The Office for Contemporary Art Norway is a foundation created by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in autumn 2001 with the aim of strengthening the position of contemporary visual arts and production from Norway, and stimulating and facilitating exchange between Norwegian and international art professionals and institutions. It does so through three different programmes: a series of lectures, seminars, exhibitions and publications, all with a research and pedagogical remit; a programme of residencies and support for Norwegian artists and cultural producers abroad; and a programme of visits and residencies for international guests, which aim to promote cultural exchange.

OCA is a multidisciplinary institution with an expanded public platform, that seeks to foster exchange between the Norwegian and the international art scene, and enhance the appreciation of contemporary Norwegian artistic achievements. In order to achieve this, OCA offers a series of discursive, residency, exchange and exhibition programmes focusing on current artistic and intellectual currents in Norway and abroad, and cooperates with cultural and academic institutions abroad, contributing to the development of artistic research and discourse internationally.

Public programme (lectures, seminars, screenings and exhibitions); residencies; publications; Norwegian representation in the Venice Biennale. OCA’s varied programming activities come together through mid-and long-term research projects, which promote cultural exchange and the development of projects and knowledge around specific areas or topics.

Most outstanding projects in recent years:

Whatever Happened to Sex in Scandinavia? 8 November 2008–31 January 2009 (exhibition, lectures, residencies, screenings, symposium, publication).

Notes – Reflections on Indian Modernism (Part 1), Nasreen Mohamedi, 6 March–20 June 2009 (exhibition, touring). This project is part of the research programme ‘Reflections on Indian Modernism’.

Columns, Grottos, Niches: The Grammar of Forms – On Art Criticism, Writing, Publishing and Distribution (workshop and exhibition series) 21 October 2009–17 April 2010.

Postulates of Contiguity, Sheela Gowda–30–26 June 2010, exhibition, part of the research programme ‘Reflections on Indian Modernism’.

Public: The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Ministry of Culture