Meet Oslo Open at the City of Oslo’s Culture Conference
At the Culture Conference on 27 November, from 12:30–16:30 at Deichman Bjørvika, we are proposing a joint effort (a ‘dugnad’) to improve accessibility in the cultural life of Oslo. Oslo Open invites artist Ihra Lill Scharning, artist and musician Christian Blandhoel, and art enthusiast, student, and inclusion activist Nora Sulejmani to speak about how to achieve this.
November 24 2025
Artists with disabilities face physical, structural, and economic barriers in their education and professional lives. How can one work around these barriers? What changes are necessary, and how can organisations, art institutions, and the municipality contribute? And lastly, which issues are most urgent in ensuring that artists with disabilities can focus on doing their job: making art? Our panel will provide some answers.
It is generally estimated that between 16-20%, or one in five people, have a disability. This is often referred to as Norway’s largest, yet hidden, minority. The cultural sector cannot afford to miss out on all this expertise and creativity, or this substantial proportion of the cultural audience.
The conference, organised by the City of Oslo, explores whether the cultural sector, across all art and cultural expressions, can be developed and strengthened through the sharing of resources, expertise, systems, and infrastructure. The conference is fully booked, but you can join a waiting list. Read more on the municipality’s website.
The panel
Christian Blandhoel is a visual artist and noise musician. His musical projects include ijin, Hellofriend, and kjøttpøkk, among others. As a visual artist, he works interdisciplinarily with drawing, painting, fanzines, sculpture, mixed media, reconfiguring teddy bears, collages, digital photography, ink drawings, sound, instrument-making, and more. He is currently part of the exhibition Skakke folkedrakter, with a corresponding music programme, at Oslo Museum – Intercultural Museum.
Ihra Lill Scharning is a visual artist with an MA from Malmö Art Academy and a practical-pedagogical education from OsloMet. She is part of the artist duo PURPOSE CORE with Katarina Skjønsberg, which can be described in the following words: “PURPOSE CORE celebrates productivity, creativity, life’s trivialities, and existential challenges. Are practical considerations such as accessibility and information obstacles to the autonomy of art?” they ask in the description of the Sparebankstiftelsen DNB Scholarship Exhibition 2025. You can currently see this exhibition, titled Dyadiske følger (Dyadic Consequences), at Oslo Kunstforening and Deichman Bjørvika.
Nora Sulejmani studies Political Science at the University of Oslo, and previously attended the art, design & architecture programme at Edvard Munch High School. Sulejmani has a burning commitment to blind inclusion in art and culture and is an ambassador for the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted Youth (Norges Blindeforbunds Ungdom). She has worked on several projects to make art more accessible for the blind and partially sighted, including the exhibition Solo Oslo with Apichaya Wanthiang at MUNCH. She is also a local politician for the Green Party (MDG) and a member of the St. Hanshaugen district council.
Frida Rusnak is the Director of Oslo Open and will be the panel moderator. She is also a freelance curator and mediator, working to create more open and inclusive contemporary art spaces. In recent years, Oslo Open has increased its focus on accessibility, including a 2025 survey on accessibility and universal design in Oslo’s studios, conducted by Fafo. This study confirms that the city’s studios are poorly adapted, and where accessibility measures have been implemented, they appear to be random, badly planned, and lack necessary maintenance.