ICOM-CC is coming to Norway
14 – 18 September 2026
ICOM-CC is coming to Norway
14 – 18 September 2026
Ekebergparken is a public park, located on Ekeberg hill above Oslo. On display are 47 sculptures and installations. The collection features artworks by Auguste Rodin, Louise Bourgeois, Elmgreen & Dragset, Roni Horn, and many more. Along the trails, sculptures emerge in the landscape, coexisting with the rich cultural history of the area. Ekebergparken is the result of a close cooperation between Oslo Municipality and the art patron Christian Ringnes and the C. Ludens Ringnes Foundation.
Join our 90-minute sculpture walk, which includes entry to James Turrells light installation Ganzfeld: Double Vision, situated in an old water reservoir.
James Turrell: Ganzfeld: Double Vision, 2013. © James Turrell / BONO. Photo: Florian Holzherr.
Pipilotti Rist: Nordic Pixel Forest, 2024. © Courtesy of the Artist, Hauser & Wirth and Luhring Augustine / BONO. Photo: Florian Holzherr
More information here:
Duration: 1.5 hours
Max. number of attendees: 50, 2 groups of 25
Meeting time: 14:00/2 PM
Meeting place: Ekebergparken Museum, Lund´shus, Kongsveien 23
How to get there: Walk 6 minutes from the conference venue to Stortorvet and catch tram 19 Ljabru. Alternatively walk 9 minutes from the conference venue to Dronningens gate and catch tram 13 Ljabru. The closest tram stop is Ekebergparken.
For more information on how to get there: Find us | Ekebergparken
Accessibility: Ekebergparken is located on a hill, and so the tour will take place in a steep terrain. Most of the collection can be viewed from the main roads in the park (gravel roads), but some are installed in forest areas. It is possible to navigate the main roads in a wheelchair, but please note that the tour will be starting in the lower part of the park, making the rest of the tour an uphill experience. Our museum is accessible by a ramp and has an elevator.
Practical considerations: Photography, food and drinks are not permitted inside James Turrell’s installations. Dress according to the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes.
This excursion will introduce two significant milestones in the international pigment industry: Norway’s large-scale production of cobalt blue in the nineteenth century and the history of the Norwegian patent for the white pigment titanium dioxide (TiO2).
The cobalt ore was crucial to the economic and visual culture of its time, laying the foundations for Blaafarveværket as a global leader in cobalt production in the nineteenth century. In the 20th century, the Norwegian patent for titanium white transformed the global color industry by introducing a pure white paint that resisted discoloration, earning it the reputation of “the whitest white.”
The trip will focus on these transformative pigment histories and provide a unique opportunity for firsthand exploration of the remarkable cobalt mine, Blaafarveværket.
The trip features research presentations by art historians Helene Engnes Birkeli, Ingrid Halland, and Tonje Haugland Sørensen affiliated with the research project How Norway Made the World Whiter, artist and researcher Marte Johnslien who investigates TiO2 in the research project The Materiality of White, and historian Lasse Hermansen Bjørnland at Blaafarveværket.
By Stiftelsen Modums Blaafarveværk – Bygdemuseet Modum.
By Stiftelsen Modums Blaafarveværk – Bygdemuseet Modum.
More information here:
Duration: 12:00-19:00/12 AM-7:00 PM
Max. number of attendees: 40
Meeting time: 12:00/12 AM
Meeting place: Outside the conference venue, bus departure with packed lunch on the bus.
Detailed program:
14:00-15:30/2:00-3:30 PM: Walking tour in The Cobalt Mines (includes 30 minutes of walking inside the mine), with Lasse Hermansen Bjørnland.
15:30-17:00/3:30-5:00 PM: Lectures about the Norwegian history of cobalt blue and titanium white by Helene Engnes Birkeli, Ingrid Halland, Tonje Haugland Sørensen, and Marte Johnslien – including coffee and light meal.
17:00/5:00 PM: Bus departure from Blaafarveværket.
19:00/7:00 PM: Arrival in Oslo.
Accessibility: The mines are not accessible by wheelchair.
Practical considerations: We recommend comfortable walking shoes and warm clothes for visiting the mines.
Visit Vigeland Park and join the conservators responsible for the conservation and maintenance of this park complex, which contains more than 200 sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland.
The sculpture park is Gustav Vigeland’s life work. It was installed between 1940 and 1949 but is the result of over 40 years of work. The Vigeland Museum opened in 1947 and was Gustav Vigeland’s former studio and residence. Today, the museum displays a permanent exhibition of Vigeland’s art, along with temporary exhibitions featuring three-dimensional art.
The conservators will guide you through the park, discussing the maintenance of art made from wrought iron, bronze, and granite in a park visited by many locals and tourists. They will explain the considerations involved in working with protected sculptures in a protected park, and the challenges related to vandalism and activism.
The tour will conclude at the Vigeland Museum with a guided tour of our main exhibition. This will give participants an opportunity to learn more about the artist and the creation of the park.
By Espen Grønli
By Espen Grønli
More information here:
Duration: 14:30-17:00 / 2.30 PM-5.00 PM
Max. number of attendees: 25
Meeting time: 14:30/ 2.30 PM
Meeting place: Outside the main gate of the Vigeland Park, Kirkeveien.
How to get there: Tram 12/15 Majorstuen from Storgata and get off at Vigelandsparken.
For more information on how to get there: https://vigeland.museum.no/en/besoksinformasjon
Accessibility: The Vigeland Park is accessible with wheelchair. The Vigeland Museum is a building listed as a protected national monument, and facilities for visitors with disabilities can unfortunately not always live up to contemporary standards. If you are using a wheelchair, you can enter the museum via an inclined plane. The permanent collection on the 1st floor is available for visitors using a wheelchair, and the rooms are spacious and with no thresholds. There is also a ramp in the Courtyard. We strive to facilitate your visit as best we can. If you need to discuss facilitation, please contact us: postmottak.vigeland@kul.oslo.kommune.no
Practical considerations: Dress according to the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. We will be walking 1.5 to 2 kilometres.
By Espen Grønli
The Viking Ship Museum is home to the world’s foremost collection of Viking-era artifacts. Part of the Museum of Cultural History at the University of Oslo, this century-old museum has undergone significant expansion and is now transformed into the new Museum of the Viking Age.
Before construction began, smaller and less fragile artifacts were moved to secure storage. However, the museum’s centrepiece collection, which includes the Oseberg, Gokstad, and Tune ships – the three best-preserved Viking ships in existence – as well as the unique and intricately carved sledges from the Oseberg finds, posed great challenges. These large, fragile, and structurally complex objects could not be relocated due to the high risks involved, making on-site safeguarding a priority.
This technical tour offers an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how these iconic objects were protected during construction. It also explores the meticulous process of relocating them to the new gallery spaces, where considerations for long-term preservation, optimal environmental conditions, and an enhanced visitor experience were carefully balanced.
By Architect illustration of the Oseberg ship in the new Museum of the Viking Age. Photo: Ralph Appelbaum Associates and Tamschick Media+Space.
Securing the Oseberg ship on the building site. Photo: MUSEUM OF CULTURAL HISTORY, University of Oslo.
More information here:
Duration: 1 hour
Max. number of attendees: 40, 2 groups of 20
Meeting time: Group 1 – 14:30/2:30 PM Group 2 – 16:00/4:00 PM
Meeting place:Main entrance of the museum, Huk Aveny 35
How to get there: Bus 30 Bygdøy from Jernbanetorget, close to the conference venue. The bus stops right outside the museum, and the stop is called Vikingskipene. The route runs approximately every 10 minutes, and the ride takes about 10-15 minutes. Alternatively Ferry 9 from Rådhusbrygge 3 at the City Hall to Dronningen on Bygdøy. From Dronningen, there is a 13-minute walk to the Museum of the Viking Age (check schedules and where to buy tickets at https://ruter.no/en).
For more information on how to get there: Museum of the Viking Age – University of Oslo
Accessibility:The Museum of the Viking Age is still under construction in Sept. 2026 and may have accessibility issues.
Practical considerations: No food or drink. Ask your host if taking photos is ok.