INDOC. Documentation centre about Art and Nature

Artscape Nordland: the world's largest open-air museum

Skulpturlandskap Nordland (known in English as Artscape Nordland) is an international art project that got under way in the Norwegian county of Nordland in the 1990s. The project explores the relationship between contemporary art and landscape in an area that covers 40,000 km². Artscape Nordland now includes 33 artworks by 33 artists, located in 33 municipalities.

The project originated in a comprehensive debate about the role of art in society. The county of Nordland (population 240,000) does not have an art museum, and people must travel long distances to study contemporary art in museums and galleries. This led to the idea of creating a collection of modern art that would cover the entire territory of the county, with one sculpture by an acclaimed contemporary artist in each municipality. This approach uses the landscape as an art gallery. The specific surroundings and the natural environment have been the determining factors in selecting the works created in the territory over time.

The project officially started in 1992 and the first stage was completed six years later. The sculptures – located in beautiful, varied and often brutal landscapes on Norway’s Atlantic coast – can now be found in 33 of Nordland’s 45 municipalities. The scale of the project makes this collection the world's largest open-air museum.

Participating artists

Artists from 18 countries contributed to the first stage of the project: Martti Aiha (FIN), Per Barclay (N), Baard Breivik (N), Waltercio Caldas (Br), Kari Cavén (FIN), Steinar Christensen (N), Tony Cragg (UK), Dorothy Cross (IR), Erik Dietman (S/ FR), Toshikatsu Endo (J), Luciano Fabro (It), Hreinn Fridfinnsson (ISL), Olafur Gislason (ISL), Antony Gormley (UK), Dan Graham (US), Kristján Gudmundsson (ISL), Sigurdur Gudmundsson (ISL), Hulda Hákon (ISL), Jan Håfström (S), Oddvar I.N. (N), Cristina Iglesias (ES), Anish Kapoor (UK), Inghild Karlsen (N), Per Kirkeby (DK), Inge Mahn (D), Bjørn Nørgaard (DK), Kjell Erik Killi Olsen (N), Markus Raetz (SW), Raffael Rheinsberg (D), Sarkis (TU/ FR), Kain Tapper (FIN), Sissel Tolaas (N), Gediminas Urbonas (LIT).

Curator: Maaretta Jaukkuri

In the coming years, the Nordland County Council is planning to begin the second stage of the project, which will see the creation of new sculptures by international artists.

More information

Artscape Nordland

Tel.: +47 75 65 05 70

E-mail: skulpturlandskap@nfk.no

• Nordland Artscape website

Source: Texts – CDAN, based on material supplied by Skulpturlandskap Nordland; top photo, Untitled (1993) by Per Barclay; bottom photo, Untitled (1996) by Dan Graham.

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