The Norwegian Way

Norway is the richest country in the world. It is also the most peaceful country in the world, has the best functioning state apparatus, has won the Grand Prix, and is probably the best country in the world to be an artist-economically speaking. All because of oil.

The Norwegian Way is a deep dive into Norway's self-image, the problem of oil and the possible connection between money and happiness. And an exploration of the potential for art to change the world. Black gold has been crucial to all aspects of Norwegian social development in recent decades, including the increasingly ambitious state investment in art and culture. At the same time, a tension has arisen between the fact that we all live off oil and a Norwegian self-image and rhetoric that describes us as particularly environmentally friendly, peacemaking and generally "good".

Norwegian society has an ambivalent or perhaps denialist relationship with oil wealth. According to research, we're not particularly happy either - all money considered. Perhaps it's time to think again?

As Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has put it: "One of the problems we have today is that even though we are materially quite well off, we obviously have problems filling our lives with content. In other words, we have plenty to live on, but we don't have much to live for." When the Iraqi people were starving, the UN launched the Oil for Food program to make it possible for Iraq to exchange oil for food. Norway has more than enough of both oil and food, but needs something that gives life meaning. We need the Oil for Art program!

Supported by: Arts Council Norway and Fritt Ord.Produced in collaboration with: Pikene på Broen / Barents Spektakel