Hausmania is a

self-managed social centre Self-managed social centers, also known as autonomous social centers, are self-organized community centers in which anti-authoritarians put on voluntary activities. These autonomous spaces, often in multi-purpose venues affiliated with anarchi ...

and cultural house ( Norwegian: Kulturhus) in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It was

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

in 1999 by a group of artists and run based on collectivist ideology. It is located alongside other squats at Hausmannsgate 34, in a zone designated as a cultural quarter. Hausmannsgate 42 was evicted in 2016. The centre hosts artist ateliers, a theatre, galleries, an internet space, a vegan café and a legal graffiti wall. Nearby are Kafe Hærverk and Vega Scene.

History

From 1999 onwards, several buildings in the area were

. A group of artists began to use the Hausmannsgate 34 in winter 2000 and it was later rented from the state property owner

Statsbygg The Norwegian Directorate of Public Construction and Property ( no, Statsbygg) is a Norwegian government agency that manages central parts of the real estate portfolio of the Government of Norway. Operation The Norwegian Directorate of Public Co ...

in 2003. After some problems with the municipality in 2004, the centre became established as a cultural centre and made plans alongside the Vestbredden squat (at Hausmannsgate 40) to be a "pilot project in inner city ecology, local governance, housing and culture". Around 30 people live at the project. In 2010, Hausmannsgate 42 was ordered to be closed by fire regulations. It was evicted in 2016, along with Brenneriveien 1. The city council, which had bought the complex from Statsbygg in 2004, then decided to sell the buildings in the complex. The squatters presented a plan to develop Hausmannsgate 40 in line with the designation of the area as a cultural quarter, after working on a plan for two years with the property developers Anthon B. Nilsen Eiendom. In 2016, the development corporation Urbanium bought Hausmannsgate 40 as part of a package of plots costing NOK 30 million. At first it demanded the eviction of the housing cooperative and then decided to offer to sell the nine apartments back to the people living there for NOK 10 million. Construction began in 2017 on Vega Scene, a new culture house for film and theatre at Hausmannsgate 28, next to Hausmania.

Activities

The 5000 m² centre provides space for artists' ateliers, practice rooms, exhibitions and other events. There are three galleries, a cinema, a skate hall and an internet café. There is a non-commercial vegan café called Blackeyedbean which serves mainly organic and fair trade products, and the Grusomhetens Teater (Theatre of Cruelty) is managed by

Lars Øyno Lars Øyno (born 1 August 1955) is a Norwegian actor, director and playwright who lives and works in Oslo. He was educated at the National Academy of Theater 1981-1984. He worked as an actor at the Trøndelag Teater 1984-1992. Øyno has portraye ...

. Outside, there is a legal graffiti wall. In 2017, Kafé Hærverk opened as a venue for experimental and independent music. It won the Oslo Prize that year. Alongside Blitz in Oslo and

UFFA UFFA ( no, Ungdom for fri aktivitet; en, Youth for free activity) is an anarchist youth house in Trondheim, Norway. The self-managed social centre provides a location for concerts and self-organised activities such as an infoshop at the Ivar ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

, Hausmania is a centre for

anarchism in Norway Anarchism in Norway first emerged in the 1870s. Some of the first to call themselves anarchists in Norway were Arne Garborg and Ivar Mortensson-Egnund. They ran the radical target magazine Fedraheimen which came out 1877–91. Gradually the maga ...

References

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External links

Hausmania homepage
DIY culture Norwegian culture Social centres Legalized squats Squats Anarchism in Norway Squatting in Norway

History

Activities

See also

References

External links