The Intercultural Museum (''Interkulturelt Museum'') is located at Tøyenbekken 5 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.
The Intercultural Museum is a
migration museum
Migration museums cover human migration in the past, present and future.
Background
The current trend in the development of migration museums, named differently worldwide, is an interesting phenomenon, as it may contribute to the creation of a n ...
, and is primarily concerned with the collection, preservation and dissemination of Norwegian immigration history.
Since 2006, the Intercultural Museum has been part of the
Oslo Museum
Oslo Museum ( no, Oslo museum) is a museum dedicated to the history and culture of Oslo, Norway. The museum is headquartered at Frogner Manor in Frogner Park, together with two of its departments; Oslo City Museum and Theatre Museum.
History ...
. It is situated in the district of
Grønland and housed in a former police station which was built in 1900–1902 under design by architect
Balthazar Lange
Balthazar Conrad Lange (25 March 1854 - 13 September 1937) was a Norwegian architect.
Personal life
He was born in Asker as a son of customs treasurer and lieutenant colonel Christopher Andreas Lange (1808–1888) and Anne Birgithe Falsen. He ...
(1854-1937).
Intercultural Museum was founded in 1990 by Bente Guro Møller who was head of the museum until 2007.
Mass immigration is a relatively recent phenomenon in Norway, starting with the influx of Pakistani
migrant workers
A migrant worker is a person who migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work.
Migrant workers who work outsi ...
in the 1970s. The Intercultural Museum was established as a response to the immigration and the cultural changes it entailed. It has received much attention for its pioneer work with the new minority groups in Norway. In 2006, it was selected as "Museum of the Year" by the Norwegian Museums Association.
The museum is open daily (except Mondays), and offers free entry to the main exhibits and the gallery of contemporary art. It also offers guided tours around Grønland, the historical "transit area" in downtown Oslo and one of the most obviously multicultural districts in the city.
References
Further reading
* Møller, B. G., & Einarsen, H. P. (2008). "As in a Mirror". In K. Goodknow & H. Akman, eds., ''Scandinavian Museums and Cultural Diversity''. Oxford: Museum of London and Berghahn Books. pp. 140–45.
* Naguib, S.-A. (2013a). "La politique de la diversité dans un musée sans collection, l'Interkulturelt Museum d'Oslo". In D. Chevallier, ed., ''Métamorphoses des musées de société''. Paris: La Documentation française. pp. 105–110.
* Naguib, S.-A. (2013b). "Museums, Diasporas and the Sustainability of Intangible Cultural Heritage". ''Sustainability 2013'' (5), 2178–90.
* Varutti, M. (2011). "Gradients of Alterity: Museums and the Negotiation of Cultural Difference in Contemporary Norway". ''Arv - Nordic Yearbook of Folklore'' 67, 13–36.
* Öscan, G., ed. (2015). ''Norvegiska Romá – Norwegian Gypsies: One People – Many Voices''. Oslo: Oslo Museum.
External links
Oslo Museum
{{Coord, 59.9131, 10.7634, type:landmark_region:NO, display=title
Museums in Oslo
Interculturalism
Museums established in 1990