Norway’s Children’s Art Museum Faces Closure

For four decades, a unique museum in Norway has showcased artwork by children from around the globe, including pieces created by toddlers. Now, the museum faces a significant challenge due to the loss of crucial state funding.

The International Museum of Children’s Art, located in Oslo, opened its doors in 1986. Among its earliest exhibits are artworks crafted by Soviet children, responding to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Throughout the museum’s halls, drawings abound from Afghan girls attending clandestine schools, Ukrainian children impacted by war, and kids worldwide enduring the COVID pandemic. The collection includes sketches, paintings, and sculptures created by teenagers and toddlers alike. Some pieces could easily adorn any parent’s refrigerator.

For 40 years, the museum has served as a time capsule, preserving world history through young eyes. Ashild Breie Nyhus, a classical musician who performed at a recent benefit concert, described the museum as a place of exploration and discovery. Nyhus highlighted the honesty of the children’s art, viewing it as among the most genuine expressions in Oslo and perhaps greater Norway.

This cherished art may soon vanish from public view. The Norwegian government has withdrawn the funding that sustained the museum for decades. The museum’s director, Angela Goldin, is seeking ways to conserve its extensive collection, which boasts over 100,000 pieces of children’s artwork.

“It’s surreal that it has no value,” Ms. Goldin remarked, reflecting on the situation while clearing a rented space where part of the collection was stored.

The museum originates from a family initiative, prompted by a film made by Rafael Goldin, Ms. Goldin’s stepfather and a Soviet Union émigré. The film featured children discussing their perspectives on the world.