The National Museum of Norway announces 2027 programme

A major highlight is Frida Kahlo. Between Worlds, one of the largest ever presentations of Frida Kahlo’s work in Europe. The exhibition is one of the National Museum’s most ambitious exhibitions to date and will fill the entire Light Hall on the museum’s third floor.

Other exhibitions will explore the little-known history of 19th-century mysticism in Norway; and Lul Krag’s evocative charcoal drawings of the Western Norwegian landscape. The programme also looks to the future of architecture and design, with exhibitions examining biodegradable building materials and the evolving possibilities of contemporary craft. In addition, the National Museum of Norway is the commissioner of the Nordic Pavilion exhibition at the Venice Biennale of Architecture 2027.

Lul Krag and Rosendal
18 March - 29 August 2027 | Gallery of Prints and Drawings

This exhibition presents Lul Krag’s (1878–1956) charcoal drawings of Rosendal, the village on Norway’s west coast where she settled in 1933. Inspired by its mountains, fjords, mist and trees, as well as Baroniet, the 17th-century manor house and its gardens, Krag developed a distinctive artistic vision of the landscape. Chinese art was an important influence, reflected in her compositions, which capture both large-scale, sweeping panoramas as well as the intricate details of foliage and flowers. Drawn from the National Museum’s collection, the exhibition invites an intimate encounter with Western Norway’s natural beauty, offering a perspective that resonates amid growing concerns over nature’s vulnerability and loss.

Momentous Mysticism
13 May - 12 September 2027 | Floor 1

In the mid-19th century, a new wave of mysticism emerged in Norway, bringing spiritual beliefs into conversation with scientific thought. Against a backdrop of industrialisation, scientific discovery and social change, modern spiritualism sought to reconcile itself with new ways of understanding the world. This exhibition explores how these ideas found expression in the press, literature and art, and the debates they provoked. Featuring works by Georgiana Houghton, Margareth Watts Hughes, Valentin Kielland, John Olav Riise and Albert von Schrenck-Notzing, it examines changing ideas about spirituality and the relationship between science, religion and society in 19th-century Norway.

Frida Kahlo. Between Worlds 
19 June - 7 November 2027 | Light Hall

This major exhibition explores Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) as an artist, intellectual and politically engaged figure, shaped by the social upheaval that followed the Mexican Revolution. Filling the museum’s 2,400-square-metre Light Hall with around 400 works, including a significant number of Kahlo’s paintings and drawings, it examines how she drew on modernist art, Catholic traditions and Mexican archaeology to explore the relationship between humanity and nature. Her work is presented alongside clothing, jewellery, books and archaeological objects from her personal collection, as well as works by other Mexican artists, offering a wider view of the world in which she lived and worked. Curated by the National Museum in collaboration with the Museo Frida Kahlo and experts in Mexico, this is the first Frida Kahlo exhibition in Norway since 1997, and one of the largest ever presentations of her work in Europe.

The Annual Crafts Exhibition 2027
28 October 2027 - 13 February 2028 | Floor 1

Organised annually by the Norwegian Association for Craft Artists (NK), the Annual Crafts Exhibition is the largest annual presentation of contemporary crafts in Norway. The 2027 iteration will take place at the National Museum, bringing together works ranging from small objects to sculptures, wall hangings and large-scale installations, spanning materials including ceramics, textiles, glass, wood and metal. Through diverse approaches to material, form and subject, the works reflect current developments in contemporary craft, from innovative techniques and concepts to emerging artistic directions. Open to submissions from artists across Norway, the exhibition is selected by NK’s national jury, which includes a representative from the National Museum.

Office Kim Lenschow. Not Made to Last
24 April - 29 August 2027 | The National Museum – Architecture

This exhibition explores the work of Copenhagen-based architectural practice Office Kim Lenschow, which challenges conventional ideas about the lifespan of buildings. By embracing fragile, short-lived and fully biodegradable materials, Lenschow demonstrates how decay and change can become a creative part of the building process. Visitors will be able to see, touch and smell materials made from biological sources, including wall panels made from sawdust and cladding preserved with fungi; and observe how natural conditions shape the process of decomposition. Not Made to Last invites us to reconsider our relationship with materials, and marks the beginning of a new series of exhibitions exploring material practices in contemporary architecture.

Painted Matter.
8 May - 21 November | Biennale Architettura 2027

This exhibition explores the painted surface as both a craft tradition and a contemporary architectural practice. In Norway, techniques such as wood graining, marbling and glazing have historically been used to imitate materials that were not locally available. Today, as material resources become increasingly scarce and environmental concerns grow, these techniques offer ways to renew and transform existing materials rather than replace them. The exhibition is developed by architects Amandine Kastler and Erlend Skjeseth of Kastler Skjeseth Architects; curated by Joakim Skajaa, Senior Curator at the National Museum; and commissioned by the National Museum of Norway.

New perspectives on the collection
As part of our wider mission to create new, educational perspectives that spark meaningful dialogue with today’s world, we will present new works, acquisitions and curated presentations across the museum’s permanent collection over the course of the year. These include a display dedicated to the fashion and design strategies of contemporary designers GmbH, EDDA, Ramona Salo Myrseth, and August Barron (room 30, reopening January 2027); an exploration of the renewed interest in materiality among contemporary artists such as Ahmed Umar, Ragna Bley and Lin Wang (room 86, from February 2027); and a spotlight on performance artist Marthe Ramm Fortun (room 87, from September 2027).