Latest news with #MunchMuseum
Local Norway
3 days ago
- Business
- Local Norway
'Oil corrupts everything': Norway blasted as 'object lesson in hypocrisy'
The Norway Paradox, or Norgeparadoxen , published last month by the leading Swedish investigative journalist Lisa Röstlund, takes a critical look at Norway's claims to be a forerunner in the green transition while continuing to be a major oil and gas producer. "It means that oil corrupts the whole country," Röstlund told Swedish public broadcaster SVT in an interview . "Oil seeps into everything. A large part of the welfare bill is paid by the oil fund. Research, art, culture and sport are often sponsored by oil companies, like the new opera house in Oslo, or the Munch Museum," she said. Röstlund, a journalist for Dagens Nyheter, previously published Skogslandet , a prize-winning investigation of Sweden's forestry industry. The Swedish journalist Lina Röstlund has accused Norway of being "an object lesson in the West's hypocrisy" in a new book. Photo: In her new book, which is part travelogue, part investigation, she shows how Norwegians at all levels of society turn a collective blind eye to the country's dependence on the oil and gas industry. "You really notice that very few people raise their voice against oil, even among researchers," she said. "You can talk about the climate crisis and its consequences in general, but no one turns their gaze onto their own industry." Advertisement She paints a picture of a country where the new wind power developments trumpeted as part of the green transition are then used to pump out more oil and gas, where the number of climate deniers per capita is second only to the US, and where the oil fund invests in fracking companies in the US. Equinor, the state oil company, is continuing to push ahead with new oil and gas developments. This is despite the International Energy Agency concluding in its 2021 Net-zero by 2050 report that no new oil and gas fields should be approved for development after 2021 if the world is to limit global warming to the safe level of 1.5C. The book has already received some pushback in Norway. The Norwegian journalist Hilde Sandvik accused Röstlund of "not fully acknowledging the complexity" of Norway's situation. "Of course it's easy to accuse Norway of having double standards," Sandvik said in the Norsken, Svensken og Dansken podcast. "We've been doing very nicely out of oil for 50 years and we are still living off something that both Europe and the rest of the Nordics are dependent on." But the book, she said, glossed over the fact that Swedish businesses and consumers, and those in Europe as a whole, are also dependent on Norwegian oil and gas, particularly since the invasion of Ukraine made them reluctant to rely on supplies from Russia. Author Röstlund does acknowledges this in the introduction her book, recognising that the entire western world remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, so Norway is by no means uniquely hypocritical. Advertisement "Nonetheless, I ask myself whether the elephant in the room, which is there in all rich countries, is not most conspicuous in Norway, if it does not have the sharpest contours there," she continues. "The Norwegian elephant in the room is a fantastic object for anyone who wants to study the hypocrisy of the self-congratulating West." She also pre-empts the criticism that she, like many Swedes, simply feels envious of her country's richer Nordic neighbour. "Am I writing this book because I am jealous?" she asks in the intro. "Yes, maybe."
Local Norway
28-04-2025
- Business
- Local Norway
What's open and what's closed in Norway on Labour Day 2025?
May 1st is classified as rød dag in Norway, which, in short, means most people can look forward to a day off from work. It's covered by the same laws that make May 17th a public holiday, but not the same laws for religious public holidays such as Easter. The reason for this is to allow public demonstrations, such as parades and processions, which would not be permitted on a religious public holiday. Essentially, all this means that you can expect closures on May 1st as the same strict rules that close stores at Easter and Christmas apply here. Shops When it comes to groceries, all but small convenience stores will be closed on May 1st. Furthermore, shopping centres and other kinds of stores will also be shut for the day. However, one slight caveat to the rules is that garden centres will be open. May 1st can be a popular day for gardening, although the use of loud machinery like lawnmowers is frowned upon. Furthermore, the sale of alcohol (outside of bars and restaurants) will not be permitted on May 1st, even from the shops that remain open. Norway's wine monopoly will also close, meaning it will not be possible to purchase any alcohol stronger than 4.75 percent for home consumption after 6pm on Wednesday until 10am on Friday. Advertisement Banks It will be best to sort out your banking needs on Wednesday, or earlier if better, as banks will be closed on Thursday. This means you won't be able to pop into your nearest branch. Transferring money between banks may also take longer if you try to do it on Thursday. Banks will reopen as normal on Friday. Healthcare and pharmacies Doctor's offices will close on Labour Day, as will pharmacies. If you need medical care, you can try the out-of-hours medical service. The number for this service is 116 117. Every local authority in Norway has its own out-of-hour medical room if you need to see a doctor. Alternatively, if you find yourself in a life-threatening situation, you should contact the medical emergency number in Norway, 113, and the service will send an ambulance to your location. Advertisement Bars, restaurants and coffee shops While shops and businesses will be closed, you can expect plenty of bars, coffee shops and restaurants choose to remain open on May 1st. In the big cities, plenty of bars in the city centre may even be quite busy as it's normal for unions to lead parades, marches and processions through the streets. For example, the bars around Youngstorget in Oslo will be quite busy on May 1st. Booking ahead may also be useful, given that plenty of people will be free during the day Attractions Most gyms and other exercise centres, like swimming pools and saunas, will remain open. However, things will be more up in the air when it comes to museums. The National Museum and the Munch Museum are closed, while The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History will be open on Labour Day. Things like zoos and theme parks may also choose to remain open. Tusenfryd near Oslo is a theme park that will remain open on Labour Day.
Local Norway
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Local Norway
What's on in Norway: Six fantastic things to look forward to in May 2025
Trondheim Jazz Trondheim Jazz features acts from Europe and the Nordics, as well as lectures on the art of jazz. The festival will take place between May 8th and May 12th. The various concerts will take place at several venues across Norway's former Viking capital. Therefore, it's worth checking out the programme to see who is playing where. Trondheim Jazz Festival has existed in various forms and under several different names since 1980. MaiJazz Running almost alongside Trondheim Jazz will be MaiJazz in Stavanger, which will take place between May 6th and May 10th. The festival started in 1989 and has grown into one of the country's most well-known jazz festivals, so if you are on the west coast – it's worth checking out. There will be several free and paid-for concerts. Jazz lovers will also be able to pay 1,700 kroner for a festival pass. Bergen international festival A mammoth 14-day festival between May 21st and June 4th is the Bergen International Festival , which is one of the country's oldest cultural gatherings. The festival usually offers visitors a blend of theatre, dance, music, opera, and visual art, showcasing both Norwegian and international talent. Each year, the Bergen International Festival captivates audiences with hundreds of live performances staged both indoors and outdoors. Advertisement Last chance to catch exhibitions Early May will be the last chance to visit the Georg Baselitz Feet First exhibition at the Munch Museum. The works of the confrontational and internationally renowned artist feature large upside-down paintings, his reflections on the fragments of post-war Germany and his admiration of Edvard Munch. More than 80 works are displayed. Baselitz has established himself as one of the biggest names on the global contemporary art scene. Meanwhile, the exhibition Hertervig – Hill. Dream and Reality will come to a close at Stavanger Art Museum on May 18th. The exhibition is centred on Norwegian Lars Hertervig and Swede Carl Fredrik Hill. May 17th and other public holidays May 17th is the country's national day and is a fantastic occasion in Norway. People nationwide will be decked out in their national costumes and attend parades with marching bands. Oslo is set to have the largest parade, which makes its way up Karl Johan Street to the Royal Palace. Meanwhile, Bergen puts its own local spin on the annual traditions. The day is a public holiday, meaning that almost all stores and businesses will be closed for the day. The only downside to May 17th this year is that it falls on a Saturday, meaning workers won't receive the day off like they would if it was a weekday. May 1st is Labour Day, so it will be a day off work for most workers in Norway. Meanwhile, Thursday, May 29th, is Ascension Day, which should also mean a day off. Advertisement If you haven't considered it already, it might be worth booking off the Friday, which is an inneklemt dag (meaning squeezed day). Concerts and shows Many of you will unfortunately have to miss out on some of these events as tickets may be hard to come by currently. Tyler, The Creator has a sold-out show at Oslo Spektrum on May 6th, while The Lumineers will perform at the same venue on May 11th. A few days later, Robert Plant (legendary lead singer of Led Zeppelin) will perform at Folketeateret in Oslo, with a handful of tickets still available at the time of writing. Finally, Canadian comedian Russel Peters will perform shows in Oslo and Bergen in early May.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Coperni Debuts Ray-Ban Meta Sunglasses Collaboration With Fresh Makeover During Paris Fashion Week
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, WWD may receive an affiliate commission. Coperni unveiled its limited-edition Ray-Ban Meta sunglasses during the French brand's fall 2025 ready-to-wear show as part of Paris Fashion Week. The Wayfarer sunglasses feature an elevated look and all the same capabilities of Ray-Ban Meta's other models. More from WWD EXCLUSIVE: Coperni's Next Paris Fashion Week Show Will Feature 200 Gamers Coperni Fall 2025 Ready-To-Wear Collection Rejina Pyo and Munch Museum Partner on Edvard Munch-inspired Capsule With only 3,600 pairs priced at $549, per Meta, the sunglasses are designed with Ray-Ban Wayfarer's idiosyncratic and iconic frames in transparent black with gray mirrored lenses with the Coperni logo featured on the arms. The design emphasizes sleek sophistication, highlighting the limited-edition design's blend of style, curation and cutting-edge technology. Buy Now at ray-ban Buy Now at sunglass hut The sunglasses were featured as part of the looks from Coperni's fall 2025 ready-to-wear collection, which made its runway debut on Sunday as part of Paris Fashion Week. The collaboration between Coperni and Ray-Ban Meta isn't the only one the French brand boasts. Another seasonal collaboration included a Tamagotchi version of their signature Swipe bag. The collaboration works in tandem with the overarching theme for the collection, as noted in WWD's review, written by Joelle Diderich. 'It was an ode to the community of those early days of the internet, when gamers would haul their PCs and sleeping bags to a convention center or church basement for marathon sessions fueled by pizza and energy drinks,' Diderich wrote of Coperni's fall 2025 ready-to-wear collection. Sébastien Meyer, a cofounder of Coperni alongside Arnaud Vaillant, referred to 'a bunch of geeks getting together and having fun,' adding, 'There was a humanity in that, and that's what we want to show.' Special guests who attended the show included rappers Ice Spice and Tokischa, along with singer Theodora. View Gallery Launch Gallery: Coperni Fall 2025 Ready-To-Wear Collection Best of WWD 'Whatever Love Means': How Princess Diana's Engagement Ring From Prince Charles Had Its Happy Ending With Kate Middleton Marilyn Monroe's 'The Seven Year Itch' White Dress — Everything to Know About Her Iconic Costume and Where It Is Today Stores Closing in the U.S. in 2025: Joann, Neiman Marcus, Macy's and More Companies Facing Financial Challenges
The Guardian
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Where the art of Edvard Munch comes alive: a city break in Oslo
I reach Ekeberg Park at sunset and walk along the muddy paths to find the viewpoint. The late winter sky is like a watercolour: soft blue and grey clouds layer together, with a sweeping gradient of yellow verging from tobacco stain to pale lemon above the distant, bruise-coloured hills. At the viewpoint, I look out over Oslo and listen for a scream. In 1892, Edvard Munch took a walk in this same park as the sun was setting. Recording the experience in his diary, he wrote that he heard 'a great and infinite scream through nature'. The experience became the basis of his most enduring painting. Nobody knows if the scream was real – there was a hospital nearby – or imagined. Today, all I hear are the delighted squeals of children playing on the hillside, amid joggers and walkers traversing the leaf-strewn footpaths of the park. As the National Portrait Gallery holds a new exhibition of Munch's portraits, I'm in Oslo walking in the footsteps of the artist. Munch is inescapable: at Clarion Hotel Oslo, where I'm staying, an Andy Warhol version of The Scream graces the lobby – the pop artist was a huge fan – and a photograph of Marina Abramović's interpretation greets me at breakfast. From the viewpoint, as the sky falls in a blanket around me, the city's prime Munch attraction is clearly visible. While the shapes of the islands and borders of the Oslofjord are recognisably the same as those in the background of The Scream, the Munch Museum – known as simply Munch – stands out amid the new modern buildings on the Bjørvika waterfront. The top of its striking tower is tilted, so said the architects, to look like it's bowing to the city of Oslo, the inspiration for many of Munch's works. Inside it, my guide, Sid, takes me on a tour of the extensive collection. 'Munch was unique in how he captured a shift in generations and perception,' Sid says. 'He's documenting humanity at a time when belief and institutions are collapsing.' I'm struck by how Munch's work, much of it over 100 years old, is still relevant today: from his ability to paint the emotional landscape of his sitters with a particular focus on mental health, to his belief that there was no separation between humankind and nature. In the gallery, three different versions of The Scream are displayed in a dimly lit rotunda for 30 minutes at a time, to preserve their colours. One of them has water-damage in the bottom-left corner: this is one of the stolen Screams, taken by daring art thieves during a daylight robbery in 2004 and damaged during storage (it was returned in 2006). In the National Museum, another version of The Scream is on display – he made eight in total – under the watchful eyes of two security guards. Another version of the painting was stolen from this gallery in 1994, when police attention was otherwise occupied by the Lillehammer Winter Olympics. That one was only absent for 12 weeks. Other highlights of the Munch Museum include a vast room showing sketches of the Aula paintings, a series of giant artworks Munch made for Oslo University's ceremonial hall. They depict an abstract sun shattered into multicoloured rays, a nurturing mother on a rocky shoreline and a fisherman teaching a young boy, and are considered his masterworks. When the Nazis invaded Norway, these paintings were hidden in a mine. Munch's work featured on the Nazis' degenerate art list – modernist and avant garde art was considered depraved; any deviation from the norm, any challenge to the status quo, was punished. After the war, these monumental works were restored to pride of place at the university hall, which is open to the public one Saturday a month from February-May. The next day, I take a trip to Ramme, where Munch painted two of these works. A 30-minute train ride and short taxi journey from Oslo, it's a haven for Munch lovers. You can walk around his house and outdoor studio and along the beach. There's something about the sound of the sea, the rocky shoreline of the Oslofjord and the apple trees that give a great sense of calm. For Munch, plagued by ill health and mental health issues all his life, that was the idea. He bought the white house here in 1910, which remarkably is rented out to holidaymakers in summer, and kept it until his death in 1944. Inside, the carefully restored bright yellow walls and white lace curtains served as backdrops for many of his portraits. I walk past the apple trees to a rugged shoreline littered with mussel shells where interpretive boards show his paintings set against the views. Back in Oslo, I take a walking tour of the lively Grünerløkka quarter. Munch's family lived in several different buildings in the area, marked with plaques, and it's in one of these that he set one of his most moving paintings, The Sick Child, inspired by his sister's death from tuberculosis. All the colours of life are here: vintage shops and hipster cafes line up along the edge of a small central park, bright blue trams streak by and the city's young and creative walk around, as punk-haired baristas make drinks at Tim Wendelboe's coffee shop. I feel I could walk past the subject of one of my favourite Munch paintings, Madonna, a raven-haired woman in a red beret. Before I leave, I pay my respects at his grave at Our Saviour's cemetery. I wonder what he might have created were he alive today. According to walking tour guide Linda, his love of self-portraits would mean only one thing: 'He would be a selfie king.' Laura travelled to Oslo as a guest of VisitOSLO and stayed at Clarion Hotel Oslo (doubles from £147). Transport was provided by Flytoget airport express (£36 return) and the Oslo Pass, which offers local transport as well as entry into museums and galleries (from £40 for 24h). Edvard Munch Portraits is at the National Portrait Gallery 13 March-5 June (£21/£23.50 with donation)
