Upcoming events

Follow along here on the website, in our newsletter, and on our social media channels, where we will soon announce the speaker line-up, themes, and further information about our upcoming events.

Who owns our attention – and our culture?

At Kunstsilo, we stand at the heart of the world’s largest collection of Nordic modernism. The collection draws inspiration, amongst other sources, from the first major presentation of Nordic art at Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo in 1947 – the first Nordic art exhibition after the war, held under the auspices of the Nordic Art Association.

In November 1945, the Nordic countries agreed at a meeting in Stockholm to establish a joint body for cooperation and coordination. The Association’s purpose was “through continuous artistic exchange between the Nordic countries to contribute to the sense of Nordic solidarity and cultural community, and otherwise to work for the benefit of Nordic artistic life.” That same year, Norwegian writers and thinkers formulated the vision Vår kulturs fremtid – “The Future of Our Culture” – a cultural manifesto that described a crisis and pointed towards a shared direction. It was a Norwegian response to a historic challenge.

Nordic response?

Can we produce a Nordic response to the challenges we face today? Are we standing at a new moment in which the Nordic countries – drawing on our collective experience – can together articulate something that reaches beyond each individual nation? Can we draw on our shared traditions to defend the role of culture and reimagine it within a digital and fragmented public sphere? And do we dare to do so without seeking quick consensus – insisting instead on genuine Nordic debate and discussion as a source of strength?

The Nordic cultural model rests on two principles that can only survive if they are continually reinvented: arm’s-length distance from politicians. And broad popular legitimacy for the arts.

What do those principles look like today – in a reality that has changed so markedly? For even as we continue to invest in art and culture, other forces have gained unprecedented influence. Tech giants operate across borders with near-unlimited latitude – competing for our opinions, our attention, our emotions and our time. What does this mean for a society that has historically built its strength on enlightenment, depth of engagement, Bildung, and public discourse?

Free thought in our time

Can we speak of free art and free thought if our time and mental energy are increasingly shaped by algorithms over which we ourselves have no influence? And what does the arm’s-length principle mean when power is no longer solely political – but also digital and commercial?

At the same time, the Nordic countries still stand strong with something that many other places lack: a fundamental trust in institutions, in one another – and in the idea that art has an intrinsic value. But is that trust robust enough for the future? Do all people still feel genuinely welcomed into the cultural life and cultural institutions that are funded with up to 90 per cent of public money? And if not – how do we rebuild that connection?

Together with Kunstsilo, NORD55 is inviting leading voices from across the Nordic region to take part in this conversation. To ask the questions that can open the way to new answers – answers that emerge from the tension between a shared heritage and differing perspectives.

Perhaps it is precisely here – in Nordic exchange, in discussion and disagreement, in curiosity and the willingness to listen and respond – that the next chapter of our cultural life begins

What is our answer today?

Save the date now!

We will announce the speaker line-up featuring leading voices from across the Nordic region in the coming weeks.

Further details will follow shortly.

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