Private taste and public space: the heated media debate about a privately initiated sculpture park in Oslo

Abstract

In 2003, billionaire and art collector Christian Ringnes launched an idea to fund a sculpture park in the Ekeberg area of Oslo, based around his private collection of female sculptures. The idea spurred heavy criticism for years leading up the park’s opening in 2013. Local residents, local politicians, artists, art professors, art critics and newspaper columnists were highly engaged in discussing the park, performing their critiques in newspaper articles, at the construction site, in City Hall, and through official complaints to Oslo Municipality and the County Governor. In seeking to understand why it became such a contested issue, I have followed the mediated public debate throughout the process from idea to realization. The analysis shows that the debate has been agonistic, influenced by deep stories and feeling rules. Nevertheless, the intense debate resulted in a number of unintended consequences leading up to the park’s successful integration into the art world upon its opening.