Bergen Kunsthall was originally founded as a Kunstverein in 1838 by the painter J.C. Dahl with the aim to present and raise interest in contemporary art. The institution is organized as a private member association with a two-tier board system. The Kunstverein is one of the oldest institutions for art in Norway and trough its founding years it has presented artists from Edvard Munch to Paul Klee, as well as being an important exhibition space for local Bergen artists. In recent years, the institution has undergone a number of changes with respect to its profile and public role. Since 2000, the name “Bergen Kunsthall” has been used in order to better describe the activities in the institution, and to connect the program to relevant and similar practices globally.

The Norwegian architect Ole Landmark designed Bergen Kunsthall’s current building, which opened in 1935. The building consists of three different exhibition spaces; The Kunsthall, which consists of four large exhibition rooms and is among Norway’s most outstanding exhibition spaces; Gallery NO.5 (established in 2000), which presents smaller scaled projects, often solo exhibitions, aimed toward the production of new artworks and; Landmark (established in 2001), a screening room for  the presentation of multimedia, video-art, theatre, music, performance, and talks.

Public interest in the Bergen Kunsthall has augmented over the last years, and although programming is more uncompromising that ever, the audience number has increased by 60% between 2003-2009. These developments have been prompted by events at Landmark, extended opening hours, and a stronger focus on mediation.

Bergen Kunsthall collaborates frequently with a number of institutions and galleries, such as; The Power Plant, Bawag Foundation, Serpentine Gallery, Team Gallery, Camden Arts Centre, Lisson Gallery, The White Cube Gallery, Kunstverein Hannover, Kunsthaus Zurich, S.M.A.K., Institute of Contemporary Art, London, and Silberkuppe.

Having directed itself towards a more international focus in recent years, Bergen Kunsthall is now one of the leading institutions for international contemporary art in Scandinavia, while still preoccupied with is local functions and perspectives.

It aims to promote, commission and present challenging exhibitions and contemporary art projects. It aims to operate as a meeting point for the vital and innovative cultural scene in Norway through a varied program of projects and events. As a “kunsthall”, the institution takes on a flexible role in the art scene. Bergen Kunsthall works in close collaboration with artists and scholars to be an active participant in the production of new contemporary art. Productions vary from large-scale exhibition projects, to events, discursive projects, and research within the field of contemporary art.

Bergen Kunsthall is attentive to current debates and movements in the contemporary arts through a programme that both addresses general tendencies, as well as pursuing its own lines of independent knowledge production.

The overall exhibition programme reflects certain threads of interest that can be loosely traced through exhibition projects, yet the flexible institution model also allows for a varied programme. These reflections are regularly presented in different types of texts and written materials published by the institution.

Programming in the main galleries varies from presentations of the work of mid-career solo exhibitions, large scale exhibitions of younger artists, to curated group shows. All exhibitions are produced by Bergen Kunsthall itself or in close collaboration with other institutions. For most exhibitions, Bergen Kunsthall commissions new work. Gallery No.5 presents smaller scale projects and single room installations.

The screening room ‘Landmark’ is designed to host a vide range of cultural expressions, varying from music, theatre, film, literature, lectures, keeping the experimental as a common ground for all practices. Landmark hosts both the program from external collaborative groups and Bergen Kunsthall’s own projects including, “Plattform” and “Utmark”.

Bergen Kunsthalle presents approximately 12 exhibitions each year.

Most outstanding projects in recent years:

The Festival Exhibition 2005: Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset, The Welfare Show, From May 26th to August 21st 2005 (Produced by Bergen Kunsthall, on tour to Serpentine Gallery (London) Bawag Foundation (Vienna) The Power Plant  (Toronto) ).

Rosalind Nasashibi in collaboration with The Institute of Contemporary Art, London.

Aernot Mik Shifting, collaboration with Camden Arts Center(London) The Fruitmarket Gallery, (Edinburgh), Bergen Kunsthall and Kunstverein (Hannover) From September 7th to October 12th 2007.

Mark Manders, The Absence of Mark Manders, In Collaboration with Hannover Kunstverein. From January 18th to March 16th, 2007.

Sergej Jensen In collaboration with Malmoe Kunsthall From November 14th to December 12th, 2008.

The Bergen Biennial Conference 2009, From September 17th to September 20th, 2009 With additional book publication: The Biennial Reader.

Christopher Williams, From January 15th to February 21st, 2010.

In recent years, Bergen Kunsthall has developed into an international centre for knowledge about contemporary art through its series of lectures, seminars and publications. The lecture series “Platform” is an important part of the mediation program. With these lecture series, Bergen Kunsthall emphasizes the importance of making theoretical context around the exhibitions available to a broader audience without compromising content. Bergen Kunsthall’s general approach towards mediation, is to avoid simplification and generalization.

“Platform” and “Utmark” are Bergen Kunsthall’s two major strands of public programming. Platform, is Bergen Kunsthall´s series of public lectures and debates that involve some of the leading theoreticians on the contemporary art scene. The series alternates between events related to Bergen Kunsthall´s exhibition programme and independent subject matter. In the informal atmosphere of the Landmark space, Platform is an open, inclusive arena for specialized discussions of art for both the art practitioners in Bergen and the interested public. Lectures are also streamed live on kunsthall.no and made available in our media archive. Plattform has earlier presented lectures by among others Ina Blom, Jutta Koether, Mark Manders, and Kathy Grayson.

Utmark is Bergen Kunsthall´s concert series that also takes place at Landmark. Utmark presents concerts of varied music genres, and local. Since it was established in April 2008, Utmark has presented a multifaceted journey through the landscape of experimental music ranging from metal and break core to classical and folk music.

Bergen Kunsthall offers free public guided tours and extended opening hours (until till 11 pm) each Friday evening which extends the nightly program of events that take place at Landmark.

Bergen Kunsthall aims to be a site where young people can obtain knowledge about contemporary art and its implications.

Bergen Kunsthall offers a free program for kindergarten and primary and lower secondary school pupils, in addition to educational program for upper secondary school pupils, university college and university students. Pupils take part in guided tours of the exhibitions and related workshops.

Exhibitions at Bergen Kunsthall change regularly and each exhibition has its own programme adapted for primary and lower secondary school pupils. In connection to all exhibitions Bergen Kunsthall also offers a program specially suited for preschool children. These aim to activate and inspire wonder and new thoughts, and to try to lay the foundation for a committed interest in art.

Bergen Kunsthall publishes approximately 5 exhibition catalogues, books and anthologies per year. Publications are published by Bergen Kunsthall or in co-operation with other institutions and publishers such as Hatje Cantz, and Sternberg Press. Most publications are connected to Bergen Kunsthall’s exhibitions, but the institution also publishes independent books and anthologies on contemporary art and theory. Publications emphasize newly commissioned contributions by leading scholars, curators, critics, and thinkers.

Total exhibition space at Bergen Kunsthall: 613.2 m².

Bergen Kunsthall’s main exhibition space, The Kunsthall, consists of four white cubic rooms that sums up a total of 428,7 m2. Gallery No.5 is a 76.5 m² white cube. The screening room and café Landmark makes up a total of 108 m².