situation. The Oslo Open Honorary Prize is awarded on a free basis by the Oslo Open Board.