The National Museum of Norway explores how New Nordic Cuisine sparked a global cultural phenomenon

The National Museum of Norway presents New Nordic. Cuisine, Aesthetics and Place, a crossdisciplinary exhibition exploring how New Nordic Cuisine evolved into a global phenomenon in dialogue with similar developments in architecture, design, craft, photography and art. The exhibition traces how the movement, rooted in local materials, landscapes and traditions, has developed over the past twenty years to create a distinctive aesthetic that is globally recognised – and has become one of region’s the most significant cultural exports.

The exhibition will feature more than 500 artworks, photographs and objects, including loans from renowned Nordic restaurants and works by contemporary and modern artists such as Olafur Eliasson, Pentti Kaskipuro and Edvard Munch. Many of these items come from the museum’s collection, situating the contemporary New Nordic movement within a broader historical context. For the first time, the museum will also extend the exhibition beyond its gallery walls with a specially commissioned site-specific pavilion in the outdoor square. Designed by architectural practice Dyvik Kahlen and landscape architects SLA, the pavilion will bring the New Nordic ethos to life through a vibrant programme of recreational and educational events.

In 2004, a group of chefs published a 10-point manifesto advocating for a contextual, localised approach to cuisine. Emphasising the importance of local traditions and the use of natural, seasonal ingredients shaped by the region’s climate, water and soil, their vision sparked a global shift - not just in culinary practices, but in our engagement with culture, place and identity.

The exhibition highlights how the principles of New Nordic Cuisine inspired new creative and artistic trends, often utilising natural materials like animal hide, untreated wood, unbleached fabrics, paper and plant-based decorations. Featured works comprise hand-crafted objects and tableware from Michelin-starred Norwegian restaurants such as Kontrast, Maaemo and RENAA in Norway, Fäviken in Sweden, Kadeau in Bornholm, Denmark and Koks on the Faroe Islands. These include ceramic pieces by Sissel Wathne that use a glaze made from ground reindeer bones for Restaurant Credo, a wooden langoustine press made by Magnus Ek of Oaxen Krog, and a handcrafted menu in the shape of the first edition of Knut Hamsun’s novel Hunger from restaurant Ylajali. There will also be architectural models and photographs by practices such as the Norwegian firm Jensen & Skodvin, known for designs that engage with the surrounding landscape.

Benjamin Alexander Huseby’s delicate still-life photographs titled Weeds and Aliens from the early 2010s, which reflect on the cultural distinctions between so called native and alien species; and a plant-based sculpture by Miriam Hansen contrasting folk medicine with modern medicine. These pieces evoke our relationship with nature and will be displayed alongside 19thcentury Norwegian landscape paintings by Johannes Flintoe and Hans Gude; porcelain pieces by Johann Christoph Bayer circa 1800, based on the botanical survey of Danish plants, Flora Danica; and Edvard Munch’s Vitalist paintings, which emphasise the life force within all living things. Together, these artworks connect the New Nordic ethos to a longer lineage in Nordic art of surveying, expressing and depicting nature and regional landscapes.

Bringing the exhibition into dialogue with the wider public, the outdoor Pavilion will offer an immersive community space. Featuring an open fire, a working kitchen, seating area and a root cellar for fermentation, it will be primarily constructed from spruce, with plants native to Oslo growing on its roof and surrounding grounds. Throughout the summer, the Pavilion will host a dynamic programme of events, including guest chefs, talks, workshops, bonfire coffee gatherings and performances. Reflecting the lifestyle trends inspired by New Nordic Cuisine, such as foraging, urban gardening, and outdoor cooking over open fires, the events will encourage a deeper connection with local food culture and seasonal ingredients. Visitors will also be invited to join guided foraging trips in the forests outside Oslo and return to the Pavilion to prepare and share meals using their harvest.

“The New Nordic Cuisine did not develop in a vacuum, but the movement has perhaps presented the clearest expression of a broader longing for nature and authenticity in our time. The movement’s opposition to industrial agriculture and food production, along with its promotion of local and small-scale producers, has had great appeal and brought consumers closer to the sources of food production. A ramson picked in the local forest is as exclusive as imported caviar, and your grandmother’s old recipe is more important than the one in the cookbook. This attitude has spread into other disciplines as both an ethos and an aesthetic. The exhibition shows the strong interest in ecology, in foraging and urban agriculture, in authenticity, in natural materials and in experiences in nature that you find across many different fields”, says Martin Braathen, Senior Curator at the National Museum.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a new publication from the National Museum, A New Nordic A to Z, themed around the movement and featuring entries on topics such as ‘Bread served as a separate course,’ ‘Bro dining,’ ‘Microregionalism’ and ‘Sour sausage.’

A further iteration of the exhibition will travel to the National Nordic Museum in Seattle, opening in November 2025.

Notes to editors
Exhibition:

New Nordic. Cuisine, Aesthetics and Place Dates: 23 May – 14 September 2025

Curated by Martin Braathen, Senior Curator at the National Museum and Inger Helene Stemshaug, Curator at the National Museum. The programme in the pavilion is curated by Luisa Aubert and Ann Kristin Sørli, both Curator Education at the National Museum.

Address: The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Brynjulf Bulls plass 3 0250 Oslo Opening times: Tues to Weds, 10am-8pm; Thurs to Sat, 10am-5pm; Mon closed