Kaleidoskop 2026

Welcome to the opening of Kaleidoskop 2026, Thursday 15 October from 17:00 at Oslo Kunstforening! This year Kaleidoskop turns 25 years, and we look forward to celebrating the anniversary with this year's exhibitors and everyone who would like to join us. The exhibition will remain on view on the second floor at Rådhusgata 19 until Sunday 25 October.

Kaleidoskop is organised by Velferdsetaten [the City of Oslo's Welfare Agency] through Nyttig Arbeid [Useful Work]. Since 2001, the exhibition has invited current and former users of the agency's services to exhibit their artworks. Many of the participants share experiences of complex health challenges and social exclusion, but in the exhibition they meet first and foremost through art – as people who make, explore and express something, and who want to share it with others.

This is closely aligned with Oslo Kunstforening's view of the value of art in our society. Art needs no justification in terms of usefulness, background or life circumstances, and the interest in making, showing and experiencing art belongs to no particular group. As an art association, we want to be a place where this interest has room, across experience, age and position in society.

That Kaleidoskop has existed for 25 years also shows how much the exhibition means to many people in Oslo. As an art association, we want to be an active part of the city. We do this through the exhibitions we curate ourselves, but also by opening our spaces to initiatives and communities that already exist. Through this collaboration, Oslo Kunstforening wishes to support and provide a platform for an important initiative in the city.

Each year, Kaleidoskop brings together around 70 exhibitors working across a wide range of media, including painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, installation and text. For many of the exhibitors, this is something they work towards throughout the year.

Some use art to make their voices heard in society, others to explore their own experiences or new forms of expression. For the exhibitors, Kaleidoskop is an opportunity to reach a wider audience with their work. For visitors, it is an opportunity to encounter new forms of expression and perspectives. The exhibition also serves as a meeting point for the participants, their loved ones and other visitors.

Kaleidoskop has previously been shown at Oslo City Hall, Kulturkirken Jakob [Jakob Church of Culture] and on the ground floor of Rådmannsgården at Rådhusgata 19. Nyttig Arbeid, represented by Pernille Gormsen, is responsible for organising the exhibition in collaboration with Oslo Kunstforening.