The manor house and the Norwegian museum landscape
In June 2018, the Norwegian Manor House Museum Network applied for funding from the Arts Council’s Development Program for Museums 2018 – 2020. Late that autumn, we were told that the project “Opphøyet og oversett” [eng: Elevated and overlooked] was awarded NOK 2.5 million from the funds allocated to Research in the Museums. The project will investigate why and how the manor house museums were created and how they form part of the Norwegian museum landscape. This is to be done in three thematic areas: 1. The history and cultural history of the manor house museums. 2. The process from living facilities to cultural heritage and museum and 3. A self-reflective look at the manor house museums.
The research process will invite the involvement and participation of as many museums as possible in the manor house museum network, and this is primarily done through networked collections of in-house research training and the sending of questionnaires. The project aims to result in a book of articles, an exhibition and a catalogue of the manor house museums.
The project’s working group consists of representatives of the applicants: Østfoldmuseene, Oslo Museum, Stiftelsen Norsk Folkemuseum, Telemark Museum and Vestfoldmuseene. We have linked external research resources to the project with prof. Arne Bugge Amundsen as research leader and mentor.
Questions and comments can be addressed to the network secretary: Tove.Thogersen@ostfoldmuseene.no
The working group of the project “Opphøyet og oversett”.