The Artists’ House (‘Kunstnernes Hus’) is financed through public subsidies and is now inviting participants to an art performance based on skin colour.

On Monday 22 June at 3 p.m., the doors to “The Resting Room” (Hvilerommet) will open at Kunstnernes Hus on Wergelandsveien, a stone’s throw from the Royal Palace. There, participants will breathe, listen and converse about “mutualism” – nature’s reciprocal care, such as that between bees and flowers.

But not everyone is allowed to breathe together.

“This gathering is for Black people, and participants of all ages are welcome to join,” states the invitation on the institution’s own website.

All ages, then. But not all skin colours.

The event is to take the form of a workshop, under the title “The Feeling’s Mutual”, led by performance artist Ayesha Jordan.

According to her own profile, she is an interdisciplinary performance artist based in Oslo. “Her work weaves together regenerative agriculture, ritual, Black diasporic tradition and ecological practice in immersive and community-rooted performances,” her profile states.

In its description, Kunstnernes Hus writes that the workshop “invites Black people of all ages to participate”, and that rest is understood as a space one creates by gathering with others who share “experiences, identities or backgrounds”.

Ayesha Jordan is an “interdisciplinary performance artist”. Photo: Instagram

The event is free of charge, but registration is required.

Kunstnernes Hus receives substantial public funding. In the government’s proposed state budget for 2026, the institution is listed with a subsidy of NOK 13.12 million. The year before, the amount was NOK 12.8 million.

At the same time, Kunstnernes Hus has asked the Storting for a state rehabilitation package of NOK 62.3 million. In its consultation submission, the institution writes that the building is in a state of “acute deterioration”, and that the project may also receive up to NOK 7.5 million from Oslo Municipality.

The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act (Likestillings- og diskrimineringsloven) prohibits discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity. Under the Act, skin colour is among the characteristics regarded as part of the concept of ethnicity. The Act applies across all areas of society.

Document has contacted Kunstnernes Hus’s Head of Communications, Leonie Merkl, with the following questions:

• Is this not a clear violation of anti-discrimination legislation?
• Do you intend to begin organising events exclusively for white people?
• Is it correct to understand that only Black people are invited to this event – and what do you consider to be the objective justification for discriminating solely on the basis of skin colour?

We have not yet received a response.