Demokratiser Oljefondet

​​

Group exhibition with Swedish artist Marta König, Kunstbanken, 2027.

​

Exhibition documenting the campaign to democratise the oil fund. Portraits of activists, textile, sound installation.

​

The day before Christmas in 1969, it was announced that Norway has the largest oil field in the world. A fund was set up as a safety net: it would store the wealth generated by Norway´s natural resource for the Norwegian people. In the meantime, the fund would be managed by Norges Bank and grown through reinvestment. It is obligatory for the fund to be invested over seas, and it is therefore extremely influential in shaping global dynamics and what is possible in the world.  For example, 500 million is invested in Ryanair. 

 

Today, it is the world´s largest sovereign fund and totals over 21,268 billion kroner (2.1 trillion dollars). This money is intended for the Norwegian people long term and is referred to as “the pension fund.” The investment strategy is currently being reviewed after criticism that Norges Bank did not take ethical recommendations concerning weapons, mining companies and conflict. A survey by Response Analysis returned that 73% of Norwegians would accept a lower return on investment in return for a more ethical and democratic strategy. But currently Norwegians have no say about how the (their) money is invested. It could be done, for example, through citizens’ assemblies which bring together a representative sample of the population to deliberate investment guidelines. They are given expert recommendations to inform their decisions.

 

This has been done before, the 2025 Norwegian Citizens' Assembly on the Oil Fund (Framtidspanelet) convened 60 citizens and they recommended that the fund should prioritize sustainable investments, renewable energy, and global development instead of maximizing short-term profits. But this is extremely contested.

​

​

Artwork forthcoming

​

Relevant articles

​

https://www.folkmotfossilmakta.no/oljefondet  

​

https://europeancorrespondent.com/en/r/randomly-chosen-norwegians-to-discuss-their-oil-money

​

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/21/in-norway-we-see-ourselves-as-ethically-virtuous-so-why-is-our-oil-wealth-enabling-genocide

​

​

​