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Friday 5 June 2026

In the Guardian, Christian House looked at how books covering challenging subjects such as childbirth and sex have become bestsellers among younger readers in Norway – as well as an export hit. Read 'Nothing is too much for a child’: the Norwegian books for kids tackling taboo topics from IVF to incest' here.

'Norway’s Trad Folk Scene is Booming': in a scene report for Bandcamp, Hayden Merrick wrote about the past and present of Norwegian folk music, recommending artists to listen to now.

'Superstar soprano unleashes her inner Valkyrie': Clive Paget reviews Lise Davidsen and James Baillieu’s recital at Wigmore Hall, on the day the prestigious venue turned 125 years old.

The new Hay Festival Kunstsilo Norway has been announced, marking a new partnership between the British literary festival and the Norwegian museum, which is home to the world's largest collection of Nordic modernism. Supported by the AKO Foundation, the new books and ideas festival will come to Kristiansand, Norway, in August 2027.

London, Galerie Max Hetzler, until 8 August: Galerie Max Hetzler presents EAT AN EGGPLANT, a solo exhibition of new works by Ida Ekblad. This solo exhibition is the artist’s sixth exhibition with the gallery, and her first in the London space.

Taking a distinctly painterly approach to a wide range of media, Ekblad presents new oil on linen paintings, oils on paper, enamel on steel works, hand-painted bronze sculptures, and a large glass lantern.

Ida Ekblad (b. 1980, Oslo) is an Oslo-based artist educated at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts and the Mountain School of Arts, Los Angeles. She has exhibited widely at major international institutions and participated in the Venice Biennale in 2011 and 2017. Her work is held in leading museum collections worldwide, including the British Museum and Centre Pompidou.

Looking ahead, a major survey of Ekblad's work will open at The Hepworth Wakefield later this year, travelling to Aalborg in 2027.

Ida Ekblad, FULIGIN SMARAGDINE, 2026, oil on linen, in artist frame. Courtesy the artist and Galerie Max Hetzler Berlin | Paris | London | Marfa. Foto: Uli Holz

London, Holtermann Fine Art, until 1 August: Glowing Phalanges is a solo exhibition by Ahmed Umar, part of his ongoing project Forbidden Prayers (since 2018). The show features sculptural works in glass and mixed media, each set within casts of the artist’s right hand.

The project is rooted in Umar’s experience of two Islamic traditions: Sufism (Sudan) and Wahhabism (Mecca). While Sufism embraces prayer beads and amulets, Wahhabism rejects them, instead emphasizing counting prayers on the fingers. Umar draws on the belief that these fingers—or phalanges—will glow on Judgement Day as proof of devotion, which inspires the exhibition’s title. The work has been widely exhibited across Europe, and Umar has received major recognition, including participation in the 2024 Venice and Toronto Biennales and the Baloise Prize at Art Basel 2024.

Ahmed Umar (b. 1988, Sudan) is an Oslo-based cross-disciplinary artist who earned his MFA from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts in 2016. His work explores identity, religion, and cultural values, often drawing on personal experiences to address themes of oppression, alienation, liberation, and self-ownership. He is also an important public voice for queer Muslims in Norway and Sudan.

Photo: Ahmed Umar, credit: Agnete Brun.

London, Veranda Books, 19 June: Join us to celebrate the release of two new photobooks by Norwegian artists Ole John Aandal (Oslo Arkiv) and Dev Dhunsi (Mixed). Aandal and Dhunsi will talk about their different photographic and book-making practices in a discussion moderated by Bruno Ceschel, publishing director of SPBH Editions. The launch is held in collaboration with KORO (Public Art Norway) and Fotogalleriet.

London, York, Lincoln, Ely, 19 - 25 June: Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir (Nidarosdomens Guttekor) bring the thousand-year tradition of Nidaros Cathedral to England. From 19 to 25 June , the choir's singers, aged 10 to 79, will sing in some of the country's most storied churches and cathedrals, from Kensington and Westminster to York, Lincoln and Ely.

On Sunday 21 June the choir sings at a celebration service at St Olave Hart Street in the City of London, together with the Norwegian Church Abroad. The service marks 75 years to the month since King Haakon VII laid the foundation stone that began the church's restoration after the Blitz — the same church where the King worshipped during his wartime exile in London, and which is dedicated to Saint Olav, Norway's patron saint and the saint over whose shrine Nidaros Cathedral itself was raised. 

All performances are open to the public and free of charge. The Choir warmly invite Norwegians across Britain - and all friends of Norway - to come and hear a piece of home.

Fri 19 June, 19:00 — Our Lady of Victories, Kensington (joint concert with the Schola Cantorum of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School)
Sat 20 June, 18:00 — Mass, Westminster Cathedral
Sun 21 June, 11:00 — Celebration service, St Olave Hart Street (with the Norwegian Church Abroad)
Mon 22 June, 17:00 — Choral Evensong, York Minster
Tue 23 June, 17:30 — Joint Choral Evensong, Lincoln Cathedral
Thu 25 June, 14:30 — Performance, Ely Cathedral (Lady Chapel)

Dedicated to Scandinavian writing, this issue of the prestigious British literary magazine features:

Fiction by Kyrre Andreassen, Solvej Balle, Jonas Eika, Jon Fosse, Helle Helle, Vigdis Hjorth, Olga Ravn, Pirkko Saisio, Sigbjørn Skåden and Malte Tellerup.

Non-fiction by Eeva Kilpi, Karl Ove Knausgård, Lars Norén and Sigrid Rausing.

Art and photography by Ikram Abdulkadir, Mamma Andersson, Maja Daniels, Stephen Gill and Inuuteq Storch.

And poetry by Sunna Dís Másdóttir, Audun Mortensen, Asta Olivia Nordenhof, Ingela Strandberg, Espen Stueland and Søren Ulrik Thomsen.

Cover artwork © Lars Tunbjörk

London, White Bear Theatre, until 6 June: What should be a simple family gathering becomes something quietly unsettling. Questions circle. Silence lingers. The unborn child waits at the centre of the room. The question of its name is never answered. The question of its origin arises.

When her partner speaks of reincarnation, the mood shifts. When her former lover is mentioned, it shifts again.

The Name is a haunting and tender exploration of family, of communication withheld, and of the authority of silence. Written during the period in which Jon Fosse received the Norwegian Ibsen Award, the play established him as one of Europe’s most distinctive dramatic voices.

London, St Olave Church, 17 June: A special celebration of contemporary Norwegian poetry to open the 9th edition of the European Poetry Festival. Hosted in the remarkable St Olave church in the city of London, with its 900 years of connection to Norway and its patron saint, this event will showcase over a dozen poets presenting new collaborations of literary poetry and experimental performance, all made for the night.

Now available to stream in the UK, and on DVD from 6 July: At the bottom of Norway’s deepest fjord, a giant mythical monster is hiding, ready to devour everything it can. When a small Norwegian village is hit by a series of mysterious occurrences, marine biologist Johanne Berge is sent to investigate. From strange, natural phenomena and ominous sounds from down below, to a tragic unexplained accident, all clues point towards Norway’s deepest fjord. As Johanne will soon discover, the ancient, multi-armed monster, Kraken, has awakened, ready to crush everything that moves or makes a sound.

Starring Sara Khorami (Nothing to Laugh About), Mikkel Bratt Silset (Havnaa), Ingvild Holthe Bygdnes (The Tunnel), Jenny Evensen & Steinar Klouman Hallert (Thelma). Directed by Pål Øie (The Tunnel).

Courtesy of Signature Entertainment.

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Happening Now:

▶ For her debut solo exhibition in the UK, Oslo-based artist Ann Iren Buan investigates the materiality of drawing, the emotional and atmospheric potential of colour, and the tension between surface and structure. At Siegfried Contemporary in London until 18 July.

▶ The exhibition Nomenclature for the Time Being gathers the work of Sandra Mujinga and over ten other artists whose practices span sculpture, performance, writing, photography and video. At Raven Row in London until 6 September.


▶ 12 June, London

Anna Berg is a Norwegian Vietnamese composer from Kolbotn, Norway and now based in Bergen. Her composition Twirling has its UK Premiere at Wigmore Hall, with a performance by violinist Fenella Humphreys. 


▶ 23 June, London

Organist Victoria Ulriksen is giving a recital at Lichfield Cathedral, before returning to the UK for performances in August starting with St Paul's Cathedral in London on the 16th.


▶ 27 June, Snape

Vilde Frang and Friends at the Aldeburgh Festival: the Norwegian violinist joins with other leading string players for a programme of Hungarian and German chamber music.

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